How long can a fresh Cam sit in a engine before being started??

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myasylum

myasylum

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I just read something about starting the engine as soon as you can...

but for one... I haven't even taken the heads in yet, and 2... The engine is not even it the car yet!

Can I just put fresh oil back on the cam when I'm ready to put the heads back on, and install the engine? Or should I take out the cam ,and put it all back together when I'm ready to put it all back together?

Thanks!
 
easiest thing to do...leave the intake manifold off the engine until you get ready to install and start the engine...

then you will have access to the cam...get a good breakin lube for the cam..most will stick to the cam...
 
Is it a flat-tappet or a roller? If its a flat-tappet it should have been THOROUGHLY coated with cam lube or Moly before it was installed, as should the base of the lifters. If thats the case you should be fine. If its not, pull the cam out and coat it, even if you are firing the motor today.DONT use synthetic oil when you are breaking in the cam, change the oil & filter afterwards, you should be fine. I'm gonna assume you know the proper cam break-in procedure. Be careful of the modern "enviromentally friendly" oil blends, they dont have any sulphur in them, & you have a good chance of wiping the cam out before its broken in.
 
i think youll find that they dont want it to set, assembled, too long.the spring inside the lifter will collapse in some cases. and may not pump back up. the other thing is that the contact point of lifter / cam has squeezed all of the oil out and is prone to oxydize at the contact point.there is very little chance of flat spotting it. IMHO. if the heads are off, leave all the prelube on it and cover it up. well. don't let anything get in it. i bag my block. built or not.
 
as noted above...when the cam is installed coat the cam with moly lube....but as i said....you can leave the intake off until it is time to start the engine...

also put moly lube on the bottom of the lifters too..
 
If the cam doesnt need dual springs (not single with a dampner, but truly has an inner and outer spring) then dont worry. Prelube it as normal, and fire it as normal. If it is a dual spring cam, the inners should be removed for the breakin anyway. Also, this assumes you are not turing it over and over and over trying gget it to fire or fill the carb or get oil rpessure. In other words, if you do it right, you're fine. If you vary and do it in other ways, you may have a reason to tear it down so you can replace the lube on the cam. the liquid cam breakin stuff mixes with the oil anyway.
 
I rebuilt an engine for a guy and he didn't fire it until over 3 yrs. later and had no cam problems. It was a single spring setup like Moper described and we had it ready to start up immediately so as not to wipe the cam lube off. Not wiping the lube off from excessive cranking is essential.
 
I used Comp Cams lube on mine and recoated it right before I put the intake on. This lube to me tends to run off. If you can get a moly based paste I would think it would be better.
 
Yeah, any lube that is not a paste will simply mix with the oil in the first few seconds anyway. The paste is good stuff... I always liked Crane... :(
 
I have always used the Moly lube in the big red & black can. cheaper by the pint. Its actually the same stuff as the Crane, or at least looks,smells & tastes the same.
 
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