What is the tolerance (differences) on a chevy new factory oem roller cam, from lobe to lobe. .0005, .001, .002, ? After it's has many 1000's of miles on it, what should be the worst wear on it be, before replacing it. .001, .002, .005, ? I'm trying to figure what shape my roller cam is in. Thanks, Pat
Your roller cam should show minimal wear at 100,000 miles. Part of the beauty of a roller cam is that they do not wear much. Where you most commonly se wear is on the lifter axles and that is usually either after mega miles or in a motor with extreme lift cams and mega spring pressure. I stock roller cam in a Chevy should go 200K+ without needing even a look see.
I ask because I have two engines I bought, tore down to look at. I have no idea about mileage on either, and knowing who I bought them from, mileage means nothing, eye balls do! Besides, I don't believe what people say! The one, I'm going scrub insides & out, and just freshen up with rings, and bearings, then drop into my truck. The other will get rebuilt later down the road when needed. Has a bad bearing, I knew that buying it. It also has a worn cam, to much to ever use again. I asked because I mic'ed the cam, and from best to worst lobe, there's about .002 difference on the lobe size. I don't know the factory tolerance would be. But I'd believe it will be alright for awhile yet, just a stock running engine with TPI. Thanks, Pat
From the factory, the cams are well within .0005", lobe to lobe shapes. "After use"...NO ONE can say..! Depends on the oil quality used, how the engine was used, towing, racing, around town only, etc. How often the oil was changed, was the engine over heated..?? Were the valve springs changed ? After 100,000 miles, the cam and lifters "should" still be plenty usable. How are you measuring the lobes to get the numbers you note? To get an "accurate" .001", you NEED to use a tool that measures to .0001"...NOT .001". A micrometer that measures to .0001", isn't a $40.00 tool..! Mike
Gee, sure seems like a good excuse to put a hotter cam in it. As in, "honey, we need a new camshaft, it's out of spec". Why pass up an opportunity.
I installed a "hotter" cam (from Delta Cams) using the "original" Ford lifters the junkyard engine came with. (UNKNOWN mileage is the key phrase here) Short version: strange noise develops in Texas...I drive it home to SC. Investigate and three of the roller lifters had a flat wheel....one of the lifters had NO wheel! All was in the pan. Replaced with new(cheap BTW) Ford lifters....Delta re-ground the cam (free!) and all lived happily ever after! Moral of the story....Buy new roller lifters very cheap insurance. 6sally6
I was in 40+ years in Tool & Die, plus had my own shop for awhile, My Dad was in Tool & Die with 3M since he got of WW2 , and my younger brother, and older brother still own their shops. We all specialized in high tech air foils, as in Locheed, Rolls Royce, Garret AiResearch, government, etc. I know how to read a mic. I still have all my tools, I could restart up tomorrow, with just a Bridgeport with a Troyke, & a lathe. I have a saw & drill press. I don't need a cnc to cut tools & make parts. You say: "After 100,000 miles, the cam and lifters "should" still be plenty usable." But you also say that no one can tell! Aftermarket maybe not, OEM yes. There is a expected amount of wear to expect until it's considered wore out! And that is what I was asking if anyone had an idea of, when it's wore out to be replaced. I have always replaced them with a bigger one, or if they had flatten a lobe, and then circle bin the old ones. I have only checked one used one, and that was for my tractor, and it was right on size. After it was removed from a '63 Ford diesel. I bought it 5 months ago. You can not buy a '58 -64 Ford diesel cam, new or rebuilt, gas yes, diesel no. They even have the same part number stamped into them. Pat
My off topic work vehicle '93 E150 has roller cam, 396k miles and still chugging. Never had the intake or valve covers off. Drove it off the lot. Other things will wear out before a roller cam.
I'm working on my neighbors for her, and it's off topic also 4.3, and it has just a few less then 500,000 on it. The fuel pump went bad. Other then that it ran good also. Pat
I would put a hotter cam into it. But, the wife has been in & out of the hospital, and her insurance won't pay for half of her meds, which had depleted our savings, and more. So I have to fix this engine for my truck as cheap as I can. I need my truck running again, it sucks without having it. Since the tranny needs to be rebuilt, I'm switching engines also. NEVER put lucas transmission additive in your car! I did, I had rebuilt my transmission less then 5000 miles ago, ran sweet, Had NO issues. I had the lucas on the bench for about 2 years It was given to me for another car, but would never used it. So I finally used it in my truck, no reason other then to get it off my bench. Test drove it for a few miles, couldn't tell any difference, the next day the tranny slip in all gears! Talk about pissed! I'm building the 327 in my coupe, as money comes along, I need to buy new pistons for it first. Anyone has some good .040 over, 327 pistons they want to sell? Thanks, Pat
That's the thing I have in the back of my head, I have never pulled a engine apart, and put the used cam & lifters back in. Always has been new, but right now, it can't be. I'm going to replace bearings, rings, oil pump, and gaskets, but the cam, push rods, cam bearings, and lifters. Sucks, but has to be for right now, I can't afford the $400.00+ right now. Thanks, Pat
Pat, send me a PM with the year, displacement, and vehicle your engine came out of and Monday when I get to work, I’ll look up on Alldata and see if I can find measurements on your camshaft. Andy Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I would look at the condition of the cam lobes and lifters, as well as the general condition of the inside of the block and heads. If the inside was relatively clean, you have a better chance the cam is ok and the lifters are good. If the inside is caked with sludge, the lifters are full of it too! Do you know how the engine ran prior to disassembly? I bought a used ZZ4 crate engine. tore it completely apart, and actually disassembled each Hydraulic lifter and cleaned /inspected them and reassembled it with the old cam. The decision has soo many variables. I don't think you can get a good answer without a ton of more information
I helped a guy tear down a LS type truck engine last year. It was not taken care of, oil changes were few and far between. One thing that was evident, the cam and roller rockers looked perfect at 195k miles.
