Camshaft replacement

[MiGorda]

As you know, I need to replace my cam and lifters, there is financial support in Amazon but just 2 options, those are cams one step up, more agressives, one Bare Bones and the other a Vodoo. The issue is that is important to reprogram the ECU and I can´t at this moment. With my current cam there was a little inestability in the engine and more waste of gas, so what you think about this options, the engine would be worst performance or maybe remains like now?

10120102LK​

10120702LK​

The other concern is about the springs, current springs should match correctly with one of these new cam?

Here is the reason of the damage:

Lifter replacement

Hello I need to replace a damaged lifter in my 350 TBI. Around 9,000 miles the engine was rebuilt and put a Lunati kit with lifters included, the cam is not very agressive (Advertised Duration 280/290, Lift .443/.465) and the truck is my daily driver and use to drive quitely...

www.gmt400.com

Thanks

 

[Schurkey]

Perhaps a moderator will combine this thread with your previous thread, so that the whole back-story is apparent.

Post a photo of the lifter valley of your block. If that block has provisions for the dogbones and retainer-spider, you're nuts to put another flat-tappet cam in there. Find a Treasure Yard, locate a suitable core engine (clean inside, not rusted) and scavenge the cam, thrust plate and hardware, lifters, dogbones, spider and hardware, and maybe the timing set, and put an OEM roller cam in your block. Take the lifters apart ONE AT A TIME for cleaning and inspection before installation.

The only tricky parts of this is that
1. There's an "early" and a "late" design thrust plate, and it'll have to match your block. Far as I know, they're still available new--so even if the core engine has the wrong style to fit your engine, you could buy the right one for very little money, and

2. You need a different timing set--one intended for the roller cam since the nose of the roller cam has a smaller bolt circle, and the timing set has to match that.

Depending on how Treasure Yards near you price parts, you could get everything you need for maybe $50 or the equivalent--less than what you'd pay for some hot-rod flat-tappet cam.

And then hope that your bearings, journals, pistons, cylinder walls survived the debris from your previous cam/lifter failure--which is not guaranteed.

 

[MiGorda]

Perhaps a moderator will combine this thread with your previous thread, so that the whole back-story is apparent.

Post a photo of the lifter valley of your block. If that block has provisions for the dogbones and retainer-spider, you're nuts to put another flat-tappet cam in there. Find a Treasure Yard, locate a suitable core engine (clean inside, not rusted) and scavenge the cam, thrust plate and hardware, lifters, dogbones, spider and hardware, and maybe the timing set, and put an OEM roller cam in your block. Take the lifters apart ONE AT A TIME for cleaning and inspection before installation.

The only tricky parts of this is that
1. There's an "early" and a "late" design thrust plate, and it'll have to match your block. Far as I know, they're still available new--so even if the core engine has the wrong style to fit your engine, you could buy the right one for very little money, and

2. You need a different timing set--one intended for the roller cam since the nose of the roller cam has a smaller bolt circle, and the timing set has to match that.

Depending on how Treasure Yards near you price parts, you could get everything you need for maybe $50 or the equivalent--less than what you'd pay for some hot-rod flat-tappet cam.

And then hope that your bearings, journals, pistons, cylinder walls survived the debris from your previous cam/lifter failure--which is not guaranteed.

Please take a look into my other thread and read my last answer to Erik.

I'm going to disassamble the engine front and remove the cam and hopefully wouldn´t find too much damage and I just need to replace cam and lifters, so I have the same rquest for you like I had to Hipster, please tel me what you think about putting one of those cams with my current springs.

Another option is a less agressive cam, I think the engine will work better and even better MPG but the springs will match with this cam

10120100LK?​

This is very similar to my first Vodoo and I loved the engine performance, later put the T56 and MPG improve very nice, with the current cam the MPG went down because the ECU can´t manage the fuel consum and other things.

