lifter problem?
lifter problem? i may be overreacting, but i figured i would ask. when pulling my last cam ONE cam lobe had some minor scratches. nothing deep and you cant feel them if you were to rub your finger over it. the cam is still fine. however, its the only one that had any kinds of markings at all. when sliding my stock cam back in it felt as if it were getting caught on a lifter (that i had suspended with a pen magnet). instead of trying to pull up on the magnet (i didnt want it to come off and the lifter drop) i just pushed a tad harder and it slid right by. it only got caught on this one spot. could have been a complete coincedence. the lifter i seemed to have a hard time getting past was the one that could have left the marks on that cam lobe. i really dont want to pull the heads if i dont have to. is this something that should concern me? the car made no ticking noises and like i said the cam was barely noticable. i just thought it was wierd that it happened to be the same lifter. do these lifters fail for no reason? can the valve springs contribute to this in anyway? and would i have noticed a loss in power or something if a lifter was going out?
sorry for writing so much, just figured id rather explain it the best i could from the start
sorry for writing so much, just figured id rather explain it the best i could from the start
If its not making any noise its probably OK. Roller lifters/cams are a lot less sensitive to such things than a flat tappet cam would be where the lobe wear pattern is so important.
with my cutout closed (running through stock catback) i can hear just about every noise an engine can make. ive yet to hear anything that would sound like a lifter, it just worried me since there were no marks on any other lobe.
edit- is it possible that dirt or lack of oil caused these marks? if so, why on just one lobe?
edit- is it possible that dirt or lack of oil caused these marks? if so, why on just one lobe?
Last edited by 99ls1guy; Jan 27, 2006 at 04:37 PM.
