wiped cam lobe
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 841
Likes: 0
From: High Desert California
wiped cam lobe
I read posts about wiped out cam lobes, how can you tell this? What are the symptoms, what and how does it feel for someone to conclude that this has happened? Just curious 
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Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Loss of engine power...
Check by measuring rocker arm movement....all exhaust valves should move about the same amount; intake valves should be alike, but may be different than exhaust 'lift'.
Check by measuring rocker arm movement....all exhaust valves should move about the same amount; intake valves should be alike, but may be different than exhaust 'lift'.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
Likes: 433
From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Loss of power is one. You will also get a clicking noise from a rocker after the lobe gets bad enough the hydraulic lifter can't adjust itself anymore. Easy way to tell, pull the rocker cover on the side you hear the noise coming from, start the engine, and look. One will be barely moving and the rest will be.
Other symptoms may be backfiring into the intake or exhaust and engine miss.
Other symptoms may be backfiring into the intake or exhaust and engine miss.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
Been there 81 Cali
I have an 81 4-speed with a 383 I purchased from Cali on Ebay. The engine had about 2000 miles on it and as soon as I put synthetic in the cam wiped. I heard a slight ticking and a loud ticking and spitting through the carb and going down the highway she gave lose. Not cheap, out came the engine and out came the check book. You will definetly know when this is happening
Pro
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 599
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From: New York
I had my enginre rebuilt n broke her in with Castrol GTX then when she hit the 2,000 mark I switched to Redline 10-30...Now almost 2,000 miles later she is still running like new....I know there oil cost more but for the few extra bucks a year it's worth the protection.....There Z level is 1330 ppm n there Phos level is @ 1200 ppm.....Just as high if not higher then any other oil......To me it's worth the price.....I believe Amsoil n Royal Purple also offer good protection although I'm not sure of there #'s.....Mobil also offers a few choices which are high in Z n Phos............Jerrylee///
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Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: King George VA
AMSOIL Series 2000 20w50
AMSOIL SAE Synthetic Premium Performance 20w50
AMSOIL SAE Synthetic Premium Performance 10w40
AMSOIL Series 3000 Synthetic 5w30 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil
And, to address the second part of your comment, I came across this handy table of Mobil 1 phosphorus levels the other day:
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...duct_Guide.pdf
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C66 Racing #66 NASA ST2, SCCA T2
AMSOIL Dealer (Forum Vendor)
AMSOIL Preferred Customer Program (Members buy at Wholesale - a savings of about 25%)
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,246
Likes: 4
From: Bay Area CA
I have an 81 4-speed with a 383 I purchased from Cali on Ebay. The engine had about 2000 miles on it and as soon as I put synthetic in the cam wiped. I heard a slight ticking and a loud ticking and spitting through the carb and going down the highway she gave lose. Not cheap, out came the engine and out came the check book. You will definetly know when this is happening
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,364
Likes: 38
From: King George VA
See the link to the Mobil 1 website above showing the various phosphorus levels in their oils. Phosporus is a primary anti-wear additive and is added to oil as part of Zinc dialkyl dithio phosphate , or ZDDP. The zinc ppm usually closely matches the phosphorus levels.
And, as mentioned above, several AMSOIL products come with very high levels of ZDDP and all AMSOIL lubricants are synthetic.
