Cam soak before Install?

[LameHoof65]

I talked to a machinist the other day and his recommendation was to soak the cam in oil---non-synthetic oil for at least 2 days before I install it. Anyone else ever heard of such a thing? He said that he gets a PVC tube and seals up one end, puts his cam in it, then pours in oil. He also said that he has never had a cam fail by doing that---of course he said use cam lube on every thing that touches metal before you put it in.

I have always used valvoline 10w30 for everything I own and have had great results---put 100's of thousands of miles on them and never any failures in drivetrain....ie., current honda civic has 310,000 last chevy truck had 250,000+ miles. But it isn't like synthetic blend---is it okay to use it to soak my cam and break it in?

 

[addo]

That's a new one! I'm not sure if to take it seriously or otherwise.

 

[CoupeBoy]

That's new to me also. but what could it hurt? eventually the cam will be in contact with motor oil and by pre-lubing the entire thing there is reduced risk of not covering a bare peice of metal (cam lobe surface for example) before the lifter starts grinding on it.

Heck, it can't hurt and shouldnt cost too much, couple bucks for a peice of PVC and a couple dolla for a quart of oil (or 3).

-ron

 

[Jamie Miles]

Sounds like bull to me.

 

[LameHoof65]

I'm sure it doesn't do all that the guy thinks it does....but then I kind of think like coupeboy..what could it hurt? Maybe it's like those folks who have to do a specific ritual before they compete...Yea, you know spit in the eye of toad and eat the leg of a newt all the while spinning around and chanting some ancient proverb of Confucius.

 

[Anonymous]

Actually, there may very well be something to that process.
The parkerizing on the lobes is worn off at start up so if you have that soaked in oil prior to start up it may very well just repond better with less abrasion.
Regular cam lubes or anything else would not have time to permeate the coating so the oil may just assit in some small way.
If you are super clean about it it you wouldn't even waste the oil as it could be put in the crankcase at fillup time.
FWIW
DaveP kywoodwrkr

 

[pedal2themetal45]

Sounds like poop poo...
The cam is harden steal I don't think its very absorbant.
tim

 

[Falcon62]

It's hogwash. All you need to do is liberally coat the lobes with cam lube and put the sucker in. If the cam is soft enough to "absorb oil" over a two day soak it won't withstand the pressures generated by the valvesprings and the lobes would be wiped away on startup. I've never soaked a cam and have never had one fail.

I wouldn't waste my time with this so-called machinist's recommendation and I'd also be looking for a new machinist. :roll:

 

[80broncoman]

I would just put cam lube(the grey paste) on the cam. Whats more I would put it on the cam with the cam being dry(no oil). The reason is that that you want the cam lube to stay on the cam at start up. it will be covered in oil in about 15 seconds of running. I think the cam lube will cling better if the cam is not "slippery" with oil.

 

[FastRonald]

Soak and cam for days?.............this guys is nuts!

 

[Anonymous]

agreed. The cam does not have enough porousity to "absorb" oil.

 

[LameHoof65]

I believe that is a resounding overall consensus calling the soaking of a cam "bunk!". But one question still remains---Is the 10w30 non-synthetic good for breaking in the cam?

 

[Anonymous]

At the valve spring pressures we run, most any oil is fine.

When you get into mega-mechanical cams that run triple springs, you have to break in the cam with light springs first (no high revs)

 

[80broncoman]

It should be fine. 10w-30 is the weight recommended by some cam companys.

 

[Stubby]

One very commonly overlooked area is the lifter bores. Prior to building the engine you should put a lifter in each bore and make sure it will slide freely. One small ding on the bottom of the lifter bore wil prevent the lifter from spinning in the bore and result in a flat lobe on the cam.

When the old cam bearings are driven out the cam bearing driver often dings the lifter bores on the bottom edge. This is far more common than most people realise.

 

[Anonymous]

I would recommend letting the cam sit in a large vat of Hellman's Mayonaise to let it pickle the metal, thus upping it's hardness rating....

But seriously, nothing will come of soakin it in oil that cam lube won't do on install.


Cheers,
Steve-O

 

[Hot 6t Falcon]

That's a new one. The only reason I can figure is that the oil iis a great detergent. (if your hands a re really greasy, try using a little clean oil to clean them.)
However, auto trans fluid has even more detergent. by why not just wash it in parts solvent? Maybe he was doing it in his own garage and didn't have the parts washer, but had the oil.

I think the machinists point was to get any used cam COMPLETELY cleaned up - sort of like leaving engine parts soaking in solvent over night.

The last rocker arm assembly I tried to clean soaked for two days in solvent and the oiling holes were still plugged. So I soaked it for two more days in carb cleaning solvent (more potent). They still weren't clean, so I used a drill bit.

The hole under the push rod is critical. It oils the ends of the push rod and the oil runs down the push rod to oil the lifters and cam.

Use Cam Lube on assembly!!!

Good Luck

 

[Anonymous]

This sounds more like prepping lifters than a cam. I was taught to soak hyd. lifters in oil at least overnight before installing. Have done this several times--there is a roller lifter from Crane that is a direct replacement for the stock small block chevy lifter that is a perfect fit on 99 and up Harley's. and because it is for a car it is 1/4 the price of a performance bike lifter.