johnsonm

I am in the middle of an "in car" head, cam and intake swap. I am not going to have the time to get everything completed in one shot. Like, I will have to work on this for a couple hours at a time over a period of a couple of weeks.

How soon after I install the cam and lifters and such, do I need to fire off the engine and perform the break in. I am familiar with, once the engine is started, immediatly bring the RPM's to 2500 +/- for 30 minutes.

But is there anything special I need to do if I don't plan on starting/breaking in the cam for a week or two after installation? Can I do this? Will all the assembly lube drip off, dry out, magically dissappear?

I have my Rotella oil, the comp cams assembly lube and a bottle of GM EOS. When do I apply my EOS? Lube the cam (with supplied lube), install it, dump the EOS down the lifter bores, then install my lifters w/ assembly lube on the bottoms?

I am so paranoid about ruining this cam on start up. Thanks for all your help.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Lube the cam, dip the lifters in the EOS to coat their base, put them in; dump the rest of the EOS in the oil. The lube won't go away while waiting for startup.

If the cam mfr says anything to the contrary, do EXACTLY what they say, so that in case it comes down to a question of did you do the right thing, you can honestly tell them you followed their instructions to the letter. With the change in the oil formulations these days, a falt-tappet cam has just turned into a GIANT risk-management exercise, more than anything else.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Yea, best bet is to follow what it says on the cam card. So if (or when... sigh...) the cam fails, you just have a phone conversation going "yes, yes, yes I did that, yes..." and you get another cam free.
What sofa said is probably quite close to what's on the cam card. If you do what he said, and it's slightly different than what's on the cam card, it's probably still good. Rotella, comp assembly lube and EOS are the best thing you can do, good job.

I'm assuming this is a single (with damper) 1.25" spring style valve train? So then you don't have to worry about removing the inner springs - or using break in springs. Unless you're very paranoid...

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I got all spooked about this about this time last year as I was planning a cam swap to a solid lifter cam in the 396. People were saying don't use GF-4 oil, use EOS, take out the center valve spring during break-in, etc. I talked to the good ol' boy engine builder fellow racer (the 3-time track champion) about it, he went over to his bench drawer and pulled out a packet of ARP thread lube. Said he'd never taken out center springs, didn't use diesel oil, and had never wiped out a flat tappet cam when he lubed the lobes and lifter faces with that stuff. It took me about 3 weeks between cam install and first fire, no issues. I changed back to the AMSOIL 5W-30 synthetic diesel oil and had already been using after the cam break-in.

Oh, yeah - 2006 season track champ - the good ol' boy was 2nd. . .