I wiped a *&^@$%#*^ lobe off my cam,

-
Coyote Jack

Coyote Jack

Member #55, I'm old
FABO Gold Member
Joined
May 22, 2004
Messages
8,704
Reaction score
3,898
Location
Baxters Corner N.B. Canad
After I received the rocker and pushrod from dgc333 I went out this morning to install them. I was putting things together and it just wasn't going right. I said, crap, a few times, and started taking the top off the engine. 30 minutes later I found the problem. Number 3 exhaust lobe is in the process of disappearing from the face of the earth. I ended up going to town and ordering a new cam from the local Dodge engine guru. I am getting the Comp Cams Extreme Energy 268. It will work good in my setup. All the other lobes on the cam looked perfect so I have to come to the conclusion that whatever happened to bend the pushrod is what caused the cam lobe to go bad. The cam had been in the engine for 3 years. It's a good thing I enjoy working on cars almost as much as I enjoy driving them. LOL Oh well, I will be back on the road again next weekend.

Jack
 
Ooooooooooh........ a real pain........ I gotta put one in my little 273 pretty quick too Jack.......she's gettin' pretty tired...........

Good luck on the swap.......Be careful. (and have FUN with it!) :-D
 
Sorry to hear about your cam Jack,but on the other hand now you know all is good!:cheers:It,s a good feeling to accomplish improvements on your car,I,m sure you enjoy it with a couple brown pops and friends.Get er done!:clock::-D
 
How long has the cam in there? What cam was it? What lifters were you using? What oil do you run? Not trying to be a smart&%^. I am just curious?
 
Badart said:
How long has the cam in there? What cam was it? What lifters were you using? What oil do you run? Not trying to be a smart&%^. I am just curious?
Click to expand...

The cam was a Comp Cams 280H.It's been in there for 3 years, about 5 or 6000 miles. The lifters were the ones that came with the cam. I was using Rotella T 15-45.

I am not 100% sure what happened but the pushrod guide was completely worn out while all the others look as good as the day they were installed. I think it's one of those things that I will never know and I can only guess what happened first.

Jack
 
So what's the plan for getting this back running ?
 
Sorry to hear about the damage! Are you going to by chance pull the oil pan and clean out all the ground up metal?
 
How often does wiping a lobe or lifter happen during break in?
I just broke in my Lunati cam and was nervous the whole time that it wore in without issue.

Sucks you had to buy a new cam. Maybe it will end up being better then the one you had in there.
 
Every FABO member that is running a flat tappet cam, either solid lifter or hydraulic, should change their oil to a racing oil that has zinc in it or add a zinc
additive right away. Don't wait, the cam you ruin may be your own. (lol)
toolman
 
if, and it is an expensive if, you were to have a roller would the new oils be OK with out any additives? i know this has been asked before, it was probably by me. i have read that if the spring pressure was high enough with a mechanical roller you should use an additive anyway. what would a high enough spring pressure be to warrant an additive? i know that most, if not all, new vehicles have a roller cam in them, but i am sure the spring pressure is low enough to not have any issues...
 
Rollers don't require special oil. That's the direction we're all headed I'm afraid.
 
The engine is already out and I had a good look at everything. There were no signs of bearing problems. I cut the filter apart and if there were any pieces of metal there,I couldn't see them. The lifter in question came out without any force being applied other than to stick my finger under the lifter and push it up, no binding at all. The pan was clean as well, not even any sludge. I don't know where the particles went, but I can't find them. They may be there but they are to small for my eyes if they are there. The lobe was not gone, it was just worn a little and the lifter was hollowed out very little. I think I may have caught it in time. Like I said, the only indication I had was it just didn't feel right when I was putting it together. I decided to check everything and that is when I found the lobe starting to deteriorate. It is a lot of work, but I like to make sure. Now to see if I can find some decent oil around here. What a pain in the backside that is.

Jack
 
Damn Jack, you dont waste any time do you!? Good luck on finding the oil you need and let us know when she's back up and running.
 
Use Brad Penn oil. By the way, the shops around here and many Pontiac folks have issues with the fast ramp rates of Comp Cams.
 
On the oil side I have been buying the addatives and I e-mailed Royal Purple out of curiosity when thinking about the switch now that the engine is broke in.

The rep told me I didn't need any additive for a flat tappet cam and it would be all good.

Any opinions?
 
71Duster said:
On the oil side I have been buying the addatives and I e-mailed Royal Purple out of curiosity when thinking about the switch now that the engine is broke in.

The rep told me I didn't need any additive for a flat tappet cam and it would be all good.

Any opinions?
Click to expand...

From everything I've read/heard about zinc/phosphorous additives I personally would not take the word of your rep as gospel. For the minimal expense I would use the additives if I were you. I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others than to make them myself.
 
Coyote Jack said:
The engine is already out and I had a good look at everything. There were no signs of bearing problems. I cut the filter apart and if there were any pieces of metal there,I couldn't see them. The lifter in question came out without any force being applied other than to stick my finger under the lifter and push it up, no binding at all. The pan was clean as well, not even any sludge. I don't know where the particles went, but I can't find them. They may be there but they are to small for my eyes if they are there. The lobe was not gone, it was just worn a little and the lifter was hollowed out very little. I think I may have caught it in time. Like I said, the only indication I had was it just didn't feel right when I was putting it together. I decided to check everything and that is when I found the lobe starting to deteriorate. It is a lot of work, but I like to make sure. Now to see if I can find some decent oil around here. What a pain in the backside that is.

Jack
Click to expand...

you were smart to take it out and go thru it , did you look at the piston skirt under the affected lobe and open up the oil pump , the metal goes thru the pump before it hits the filter .

sounds like you caught it in time .

I now rotate the engine over by hand with the valley open and make sure all the lifters and pushrods rotate appropriately before run in .

I've also heard that using additives is not as good as using an oil with the additive mixed in during the making of the oil product ???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top