[vegasjones]

Hi all.

I just put a 396 in my 65 Chevelle. On the initial build and start up we lost quite a few lobes and ended up having to replace the cam. I've now read that Comp Cams are notorious for going down. I had a filter magnet that caught A LOT of the metal from the cams going down so I'm sure that helped.

We pulled the motor, took off the intake/pan and completely douched everything out with about 15 cans of brake cleaner. The bearings looked fine other than the very front bearing had a really slight score around the middle. I'm running an oil filter magnet and also a trans pan magnet on the oil pan to try and catch an add'l metal that may be floating around.

I pulled the filter last night after the initial break in oil change and there was some metal in the filter but nothing like what was there after the lobes went down.

I guess I just wanted to get some thoughts on what my chances are of this motor lasting and if something goes wrong....what I should've done differently.

Can anyone share any experience they've had with something like this?

 

[vegasjones]

Here's a picture of what the filter magnet caught when the cam lobes went down:

Here's a picture of what the filter magnet caught with the new cam in between break in and about 270 miles of driving. A lot better but still some metal that makes me nervous:

 

[jeff swisher]

My advice complete tear down flush and brush all lifter valleys and same for crank holes.
My buddy lost a few lobes ..flushed the engine like you stated ..but did not tear it down..
a few months later during a race he heard a knocking sound..but did not want to loose the race....he won and drove it home and called me..
Complete tear down..in fact i had built that engine the first time..but he did not want to run the oil i stated to run..
OH WELL!!! then he did not want to tear down correctly ..OH WELL.

Now he has a bent rod and that thing was balanced and all.
So he got another rotating assemble..crank rods pistons rings..
When he may have got off with a set of bearings and gaskets...

It's your dime and your time..you decide...
but for me..every hole will need a brush.

I have been told i am too meticulous when assembling my engines.
I have lights on like an operating room and every speck of dust is removed..
Doors do not open until the engine is together and bagged.

 

[Tom Mobley]

if you didn't have the oil filter bypass blocked there's metal all through the oil galleys, lifters, pushrods, crank, valley, tops of cylinder heads, etc. You're kidding yourself if you think you can get that out with spray cleaner. There's only one way to clean up a multi-lobe fail mess. it starts with pulling the engine.

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

+1 on what Tom said. Sorry for the trouble, but the engine is full of trash. No getting around it...even with magnets.

 

[TXCR13]

Read the "sticky" titled "Bad Cams" in this forum. It will tell you what to do to avoid what just happened.

 

[sschevellefan]

My buddy had a comp cams 280 magnum go flat in his 396 after not prelubing it when it sat for over a year. The pistons had to be pressed off the rods because cam material was in between the pin and the piston. You need to tear it down and flush every oil passage.

 

[vegasjones]

Well when the cam lobes went down I did pull the motor. Took the intake off. Took the pan off. And that's when we douched it all out with brake cleaner. But it sounds like that wasn't enough.

Bummer. Well since its all re-assembled already I'm just going to run it as long as it will let me run it. If it starts knocking or losing oil pressure then I'll take it all in to an engine shop.

Thanks for all your input. I'll go read that bad cams sticky.

Thanks.

 

[sschevellefan]

Well when the cam lobes went down I did pull the motor. Took the intake off. Took the pan off. And that's when we douched it all out with brake cleaner. But it sounds like that wasn't enough.

Bummer. Well since its all re-assembled already I'm just going to run it as long as it will let me run it. If it starts knocking or losing oil pressure then I'll take it all in to an engine shop.

Thanks for all your input. I'll go read that bad cams sticky.

Thanks.

The problem with risking it like that is if you tear it down now you will get all the metal out of it and you can probably just ring and bearing the lower end. If you risk it there is a good chance you can ruin the crankshaft, rods and/or pistons and it`ll cost you alot more money later then just some rings and bearings now. But it is your engine and your choice, we can only offer suggestions.

 

[vegasjones]

And believe me, I greatly appreciate the suggestions. I guess I'm just to the point of frustration with this motor that if something goes wrong I'm going to be taking it to an engine shop either way. Its cost me a lot more than I thought it would and I kind of need to "catch up" financially. If something goes wrong down the road I'll just take it to an engine shop.

I'm definitely regretting going with a big block in this car. Between the cam going down, the engine running hotter than I'm comfortable with, and all the problems I've run into with the swap I should've just stuck with a SBC.

 

[sschevellefan]

if you cant afford to tear it down now, how are you going to pay for it when it needs a full rotating assembly? Like I said, your money, your engine. Just trying to help you see a little money now is better than alot of money later.

as for the cooling issue, did you upgrade your radiator when you did the swap? what temp is it running at?

