Out with the old...

[jcaligood]

Just pulled my stock cam. Some of the lobes are a bit ground up. What caused this? Lifters with 80,000 miles on them?







Anyway, new cam going in right now! Im about halfway done. Wish me luck with the rest.

[jcaligood]

[jcaligood]

[jcaligood]

[Blakester]

No clue what caused that on a roller lifter but Are you reusing the lifters?

[jcaligood]

Originally Posted by Blakester

No clue what caused that on a roller lifter but Are you reusing the lifters?

no sir. i have new LS7 lifters about to go in. i just put the new cam in. that was so painful trying to get the right angle and not bang into the bearings. i tapped it a few times trying to put it in, but i dont think i damaged anything.

[0331Marine]

How many lobes are like that? What about to corresponding lifters for each lobe?

[frankwjr]

should really get your mark 1 eye balls on the bottom of the lifter bores to make sure none are f'd up...if any are... possible new block time...worst case scenario...

also I hope the lifter baskets are being replaced too? good luck op...peace

[jcaligood]

Originally Posted by 0331Marine

How many lobes are like that? What about to corresponding lifters for each lobe?

3 lobes have nicks in them.. the rest have normal wear patterns.
only 1 is really bad (shown in pictures)

all lifters spin with minimal resistance

i believe this is the lifter that corresponds to the bad lobe





the reason i decided to swap the cam, i lost oil pressure so i was replacing the oil pump. when i lost pressure, i shut it down immediately and had it towed to my house. i had to start it again for about 10 seconds, to pull it into my garage.
could this be the cause of that damage to the lobe? or would all lobes be affected?
maybe a bad grind on the cam? or maybe bad heat treatment i was reading.

[davidscamaro]

I've done 2 LS cam swaps and never had to tap the cam in or seen wear like that, really hope she lasts long time for you brother. Fingers crossed for you bud

[jcaligood]

Originally Posted by davidscamaro

I've done 2 LS cam swaps and never had to tap the cam in or seen wear like that, really hope she lasts long time for you brother. Fingers crossed for you bud

thanks man.
i've inspected everything and cant seem to find what caused this.
i'm just going to assume a bad heat treatment on the stock cam, or the lifter spun in the tray. going to keep pressing on.. new timing gear/chain going on right now.

[christianchevell]

For good pics use https://imgur.com/




Contaminated oil, poor treatment of the cam, a sticky lifters wheel or two, poor top end oiling, incorrect grade of oil with out proper anti-wear zddp, defective grinding on cam/ micropolish, bad core, failing trunnions causing roller stress, failing lifters internal springs, incorrect spring pressure/preload, etc etc etc could be the causes and not downloading your pics;

From a distance I would wonder about the nicked lobes as they could be from degrading cam which of course hurts bearings or from material;( Metal), entering the lifter bores through the oiling passages and hitting the cam, or from a bad cam to start with. New lifters require new buckets and a good look at the cams lifter bores if you can. Normal lifter use is what you see on the cams lobes that are undamaged a normal slight discolor of the middle of the lobe from the tracking of the roller.

Stock the cams of LS engines have been known to sometimes fail as in any part made enough of that endures stress. Preventative maint I do is a break in with Driven racing BR30, always use WIX filters for full synth now and Drive with Driven ls30 specifically made for a modified LS engine with oiling system designed for 5w30. Of course I have a dogbone dampener , good chain and good high volume pump... even a Harmonic balancer though internally balanced as the engines rock with radical cams and I want things righteous. Good Old flat tappet cams would fail immediately and trash a engine if not broke in right, roller cams though take longer to fail but fail they do especially with higher pressures due to the lift and springs required... Good Luck.