Yanked the lifters.

Yanked the camshaft.

Here are the pictures and I welcome any comments. (later when I'm done, I was thinking of having a thread documenting the shiz I've done. Most importantly to praise my consultant. )

126K miles, never had this opened up to see the light of day since the factory.

http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s...odge/Camshaft/

 

Are you putting in a bigger cam? It doesn't look bad from photos but cam wear cannot really be captured by photos very well unless it is cratered.

 

Yes. It's not crazy big. Can still use stock valvetrain, except decided to get new lifters. Good reason too based on 2 lobes having very slight scoring. Rest of surfaces, especially bearing are good shape, meaning relief that cam bearings are good...still.

 

One of the bearing journals looked a little scuffed too.... are you replacing the cam bearings as well?? They aren't that expensive, or hard to change.... I highly recommend it.....

 

So your eye sees something otherwise. Feel free to show me which picture shows such scuffing. Let me know how's a cause for change out, b/c it was not intended to replace them if there wasn't anything warranting.

Thanks for the observation and further elaboration as I know you've built many a engine.

 

Journal on the left there. Or, is that just finger wipes and such?

 

I am not a 100% sure if you can change the cam bearings from the front of the motor. I had to go in from the back through the welsh plug.

 

More pics of the journal in question.







You can see the coloration change 180* on what HeyYou is calling scuffing. So what is scuffing exactly? There is no surface indentation or scoring here. Nothing physical to the surface, unless in the thousandths.

Please explain what your thoughts are and per the FSM, which does not seem to provide enough detail on cam bearing replacement, you also explain how it is relatively easy to replace?

Thanks

(ps. feel free to break out these posts to a separate thread since you have the powah)

 

Ok, sucked these out, made a new thread, in the tech section......

There is a nifty neato special tool for replacing cam bearings. Basically, its a slide hammer with the correct 'ends' on it, to drive the bearings in/out of the bearing bore in the block. On some, you have to be DAMN sure you get the oil holes lined up correctly, or you will smoke it all the first time you start the engine. The FSM should have something fairly detailed on that???? Should.......

I don't know if you can do them from the front.... Merc has a point there. If you can't, well.... you can't. That, and there is a plug not unlike a freeze plug in the back of the cam bore, and if you knocked that out, you would be in trouble. (pull the motor to put it back in.....

The lines and such that you see in the darker portion of the cam journal is what I call scuffing. You won't be able to feel it, may, if it's really bad, if you run your finger nail across it, you might feel something, but, yours doesn't look that bad...... If you can, have a look at the bearings in the block. If you don't see anything obviously ugly, no copper showing thru the babbit, etc. just clean 'em up, and leave 'em in there. I have used paper towels to get the 'dry', and then a silk rag to polish them up. But, I tend to be a bit ****.

Be REALLY generous with the break-in lube when you put it back together.

 

what cam are you using? are you upgrading the computer?