A dial indicator and v-blocks is the the only true way to see. A lobe circumference of 3" (measured from center line to tip of lobe) and a lobe circumference of 3/4" can produce the same lift and duration.
The cam & sample lifter from an OT 5.3 Chev.....5K oil changes with Mobil 1 since new..No sludge or other issues ... Multiple lobes had the wear from the lifter roller ..This lobe & lifter were the only one's to "spal" or get surface flaking ... These were replaced at 165K miles ....Sorry about the photo size .... [
That is not the first LS Chevy that I’ve seen go bad. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I work as a mechanic for a city fleet garage, we have had several ls chevys with cam and lifter failures in the last 5 years or so with less than 80,000 miles . All with 5000 mile oil change intervals , it has gotten to be pretty normal .
A hydraulic lifter motor as I am sure you are aware is way more tolerant of differences in the cam lobes than a solid lifter motor. You can check cam journals with a mic but the onl The only real way to check a cam shaft for wear or differences in lobes is on a lathe with a dial indicator and some sort of degree-ing tool, be it degree wheel or a turn counter. You not only are measuring lobe lift but duration and event timing. The event timing can change bu wear on the ramps as well as the lobes. I am not a cam guru by any means but I grew up in a household where cam gurus came and went on a regular basis so I have picked up a little knowledge in my 64 years on this planet. Denny ^^^ is correct here, unless you are freshening an engine that is just the way you like it, as in stock or your weekend brawler it is always a good excuse to move your power band to a better place or add a little more zot to the engine. I have been running motors since I was a kid, Harley was using roller cams stock since the '30s at least perhaps before that. I have never run synthetic oil in anything. The wife's '05 does not run synthetic and never has either. We turned 250 K before her last oil change. It does burn or loose a quart between 2K and 25 hundred and has since it was new. I'll put synthetic in yours because you like it and I like you. I probably will abstain from putting any in mine until I can't get dead dinosaurs anymore. Now here is an interesting tid bit. Nothing to do with cars at all but a fun tid bit. Last fall I freshened a '36 Knucklehead (Harley motor) for a guy. Well more than freshened he brought me most of a motor in pieces including a pair of NOS jugs. He is kind of an odd duck and insisted that he wanted a stock '36 camshaft. I looked around for a bit hoping to find an NOS unit. No love on that front but a friend back east just happened to have the original cam he pulled from his '36 when he updated it on the '70s. Gave it to me. Excellent shape, and it currently in an all stock '36 Knucklehead. There is a lot of good to be said for the roller cams.
This is a good thread! I've NEVER had a roller cam before (except my Harley). I currently have a 383 Chevy that needs to be freshened and I always said my next motor will have a roller in it. I've lost too many flat tappet cams over the years. It looks like the time is getting near! (Not going LS.)
Truckdoctor, Thanks, but! I can't give you that info. My friend/ neighbor had the engine put into his mom's '93 wagon years ago. I was suppose to be a 350 out of a '90 vette. They removed the heads & intake, and put 193 heads on, and the TBI intake from the wagon back on it. So all I have are those numbers stamped into the block pad, which no one seems to be able to find info on. "V0210SAF" Squirrel though it might be a factory replacement engine, because he couldn't find any "SAF" Thanks, Pat
Streetrodder, The cam and lobes look good to me, the inside of the engine seems to be on the clean side. They weren't ones to keep up on oil changes though, if they did. The engine spun a bearing, which I have to pull the engine out of my coupe tomorrow, so that I can check it out better. It's being used to mock up everything in my coupe at the moment. But I need it out now, to see which 350 I have is in better shape. I found today, that my other one needs the crank turned also. Minor, but it still needs it ground. The engine spun the bearing because her son, ran the car off the road (drinking) into a field, and poked a hole into the oil filter, and then made it a block, or two before hearing that it was making noise. It ran good before that. I bought it because it ran good before, and I needed a 350 for my truck. Thanks, Pat
My first roller cam, I want to put one into my 327 also, but been hearing bad things about retro ones. Thanks, Pat
I won't say that buying quality components can't be without problems but I sure would advise not to base decision on price, especially some of the "mystery" brands found on #b@y.
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