So My engine ate the cam
#1
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So My engine ate the cam
At a bit of a crossroads here, my engine decided to eat the cam today. I have rice sized metal at the small holes of the oil filter. This leads me to believe it's done. Just wanting some opinion these are my options IMO:
1)I have a spare complete long block here, 416 heads stock cam.
1A)swap in another Summit cam kit and run it.
1B)run the peanut cam as-is
1C)Swap on the ported 416es from my current engine.
1D)Swap on the L05s I have. I am wanting to go boosted eventually so this would lower the CR but I'm not objectionable to that.
2)I have an L03 short block here, with an L98 TPI 'vette cam in it. No heads on it now.
2A)Pull my ported 416es from the current engine and reinstall
2B)Put a set of L05 heads.
3)Shove another cam in my current engine and hope for the best, and/or pull a few caps and see what kind of junk actually made it down below.
The cam I had was at least from 07, and I got it NIB from a member here who I suspect sat on it for some time. That means it would have been right in the heart of the flat shoddy tappet lifter era. Should I even consider doing another FT cam again?
1)I have a spare complete long block here, 416 heads stock cam.
1A)swap in another Summit cam kit and run it.
1B)run the peanut cam as-is
1C)Swap on the ported 416es from my current engine.
1D)Swap on the L05s I have. I am wanting to go boosted eventually so this would lower the CR but I'm not objectionable to that.
2)I have an L03 short block here, with an L98 TPI 'vette cam in it. No heads on it now.
2A)Pull my ported 416es from the current engine and reinstall
2B)Put a set of L05 heads.
3)Shove another cam in my current engine and hope for the best, and/or pull a few caps and see what kind of junk actually made it down below.
The cam I had was at least from 07, and I got it NIB from a member here who I suspect sat on it for some time. That means it would have been right in the heart of the flat shoddy tappet lifter era. Should I even consider doing another FT cam again?
#2
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
So you weren't using any ZDDP additive?
I have a friend running those Chinese lifters, and they're surviving just fine. He runs cheap 10W30, plus a new, full, bottle of EOS every 3000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first.
ZDDP isn't just for "break-in", it MUST be in there ALL the time.
Well, now that you're here, go roller lifters, sleep better, and save money long-term.
I have a friend running those Chinese lifters, and they're surviving just fine. He runs cheap 10W30, plus a new, full, bottle of EOS every 3000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first.
ZDDP isn't just for "break-in", it MUST be in there ALL the time.
Well, now that you're here, go roller lifters, sleep better, and save money long-term.
#4
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Car: '86 TA
Engine: '74 350
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 2.77
Re: So My engine ate the cam
Parts over here cost about double US or more, cheapest lifters I could find were about $800 AUD, so I stayed FT. However, the price of the Howards lifters there in the US looks lower now, I would probably go that route.
#6
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
On another interesting note I pulled some of the lifters. Based on what I can see there are a few shiny cam lobes, but no "bowled" lifters so far. The dist gear is definitely gone! It was a melanized one and I was using it with a Summit flat tappet kit. I didn't think they were supposed to eat them. Did I miss something here?
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#8
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Car: 1982 Trans-Am
Engine: 355 w/ ported 416s
Transmission: T10, hurst shifter
Axle/Gears: 10 bolt, true-trac, 3.73
Re: So My engine ate the cam
I can't seem to tell what your current setup is, you haven't really told us what cam it is, what the block is etc?
Yank your intake manifold (or have you?) and pull the pushrods and lifters. If the lifters and cam are fine, maybe you just toasted the dist gear. If so, get another normal stock on, and go to town. Let your oil filter pick up the trash and keep driving. Can't do any more harm now...
Yank your intake manifold (or have you?) and pull the pushrods and lifters. If the lifters and cam are fine, maybe you just toasted the dist gear. If so, get another normal stock on, and go to town. Let your oil filter pick up the trash and keep driving. Can't do any more harm now...
#9
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Car: 00 SSEi / 94 C4
Engine: 231 / 383
Transmission: 4T65E / ZF 6sp
Axle/Gears: 2.93 / Dana 44 3:45
Re: So My engine ate the cam
years back... I gave my perfectly fine running engine to my.. in-Law... he bought a summit
cam, lifter combo... I installed... with Moly break in lube.. they must have disgustingly SOFT cams... some lobes were gone and typical lifter concave wear....
I honestly would stay away... from there cams
PS of all the builds I have done... never had other cams do this....
cam, lifter combo... I installed... with Moly break in lube.. they must have disgustingly SOFT cams... some lobes were gone and typical lifter concave wear....
I honestly would stay away... from there cams
PS of all the builds I have done... never had other cams do this....
