prob a stupid question but you never hear of a stock cam ever going bad or antyhing, but when people sell cams they say they are in good shape and low miles....i guess my question is if cams can go bad what are the reasons for it and how long should they last?

 

they don't randomly go bad. you can have bearings go bad sometimes.

 

theres not much to brake theres no moving parts but the cam itself ?

 

theres alot of moving parts in the valve train...

 

i suppose a cam can wear over time...but we are talking a lot of time...it rubs against the pushrods...but there is oil there...

 

Exactly, hydralic roller lifters aren't as likely to fail and wear alot less than the older flat tappet hydralic or solid lifter cams. Bearing failure is the most common failure stemming from low oil pressure or such. Also a fubared lifter or lifter guide will take out a cam.

 

bearing failure? i dont know much about whats in there, are there bearings or just open journals?

 

I'm gonna let this slide seeing how your from Ocala.... But for future reference the cam is never supposed to touch the pushrods.

 

Take it easy he was just suggesting

 

Sorry if it sounded that bad.. it was really just a joke

 

what supports the large circular parts on the cam? the engine block with an oil film or is there something else?

 

The cam sets in journals just like the crank. Each journal is lined with a press in cam bearing. This is where the cams "Large circular parts" rest.

 

damn how do they get those damn things in there?? kinda scary to think what could happen after the cam install, although, they should only come out if ou force the cam in there right??

 

engine block with pressed in full circular bearings, a pressurized oil film is between the cam bearing surface and the engine bearing surface.

 

they wont come out without some serious effort. they are pressed into place. removing and installing cams should have no effect on the bearings, unless you score one of them installing or removing a cam or they are the wrong size to begin with.

 

when i put the cam in i went really easy and moved it up and down to get it through the holes so i dont think i would get one out liek that, good lol. how do u get in there to replace those??? if needed

 

theoretically your cam and crankshaft are floating on a very thin lining of oil when the car is running. This is why the hardest part on your engine is starting it because the cam and crankshaft have no oil inbetween themselves and the bearings, which causes wear untill oil pressure flies up and gets in there.

 

yeah i knew about the cranks bearings jsut not the cam

 

yeah yeah i meant to say lifters...but whatever, they are all connected in one way or another right...haha...to be honest with you i have no earthly idea why or how i said pushrods...

 

How's this for a cam going bad?



This is why I had to get all the mods in my sig...