 

[Blownchevelle68]

Maybe you'll get lucky with the filter and pan magnets in place. Agree with above posters a complete clean up would be better.

Have a couple oil changes worth of filters and oil handy and change it out just a few mins after getting it going, then again after a few miles are put on. Best of luck...

 

[427L88]

Change the oil and filters quick a few times. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Hi all.

I just put a 396 in my 65 Chevelle. On the initial build and start up we lost quite a few lobes and ended up having to replace the cam. I've now read that Comp Cams are notorious for going down. I had a filter magnet that caught A LOT of the metal from the cams going down so I'm sure that helped.

We pulled the motor, took off the intake/pan and completely douched everything out with about 15 cans of brake cleaner. The bearings looked fine other than the very front bearing had a really slight score around the middle. I'm running an oil filter magnet and also a trans pan magnet on the oil pan to try and catch an add'l metal that may be floating around.

I pulled the filter last night after the initial break in oil change and there was some metal in the filter but nothing like what was there after the lobes went down.

I guess I just wanted to get some thoughts on what my chances are of this motor lasting and if something goes wrong....what I should've done differently.

Can anyone share any experience they've had with something like this?

You didn't say, and no one asked, so I will. What oil were you running when the lobes went down? And what oil are you running now? Oil is of course part of the equation, because the wear protection provided by oil varies greatly depending on which oil you use, even among high zinc oils that many folks favor.

540 RAT
Member SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)

 

[ToocoolZ28]

When my 427 wiped the cam I pulled the intake and oil pan drain plug and poured 5 gallons of kerosene slowly all over everything and let it drain for a day, then poured 6 quarts of oil all over everything and let it drain. I then turned the engine a couple of turns and did it again. I put it back together, broke in the new cam and lifters and immediately changed the oil again. That was 3 years and 12000 miles ago and still going strong.
I gambled and won, hopefully you will too.

 

[Bluegoose1970]

Hope you changed the oil pump, if not it probably looks like the cam.
Back 70's I used a steel brush to clean gaskets off, oh to be young again, one 1/2" bristle must have came off, only thing in the pump, welded the gears after 1000 miles.
Hate to see it after a cam wipe out.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[vegasjones]

if you cant afford to tear it down now, how are you going to pay for it when it needs a full rotating assembly? Like I said, your money, your engine. Just trying to help you see a little money now is better than alot of money later.

as for the cooling issue, did you upgrade your radiator when you did the swap? what temp is it running at?

I hear ya. And honestly, at this point it's not so much about the money, it's more about the frustration of it all. I'm just kind of "done" at this point. Worked on it so much over the past month and a half I'm just burned out.

As far as the cooling I've got it running around 210. I realize that's not nearly overheating, but I'd just like to get it cooler. I did swap the radiator to a 4 core aluminum with a Flexalite dual fan full shroud setup that covers almost the entire core. Put a new distributor in as the one I had didn't have vacuum advance and that all helped. I'd like to get down another 10 degrees or so ad I'd feel more comfortable.

 

[vegasjones]

Hope you changed the oil pump, if not it probably looks like the cam.
Back 70's I used a steel brush to clean gaskets off, oh to be young again, one 1/2" bristle must have came off, only thing in the pump, welded the gears after 1000 miles.
Hate to see it after a cam wipe out.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

Unfortunately I did not. Didn't even think about it.

 

[vegasjones]

You didn't say, and no one asked, so I will. What oil were you running when the lobes went down? And what oil are you running now? Oil is of course part of the equation, because the wear protection provided by oil varies greatly depending on which oil you use, even among high zinc oils that many folks favor.

540 RAT
Member SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)

This definitely contributed to the cam going down. I was advised to use non detergent 30 wt. to break it in. And I used the red comp cams stuff to lube it and it sat after we put the cam in. I now see everything we did wrong with the initial cam and now it looks like its going to cost me in the long run.

On this new cam I coated the cam with the thick Redline lube and ran Lucas break in oil along with Comp cams additive. I just changed the oil and used VR1 20-50. Break in went fine with this cam. Running ver strong for now. Just a matter of how long it's going to run strong.

 

[Tom Mobley]

>>> "I was advised to use non detergent 30 wt. to break it in."

OMG, non-detergent oil. after all these decades. whoever is advising you, dump him, he not only clueless but he's apparently determined to remain clueless. The ND oil breakin ruined your cam. That stuff is for lawn mowers, air compressors.