I've seen my share of high mileage LS engines and have yet to see that kind of wear from a daily driven engine. The engine that cam came out of had sat for an extended period of time and to make matters worse it was ran. High ZDDP oils are in my performance engines and I wouldn't be afraid to use it in a daily driver either.

 

1. Amsoil and either their filter or Mobile 1 or WIX filter WIX
2. Mobile 1 synthetic oil and again M1, WIX filter
3. Liquid Molly and again a M1, WIX filter.

just my personal opinion 👆🏽

I used a WIX on my Corvette. I did oil changes every 3K yes even with synthetic oil. A 500+ rwhp car daily driven and never an issue.

 

Definitely looks like lack of maintenance. See it on Honda cams with lack of oil changes. Rust probably made it happen alot faster. I'd be scared to see what the cam bearings look like

 

Judging by the bearing journals on the cam it may not be all that bad.

 

While the cam journals aren't too bad, the bearings need replacing. Wear and corrosion. They aren't TERRIBLE but they need replacing for sure. That'll be done as soon as I figure out if I can't rent a tool or if I need to buy one.

 

If that motor had water sitting it, I would pull the caps on a few of the rods and inspect the journals. You may find the crank needs at least a polish. The rod bolts can be reused same with the mains They are torque to angle, not torque to yield.

 

​​​​​​
different procedure or torque values to reuse?

 

what ever the factory manual states for your application. I believe the mains are all the same but the rod bolts very by design.

 

Sounds like a valid personal opinion 👏

Consistent good maintenance is priceless IMHO.

FWIW - Mobile 1 5w-30 story.

I had the small block Chevy got valve cover gaskets at ~360,000 miles. Asked mechanic how the top end looked. He said like ~30,000 motor or so. Told him the mileage. He insisted car had a new crate motor/low mile motor...even insisted prior owner must have replaced engine, no way a 360,000 mile engine could be 30,000 mile clean. Dropped the I've owned this car since 9 miles were on the odometer bomb. He was pretty blown away and impressed by Mobile 1. Credential wise top notch mechanic had been Honda Dealership trainer at Honda's mothership facility in California etc.

 

That looks like a Comp Cam from around 2010. Might be a bad heat treat or could be from abuse.

 

I assumed it was a stock cam, but I actually have no idea...

 

Maybe try and post some pictures tomorrow, but I have a couple mid 2000 truck cams that look just like that. Usually high mileage, extreme use, low maintenance rigs...

 

I'm going to say those lobes missed heat treat or wasn't properly heat treated. Imo if it were from poor engine maintenance all the lobes would look like that.

 

Pretty sure they initiated that process long before 2008 lol. If memory serves me from literature it was sometime around '96-'97 the EPA and/or DC lobbyists began to **** & moan about zinc...

Modern oils now days, even the store bought oils (not only the boutique brands) are good, far better than they were 20+ years ago. Remember, they all have to meet a minimal standard, its just how much further above & beyond they go from there can apply to application specific scenarios. I completely understand brand loyalty with oil brands but would advise against running a zinc additive in anything modern especially with a roller cam type valvetrain.... throwing in a zinc additive in grandpas '81 Scottsdale w/a 305 would be fine but really because its a flat tappet cam engine etc.

 

I agree!
I think the only engines that need ZDDP are those with flat tappets, that have concentrated iron on iron sliding friction, as opposed to bearing surfaces. Newer engines don't have that condition, or not to the degree you have with flat tappets.

 

ZDDP? Here's some copy and paste for the morning.

Zinc dialkyldithiophosphate, commonly known as ZDDP or “zinc” is an anti-wear additive that creates a surface layer boundary inside your engine. This additive sticks to metal, minimizing metal-on-metal contact in high load situations.

What you choose to do with this information is entirely up to you!

 

I took the main off the center journal and it looked AMAZING. So I buttoned that back up 90*, 50* etc etc... (or whatever the numbers were... it was a week ago or more...) I also bought a tool and replaced the cam bearings. I cleaned up/degreased the front and rear covers from the engine and the valve covers. I need to put my new springs on my fresh LS6 heads and reassemble everything with the new cam, new lifters, new GM trays, new gaskets/seals... That's what I'll be doing tonight.

Actually I should get a new starter while I'm at this...