Thanks Schurkey

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Another option is a less agressive cam, I think the engine will work better and even better MPG but the springs will match with this cam

10120100LK?​

I had that very same cam kit. It wore down too and wound up wiping out the engine (see Post #19 on your other thread). Without cleaning everything to "hospital clean", You WILL be doing it over, possibly with a new short block. or a rotating assembly. Do what you wanna do, it's your truck

 

[Erik the Awful]

I don't think either of those cams will run with a stock tune.

There's no way I'd put a larger cam in without new springs. If you lose a valvespring you're going to be bouncing the valve off the top of the piston and trash your engine. I never put used springs in my engines. Yeah, it's another $40, but another engine is significantly more expensive.

More Information for MELLING VS380

[storytime]
About seven years ago my race team went to Barber Motorsports Park with our E36 BMW. We got set up on test-n-tune day and our first driver got out on track to make sure the car was good. It ran strong and he radioed that he was bringing it in for the next driver to get a few laps of practice. Then he came in on the hook. On the back straight it started running like butt and he shut it down.

Back in the pits we fired it up and it was obvious there was engine damage. We pulled the valvecover and found one of the valve retainers broken, but in place. The valve wasn't closing all the way and the piston was hitting it. We pulled the head and found that we got extremely lucky. The valve was bent, and there were kiss marks on the piston, but there wasn't any more damage. We found another head locally and went to do the swap.

We quickly discovered we actually bought an E46 head that wouldn't bolt up. The valves were the same, so we swapped over a single valve, spring, and retainer. We didn't have a new head gasket nor new torque-to-yield head bolts, and neither did any of the parts stores. We got the old head gasket off clean, so we shot it with a heavy layer of copper coat and put it back together with 5 ft/lbs of torque less than spec'd in the book. We wrapped up at 3am while the drivers were all at the hotel sleeping. The next morning we fired the engine up, and it immediately made chocolate milk. We were done before the race even started.

Even worse was the time our MR2 broke a valvespring and the piston ate the valve head approximately 53,447 times before the engine got shut down. I don't have a picture of that, but it was bad. I was deployed at the time, so I wasn't there to help rebuild the engine at the track.

 

[MiGorda]

Perhaps a moderator will combine this thread with your previous thread, so that the whole back-story is apparent.

Post a photo of the lifter valley of your block. If that block has provisions for the dogbones and retainer-spider, you're nuts to put another flat-tappet cam in there. Find a Treasure Yard, locate a suitable core engine (clean inside, not rusted) and scavenge the cam, thrust plate and hardware, lifters, dogbones, spider and hardware, and maybe the timing set, and put an OEM roller cam in your block. Take the lifters apart ONE AT A TIME for cleaning and inspection before installation.

The only tricky parts of this is that
1. There's an "early" and a "late" design thrust plate, and it'll have to match your block. Far as I know, they're still available new--so even if the core engine has the wrong style to fit your engine, you could buy the right one for very little money, and

2. You need a different timing set--one intended for the roller cam since the nose of the roller cam has a smaller bolt circle, and the timing set has to match that.

Depending on how Treasure Yards near you price parts, you could get everything you need for maybe $50 or the equivalent--less than what you'd pay for some hot-rod flat-tappet cam.

And then hope that your bearings, journals, pistons, cylinder walls survived the debris from your previous cam/lifter failure--which is not guaranteed.

You must be registered for see images attach

Many years ago I analyse the swap to a roller cam but another reason that I wouldn´t do it is that I love this truck and I want to keep it as was born

 

[MiGorda]

I had that very same cam kit. It wore down too and wound up wiping out the engine (see Post #19 on your other thread). Without cleaning everything to "hospital clean", You WILL be doing it over, possibly with a new short block. or a rotating assembly. Do what you wanna do, it's your truck

I never mentioned that wouldn´t clean the engine but anyway I need a new cam

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[MiGorda]

I don't think either of those cams will run with a stock tune.

