[Thordane65]

Well boys... the motor is out and I am ready to install the solid cam...

I have read most of the posts rearding this... but any advice you can think of would be great!
Thanks!

 

[ujt389]

Break it in with light valvesprings and use an engine oil suppliment that has some zinc in it to help with the wear patterns.

 

[tonys10sec306]

make sure the engine is ready to run on the first few cranks. get the rpms up 2500 and break the cam in.

 

[ckelly]

FWIW - my local machinest has been using Isky EDM lifters on solid cams. Breaking them in with all springs and using EOS. Whichever method you use, put a pint of EOS in there. When I install my solid cam, I'll switch to Rotella oil as it has a good percentage of anti-wear additives.

 

[tonys10sec306]

I had all my soild cams broken in my cam research on there break machine. i dont have to worry about any of that

 

[My427stang]

I use 2 pints of EOS with a 10 qt pan, and Valvoline Racing oil for the Zinc and Boron. Fill the carb, have the timing ready and let it rip

With a standard pan, 1 pint is plenty, probably even overkill with the Valvoline, but it makes me feel better

 

[Sonny]

There was a post here or on another forum where a guy paid for a cam to be run in and it still shat itself.Could be the lifter bores were out.I even use to run hot water though the block to get things to temp fast too.
Andreas

 

[allenman85]

On 2006-04-07 08:02, tonys10sec306 wrote:
I had all my soild cams broken in my cam research on there break machine. i dont have to worry about any of that

Do they index the lifters for you? i.e. tell you which lifter was run on what lobe?

 

[Thordane65]

Thanks guys... I will definately get some of that chevy crap

My mechnic buddy is as fussy as they come and we'll have everything cleaned and prepped perfectly.
Im also installing an MSD billet distributer... so hopefully it all goes well and she fires on the first crank.
Cant wait to hear the difference with my new parts..
1-3/4 accufab headers
MSD billet dizzy
solid cam

If this dont get me into the 11's I'm stripping the interior out. LOL

Kidding.. we'll, kinda.

 

[bluelightning302]

just wondering,if its so imperitive to break the cam in as soon as u crank it,how do you effectively break the cam in when you do a complete engine overhaul and try to start her up for the first time without even tuning or setting the distributor timing???i imagine it could take a bit of time just getting it t stay on at first,much less jumping right to 2500rpm right off the bat

 

[tonys10sec306]

Yes! all the lifters has a number on them. so they are ready to drop in

 

[bluelightning302]

Anybody have answers to my question??

 

[mikemustang289]

On 2006-04-07 20:40, bluelightning302 wrote:
Anybody have answers to my question??

well, not talking about a solid cam but when I rebuilt my 289 3 years ago, we had it running probably 10-15 times before the cam was broken in properly

first started, adjusted timing carb etc....

No oil pressure, shut it down, checked wiring, tried again, nothing.

tried a different guage, tried another sending unit, pulled the intake and the oil plug was missing. put that in and still no oil pressure, this was also made apparrent by the rocker noise.

ended up pulling the timing cover and found the lifter oil gallary plugs were not installed, put those in and fired it up again and oil pressure was good.

Throughout this whole dilemma, the new cam had been run near or close to idle with no oil pressure on at least 10 starts.

after the oil plugs were installed the cam was broken in properly and since then never a problem.

Of coarse this was with a hydraulic cam with under .500 lift. I suppose the higher the spring pressures the more risk involved.

 

[bluelightning302]

yeah i guess. So starting a brand new solid cam engine must be a bit scary i guess

 

[289nate]

The more spring pressure and more radical the cam = more scary. More a flat tappet thing and not just a solid lifter thing.

I broke in my reproduction hipo solid cam wrong. Regular oil, no prime, start up and rev for about twenty seconds and then out of the garage to the street for a couple minutes. It was about 1am and we didn't want to tick off my friends neighbors more than we already had. Eight years or so later and all is well. Mild cam and spring pressure. Wouldn't do it the same way again. Heck, knew better than to do it that way in the first place. Got lucky!

 

[thekingofazle]

My buddy did the same with his stock rebuild - straight 30w, start, run for a bit, then it was driven around. Still running strong 25k miles later.

If you've got a close to stock cam, its not that big a deal - when they came off the assembly line they didn't do anything fancy with them at all, just start and run.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: thekingofazle on 4/9/06 6:55am ]</font>

 

[MarauderMan]

[No message]

 

[MarauderMan]

DOH!

My reply got wiped out like a soft cam lobe!

Good article in the new HRM (with the vintage dragsters on the cover) about this problem. Turns out cheapo lifters from East ********** and weak anti-wear packages in oils designed for roller cam engines are causing tons of failures.

A local engine builder (does contract work for Roush, GM Perf. Parts, etc.) said virtually the same thing. Solution is to use best lifters you can buy, a good break in lube, and a racing oil with a good additive package. Start and hold to at least 2000 rpm, for at least 15 minutes to get max oil splash inside the motor.

Street cams don't need break in springs, high lifts and race hardware, it's a good idea as long as the break in springs arent so soft they float at low speeds.

Check after break in with a dial indicator on non adjacent lobes to make sure you're still good, and change oil at 500 miles, cut the filter and check for debris.

Then you should be good. Let 'er rip! And buy a big box of Tide to clean up all the oil that will splatter on the floor when you hot lash the valves for the first time, LOL!

Good luck!

 

[ran347nosgt]

Just up the nitrous shot!!!

 

[twofours]

All the cams I have used, solid or hydraulic have been Isky Cams. I always use the Isky Rev Lube that comes with the cam. Coat the lobes and lifter faces. Pre-lube with a drill till all rockers get oil. I've never used any special oils, other then what I will always use in it. On initial start-up run around 3,000 rpms for about 20 minutes, and I've never wiped a lobe.