#10
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Car: 00 SSEi / 94 C4
Engine: 231 / 383
Transmission: 4T65E / ZF 6sp
Axle/Gears: 2.93 / Dana 44 3:45
Re: So My engine ate the cam
I can't seem to tell what your current setup is, you haven't really told us what cam it is, what the block is etc?
Yank your intake manifold (or have you?) and pull the pushrods and lifters. If the lifters and cam are fine, maybe you just toasted the dist gear. If so, get another normal stock on, and go to town. Let your oil filter pick up the trash and keep driving. Can't do any more harm now...
Yank your intake manifold (or have you?) and pull the pushrods and lifters. If the lifters and cam are fine, maybe you just toasted the dist gear. If so, get another normal stock on, and go to town. Let your oil filter pick up the trash and keep driving. Can't do any more harm now...
#11
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Car: 1982 Trans-Am
Engine: 355 w/ ported 416s
Transmission: T10, hurst shifter
Axle/Gears: 10 bolt, true-trac, 3.73
Re: So My engine ate the cam
I would hope he'd be installing an "oil filter", to pick up those particles? Grab a wix and sleep well.
#13
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Car: 1982 Trans-Am
Engine: 355 w/ ported 416s
Transmission: T10, hurst shifter
Axle/Gears: 10 bolt, true-trac, 3.73
Re: So My engine ate the cam
Actually, now that I think about it, a wiped cam & lifters would HIGHLY LIKELY -- NOT create rize sized chunks of metal. That does sound like teeth on a gear came off. If they are gone on the distributor, I would want to shine a flashlight down there to check the condition of the cams teeth. Hopefully they're ok, and you're only needing a new distributor gear!
#14
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
Already pulled the top end, I have a bad feeling on this one. Engine's coming out to investigate regardless if it goes back in or not. I'm not going to take chances on it.
My theory is that the thrust of the cam is off because it's a flat tappet cam and it flattened a buncha lobes. Cam thrust gets outa whack, causes the gear alignment to get off and chews the gear. Just a guess though.
My theory is that the thrust of the cam is off because it's a flat tappet cam and it flattened a buncha lobes. Cam thrust gets outa whack, causes the gear alignment to get off and chews the gear. Just a guess though.
#15
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
flat cams don't use thrust plates, nor buttons. It's just the crown of the lifters, and the angled lobes, that pushes the cam back, by indirect valvespring pressure, against the rear "freeze plug" in the back end of the cam bore. If that had moved, then your ignition timing would have changed dramatically, if not instantly.
For the cam to walk forward, there would have to be a problem with all the lifters / lobes.
For the cam to walk forward, there would have to be a problem with all the lifters / lobes.
#16
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Car: '86 TA
Engine: '74 350
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 2.77
Re: So My engine ate the cam
There is the oil pump pressure pushing the cam back in the block, does this completely suppress the cam's ability to walk forward?
Re dist gear - last cam change, mine was starting to get chewed up too. The cam drive gear was fine. I put it down to use of the cheapest Chinesium.
#17
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
I think you're right. And I forgot about the oil pump. And I never heard of Chinesium, very funny!
I used to think the lifter bores were angled, but that can't be, since the '87-up blocks came with both types of lifters in them.
I used to think the lifter bores were angled, but that can't be, since the '87-up blocks came with both types of lifters in them.
#18
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Car: 1982 Trans-Am
Engine: 355 w/ ported 416s
Transmission: T10, hurst shifter
Axle/Gears: 10 bolt, true-trac, 3.73
Re: So My engine ate the cam
I thought your lifters looked good? You don't need to pull the engine to check that, just the intake manifold. I'd try that first.
#19
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
Roller cams are ground from a steel billet while flat tappet cams are ground from a nodular iron casting. Unless an iron dist/oil pump drive gear is installed onto the billet cam, the roller cam's gear will not stand up against a hard steel dist gear. Bronze gears are available for this. Best route if running a roller cam is to spend the money for a good unit with iron drive gear. If you're running a flat tappet cam, you have a much longer list of issues to deal with.
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Car: 1984 Z28 Hardtop
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
That's if you're using a steel billet cam with a steel gear. Lots (maybe even most these days?) of street roller cams have iron gears pressed on for compatibility with stock distributor gears.
#21
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Re: So My engine ate the cam
FT cam, Melonized GM gear that should work for either a tappet or a production roller cam. Called Summit Racing support and confirmed it should be ok. Have pulled out 3/8 of the lifters and they looked fine, I'm wondering about the cam blank now. I am also wondering if the pump was chewing up bits of junk in it that increased the torque loading on the dist gear. Then again I would have thought it would have sheared the roll pin first, but that would be what I'd get for thinking.
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