There's no way I'd put a larger cam in without new springs. If you lose a valvespring you're going to be bouncing the valve off the top of the piston and trash your engine. I never put used springs in my engines. Yeah, it's another $40, but another engine is significantly more expensive.

More Information for MELLING VS380

[storytime]
About seven years ago my race team went to Barber Motorsports Park with our E36 BMW. We got set up on test-n-tune day and our first driver got out on track to make sure the car was good. It ran strong and he radioed that he was bringing it in for the next driver to get a few laps of practice. Then he came in on the hook. On the back straight it started running like butt and he shut it down.

Back in the pits we fired it up and it was obvious there was engine damage. We pulled the valvecover and found one of the valve retainers broken, but in place. The valve wasn't closing all the way and the piston was hitting it. We pulled the head and found that we got extremely lucky. The valve was bent, and there were kiss marks on the piston, but there wasn't any more damage. We found another head locally and went to do the swap.

We quickly discovered we actually bought an E46 head that wouldn't bolt up. The valves were the same, so we swapped over a single valve, spring, and retainer. We didn't have a new head gasket nor new torque-to-yield head bolts, and neither did any of the parts stores. We got the old head gasket off clean, so we shot it with a heavy layer of copper coat and put it back together with 5 ft/lbs of torque less than spec'd in the book. We wrapped up at 3am while the drivers were all at the hotel sleeping. The next morning we fired the engine up, and it immediately made chocolate milk. We were done before the race even started.

Even worse was the time our MR2 broke a valvespring and the piston ate the valve head approximately 53,447 times before the engine got shut down. I don't have a picture of that, but it was bad. I was deployed at the time, so I wasn't there to help rebuild the engine at the track.

Ok, those cams I mentioned is because are the only availables in Amazon Mexico with financial support, not because I want more power. So now, what you think about the "downgrade" to this one 10120100LK, you think I can keep the springs?

Now once again let me be clear, I understand what all of you say about cleaning the engine, I'll do the best I can but I need to save all the money as possible. When this engine was rebuild I could spend all the money for a good job and I did it, almost everything inside is new excpet the crankshaft and the piston rods, I bought a kit from Summit for the block and one whole kit for the cam, the engine and heads were removed from the truck and got a full service.

Now I can't but in case that I need to do it I'll have to wait in order to get the money.

So let me make another question, this engines are fabulous not like new ones, they can run even with internal damage, actually I needed to rebuild it because many mechanics couldn't find why it was loosing oil, turned out to be the PCV hole in the throttle body was clogged, that worn out the pistons, even so the engine worked almost fine like 5 years.

My question is, if I don´t make a perfect cleaning, just remove the oil pan and without removing the engine from the truck I ask to my mechanic to do the best he can, do you think that at least could last a "few" miles, maybe 30,000? and maybe if my economy is better I will do another rebuild.

Thanks Erik

 

[Road Trip]

My question is, if I don´t make a perfect cleaning, just remove the oil pan and without removing the engine from the truck I ask to my mechanic to do the best he can, do you think that at least could last a "few" miles, maybe 30,000? and maybe if my economy is better I will do another rebuild.

Thanks Erik

Thinking outside the box a bit, sometimes a 2-step repair is cheaper than a single step?

That is, finding a used engine that will last a "few" miles, stuff that in, and use this to
keep your truck on the road while you keep the original engine, wait for the finances to
improve, and then rebuild your original engine right? (I read elsewhere that you really
want to keep this longtime traveling companion as original as possible?)

Then you can swap the restored original engine back in when it's better/easier for you. And
what the heck, if the 'temp' engine is still running, you might be able to sell it to
someone else, helping to defray the overall cost?

In other words, sometimes a placeholder engine actually makes sense when funds are
tight and/or you can't have the truck down that long. Of course the labor cost is
higher, but only you can decide what fits best into your budget.

 

[tayto]

just put a stock cam in, good grief