Anyone ever break a camshaft?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: Bedford NH
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Anyone ever break a camshaft?
In my GT-1 car, after one lap of the second session at Lime Rock this weekend, the engine just stopped like I hit the ignition switch. This is a 358 that does 595@7200 and the cam is about .650 lift and has 18 degree heads. It turns out, the camshaft just broke at the last 2 lobes before the distributor gear. I have a dry sump so the distributor gear has almost no load on it so I am wondering what caused this?????
Gary Hoffman
Gary Hoffman
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Little Rock Arkansas
Re: Anyone ever break a camshaft? (ghoffman)
That's pretty unusual... I would suspect an improperly adjusted lifter (though usually it will break or bend a pushrod) or a piece of trash got in there. It could've also had a structural flaw to begin with. We have broken a cam though...But it was in a 550 inch N2O fed NMCA motor. Broke the cam in three (!) pieces due to a N20 explosion...Of course the $2900 billet Sonny Bryant crank was in four pieces....
-Jeb Burnett
-Jeb Burnett
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
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From: somers, ny
Re: Anyone ever break a camshaft? (ghoffman)
Phil (LT401) Broke 2 cams at the rear, near the gear. And that was just driving in the street. Dont remember which brand cam, but he said it was machined very thin where it broke and either the cam was flexing under the heavy spring weight or it was just defective.
Le Mans Master
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From: delmont pa
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Re: Anyone ever break a camshaft? (ghoffman)
was it a billet roller cam and did it have the copper plating between the lobes because this plating is used to prevent this area from being made to hard and cracking there. :chevy
[Modified by clem zahrobsky, 11:23 AM 5/14/2002]
[Modified by clem zahrobsky, 11:23 AM 5/14/2002]
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From: Reno Nevada
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Re: Anyone ever break a camshaft? (clem zahrobsky)
I have the copper plated solid roller small base circle for stroker clearance and I've wondered if the small base circle cams are weaker. I have never see a broken cam in sprint car racing and they run massive triple springs with 250+ pound closed pressures and the ignition mag and power steering put quite the load on the end of the cam
Le Mans Master
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From: delmont pa
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Re: Anyone ever break a camshaft? (gkull)
i also have never seen a steel billet cam break. there are cast core roller cams out there and i had trouble with them years ago when there was a shortage of steel billets. :chevy
