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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 08:07 PM
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Default Reusing a cam

did a buncha searching but nothing came up that answered my question.

what are the cons of reusing a performance cam?

i had a used 224r in my old camaro, worked great for about 10k til the pump went out...cam had about 5k on it before it was installed in my old motor.

just want to get some opinions

thanks
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 08:44 PM
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im running a used 224 cam in my car. it had about 8k miles on it when i bought it from a seller on here. works great
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 08:49 PM
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thanks for the input...

i posted this mainly because my friend is against used cams etc. wanted to see who else felt that way etc
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 08:53 PM
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as long the cam lobes arent all fucked up i dont see the big deal in running a used cam. hell i have used heads, stall,LS6 intake,and strut tower brace in my car. im all about the ls1tech classifieds section
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 09:12 PM
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nothing wrong with reusing a cam unless lobes are jacked up i dont see a reason why you can't whats your friends reasoning behind his madness? lol
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by jsteele90
as long the cam lobes arent all fucked up i dont see the big deal in running a used cam. hell i have used heads, stall,LS6 intake,and strut tower brace in my car. im all about the ls1tech classifieds section
most frequented site: ls1tech lsx classifieds

Originally Posted by kris6273
nothing wrong with reusing a cam unless lobes are jacked up i dont see a reason why you can't whats your friends reasoning behind his madness? lol
uhmmm i cant remember exactly, but it was a long the lines of the lobes breaking into the motors bearings etc...it was a debate lol
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 09:25 PM
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understood lol i dont thing the cam would have that much wear on the bearings or anything i would say your ok and good to go put it back in if its the cam you want you dont wanna go big ect.... and be done with it you dont have any problems to worry about if you dont see anything jacked up on the lobes of the cam
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Old Feb 7, 2009 | 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by kris6273
understood lol i dont thing the cam would have that much wear on the bearings or anything i would say your ok and good to go put it back in if its the cam you want you dont wanna go big ect.... and be done with it you dont have any problems to worry about if you dont see anything jacked up on the lobes of the cam
sounds good!
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 11:22 AM
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Re-using a hydraulic roller cam is perfectly fine as long as you get one without any scratches/knicks on it.

The wear patterns in cams are most obvious in solid lifter cams, where damage to the cam seems to occur much easier.
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 11:36 AM
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The most I'd consider doing before putting a used cam in, is inspecting it for any visible scratches or knicks, then I'd measure the bearing surfaces with a micrometer to make sure they're still right.

At that point, it'd probably not be necessary to have a shop polish the bearing surfaces...but it's an option if necessary (if you have a means of measuring surface finish...not everyone does, you could even do that as well). You could also measure the lobes with a micrometer just to compare all the intake lobes to each other, and all the exhaust lobes to each other...measure across the base circle and across peak lift...if any lobes stand out different from the rest then it's not worth using it.
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 03:25 PM
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Every cam in every engine is used after it is started, that being said if there is no visible damage you will be ok!
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 03:30 PM
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Had a cam in my car that had been in 3-4 cars before mine, and its now in another car- seems to make more power every time it comes out of something.
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 03:32 PM
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thanks guys!
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 1Loudz28
uhmmm i cant remember exactly, but it was a long the lines of the lobes breaking into the motors bearings etc...it was a debate lol
Tell your friend SOMbitch says he is a DUMBA$$
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by SOMbitch
Tell your friend SOMbitch says he is a DUMBA$$
lol it was a friendly debate, since ima cheap *** and am gonna get a used cam and hes picky about his new setup and said he was gonna be buying new everything...i just wasnt sure about the reasoning lol

in the end he still knows way more than i do about motors etc lol
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by 1Loudz28
lol it was a friendly debate, since ima cheap *** and am gonna get a used cam and hes picky about his new setup and said he was gonna be buying new everything...i just wasnt sure about the reasoning lol

in the end he still knows way more than i do about motors etc lol
In all seriousness a RR cam does not wear like an ole FT cam so if it looks ok it prolly is.

Didn't mean to come across so harsh. If you can find what you need used by all means go for it. I just get chapped at all the misinfo on here if you don't weed it out..... I have F'd with the motors a while now and still hear **** make me wonder...... There is GREAT info on this site but you gotta run a stong BS filter and know who to listen too. (EX).... Anything racer 7088 says just put in your favorites and save it for reference.....Afew others too.....
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 10:29 PM
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As long as there aren't any obvious nicks scratches etc on a roller cam you will be fine. Guaranteed your buddy is still running of the ole flat tappet cams scare its not all that good to reuse a flat tappet the cams wear to match the specific lifter that it has been running on from breakin they are much more sensitive to being reused good idea to just buy a new one because they are so cheap and sensitive to breakin anyway. rollers are not so picky you will probably notice some discoloration on the center portion of the lobes where the lifters have been riding but that is no cause for concern.
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Old Feb 8, 2009 | 10:30 PM
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Why wouldn't you re-use. provided it was installed, run, and uninstalled properly than it should last for many many thousands of miles.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Onemeanbird
As long as there aren't any obvious nicks scratches etc on a roller cam you will be fine. Guaranteed your buddy is still running of the ole flat tappet cams scare its not all that good to reuse a flat tappet the cams wear to match the specific lifter that it has been running on from breakin they are much more sensitive to being reused good idea to just buy a new one because they are so cheap and sensitive to breakin anyway. rollers are not so picky you will probably notice some discoloration on the center portion of the lobes where the lifters have been riding but that is no cause for concern.
good info! i was wondering about the different colors on the lobes. so the main thing is nicks or major grooves on them?

Originally Posted by Ice78Transam
Why wouldn't you re-use. provided it was installed, run, and uninstalled properly than it should last for many many thousands of miles.
that was my argument lol
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 05:21 PM
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Yeah as long as their aren't any nicks or major grooves you will be fine. Put it in and laugh at your buddy for telling you otherwise.
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