On a new engine assembly, will using Crane Moly-Lube on the cam bearings pretty much guarantee cam bearing failure? If the cam bearings are Moly-Lubed, and the engine block and oil are heated, is there any chance that a lengthly pre-lube will force out the Moly-Lube, allowing the bearings to be oiled? Thanks HAMBers.
over the years I have assembled many a motor using a mix of Moly Lube and a little bit of oil on cam bearings and have NEVER experienced a failure, ever!
Scientific evidence points to the fact that using Moly based lube will only help . If you are prelubing your engine( as you should anyway) the moly lube will be dispersed. The moly is colloidal,that is microscopic particles held in suspension in a liquid,and cannot harm your engine in any way. Slap it on!
Cam bearings are soft and offer some imbedability which will help as most moly lubes do have some abrasive in them. The problem is a lengthy prelube will require also rotating the engine in order to lube everything fully and this will unfortunately wipe all the cam lube off the lobes. If you can I would pull the cam wipe the moly off the cam bearings.
"The problem is a lengthy prelube will require also rotating the engine in order to lube everything fully and this will unfortunately wipe all the cam lube off the lobes." SSAAHEMIFAN If you used a tappett tool Click here: Anderson Ford Motorsport Home Page (click on products on left menu, then tappett tool 1/2 way down next page) to hold the lifters up, then rotate the engine while pre-lubing, do you think that would work?
Why hold the tappets up? If you are prelubing, set the balancer to TDC, pull the dizzy, prelube and turn the crank two full turns, stab the dizzy and fire.
Ive never had an issue with moly based assembly lube on many many cams. Shitty lifters or low zinc oil has a bigger effect on lobe life during break-in
sounds like you are making an issue of a non issue. there's no pressure to the bottom of the lifters anyway. start the motor, idle up to 2000 rpm for 15-20 min, change the oil and drive......good luck
moly lube has been used that way by many for many years. now what is your question or problem? failed cam bearings caused by using m/l never heard that one .
Well, here's what Crane says about their Moly-Lube; "Not recommended where normal oil flow may be impeded due to the high viscosity of this product." Normal oil flow would be into the cam bearings. That's why I thought that maybe holding the lifters up and pre-oiling for a longer time would force the Moly out of the oil hole without removing the Moly from the cam lobes.
I think it would depend on how much of that you stuck in there. If it is a light coating and you pre lube, I don't think you'll have a problem. It you coated the living hell out of the bearing's you MIGHT have a problem. Sounds like you have already coated it, so it depends on what you did.
If I'm gonna prelube the engine (which I do on ALL engine builds) I don't use molylube on the cam journals and bearings. I do use moly lube on the cam lobes though. I think this is the main intended use of moly lube anyway. And it is thick enough that it could plug lube passages, which is part of the reason for a quick oil change after you break the engine in. Larry T
I didn't go into a lot of detail as to why the moly is on the bearings, but let me explain. I had my friend who's a GM mechanic at a local Chevy dealer come over with his expensive torque wrench to bolt my new heads on. I figured that he had a good wrench, and used it often, thereby I would might get a more uniform torquing than if I did it, and there's always "tricks of the trade." While he was there he offered to put the cam in. I figured he probably knew the "tricks of the trade", so I said "O.K." Well, he slathered the entire cam up with moly and slid it in. I figured he knew what he as doing, so I never questioned it. It wasn't until later that I read somewhere online that you shouldn't use moly lube on cam bearings. I'm just trying to maybe not have to tear the thing apart, coolant, oil, water pump, radiator, hoses, timing chain and cover, balancer, etc. Lotta' work. But, if I have to, then................................I will.
Most of the moly lube you put on the cams bearing journals is going to get wiped off on the way through anyway. I have always put a thin coat on the journals, rod and main bearings, rocker balls, push rod ends and I also pull the oil pump cover and put a little on the pump rotors as well then pack the rest of the pump with white lithium. I also do a thorough pre-lube with a BIG drill and a priming tool just before I get ready to fire it up. That's how I was taught 35 years ago, it hasn't failed me yet.
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