Cam break in fail. Looking for opinions.

SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
So I got a set of new blox cams a couple months ago. They were from a private party, but were def never installed. They had extremely light rust discoloration, which cleaned up easily with a scotch pad. Wasn't even close to surface rust per se...just discoloration. I installed and timed correctly, lubed properly, and once started, held at 2-3000 for 20 min. I will say, it took about 10 sec to start, which is a slight negative, but didn't concern me too much at the time.

Well, I just pulled my vc a few days ago, and found this...




I don't know how well you can see it, but the rocker pads wore into the lobes enough that there is a very distinct lip, and there are chatter marks as you approach peak lift, only on the primary lobes. Also, its only the exhaust, the intake is fine.

My thoughts are this...I did skimp and bought cheap cams, but worse yet I did forget one potentially very important thing. I have Brian Crower dual spring valve springs. I know that with v8's, it is a big no no to break in a cam with high pressure valve springs. You are supposed to put stockers in, or remove the inner spring. Is it the same with our engines?

Anyway, I'm looking for suggestions as to what else I may have done wrong.
 
Last edited:

MrGurley

************5-0
fail... you can haz it!

lol idk about the breaking the valvesprings in, when i bult my ls motor i did it with the 404's and it didnt give me any issues, but im not sure. hopefully its just the cam that was the issue
 

SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
Yea, I gotta quit cheapin out on shtuff...
 


AlexD

J13 sooo mad
I ran blox b's no problem in my gsr.

what were the cams degreed to? did you even get your car tuned for them regardless of break in?
 

SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
Lol...not saying blox cams are bad, period. Just think there is more of a risk of getting a bad one. I was preparing to take it to a dyno, so simply set my cam gears at 0, temporarily. I was running a base mapped chip by phearable, again because I hadn't taken it to get tuned yet. Not in the least bit concerned about this causing the damage. If I had piston damage, that would be another story.
 

AlexD

J13 sooo mad
Was your basemap for blox cams?

even at 0,0 I wouldnt drive an untuned cammed car.
 


SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
Phearable makes their basemaps pretty safe. I was running fairly rich... I just wasn't ripping on it much.
 

Jvest

*GET SHOOK*
I know quite a few people who run blox cams and never had any problems with them whatsoever.....
I would check to Make sure your valves are adjusted correctly or something along those lines because just from experience I find it hard to believe that it was a defect in the cams..
Hope you get it figured out before something else gets damaged.
Good luck
 

SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
Not saying it couldn't have been an issue with my valves, but I had set them, obviously, after installing my cams and I know they were right. And the wear wasn't just one or 2 lobes, it was every single primary, and only the exhaust. I would have thought that if I had an issue with valve clearances, it would have only been on certain lobes... My head is at the machine shop right now to be cleaned and inspected.
 
Last edited:

SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
I do appreciate the input, though. If i can find an area I screwed up, that is good, cause then I can correct!
 

jdmjim

nothing from nowhere
how is a tune gonna cause a lobe to wipe?? maybe on a boosted car you'll melt a piston for not enough fuel. i think you just got a bad cam. i dont think the springs did it, but im not a machinist that sees this stuff everyday
 

phatintegra

Banned
My machinist has a machine that can resurface camshafts. I check your local machinist how much they charge to see if it's worth it to get it re surface or just to buy another set of cams.
 

SexySSBP

Kwicherbichen
how is a tune gonna cause a lobe to wipe?? maybe on a boosted car you'll melt a piston for not enough fuel. i think you just got a bad cam. i dont think the springs did it, but im not a machinist that sees this stuff everyday
We both know a tune didn't cause this ;)
 
Top