blackfbird98

Hey guys so I pulled the cam out of my 5.7 and plan to reuse it but I'm concerned because in the pics you can see some heat wear marks, is that normal on a run cam? Or should I be worried it has normal wear marks from the lifters but is there anything I should look for that should set off some red flags? Also some back story, I lost oil pressure in the 5.7 and heard the motor kicking bad so I assume it's a spun bearing. But as I have been tearing it apart I haven't found any metal shavings...until now I pulled the timing cover and there was a small spot of metal shavings hunker up above the crank. Can anyone confirm that it's bearing material?

G Atsma

Providing it's in good shape, what are the cam specs? Is it the TSP V3 mentioned in the bottom of the post?
Looking at the pics, I THINK I see chatter marks on some of the lobes, but don't hold me to it. I'm not sure I would chance it, but it MIGHT be OK.

blackfbird98

Yes it's the same v3 cam

blackfbird98

Anyone else? Should I start looking for a new cam?

farmington

iTrader: (14)

if you could get it polished you could tell what the surface looked like better. but if you had to pay someone to do it, you'd probably be better off buying new. Someone would take a chance on it and give you something for it

Jscm3

I'd run that cam.
Those aren't heat wear marks, it's discoloration from the heat treating process at the factory. Somebody said something about chattermarks, I believe he's looking at the reflection of the wrinkles in your gloves on the cam lobe.

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

We re-used a Morgan Motorsports 229/229 v2.1 cam in my 383 LS1 and it's been perfectly OK. However, that cam didn't have any lobes that looked like the one with the straight line in the middle of it.


FWIW
I would replace the cam. What's ~ $400 vs a new motor build?

I tossed a cam in the recycling dumpster that looked like it.
If the part seems sketchy to me I toss it instead of reselling and maybe causing someone else to have an issue. With that said there are many that would use it and run as long as it lasts.

blackfbird98

The most concerning part is the wear marks like stated, it makes sense to just replace the cam for peace of mind but at the same time I'm trying to put as much money into building the lq4 up that it's hard to not want to reuse as much as I can

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

yeah that lobe is roached

blackfbird98

What could have caused that kind of wear mark?

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

bad lifter. needle bearing probably seized.

it might polish out. though if you dont have access to the tools yourself, the cost of that work is nearly as much as a new cam.