just finished rebuilding my 350 and will be ready to start it in a few days . It has a comp cams 280 hyd cam & lifter kit. Whats the best way to break the cam in ? i will be using brad penn break in oil with the comp cams additive . Also has anybody had problems with hydraulic cams going flat? Thanks for the help
cam break in
- Thread starter t-money80
- Start date
Make sure your rockers are adjusted properly and then start it and hold it at 3000 rpm or so for a couple minutes until it warms up, then check rockers again. It is not likely to round out a cam if your rockers are adjusted correctly.
X2. Mine wasn't held at 3000, it was held at a high idle (didn't know the rpm because my tach is funky & plus it was open headers :shock
for 15 minutes or so, and then it idled for a while after it was warm while we adjusted the idle on the carb & the timing. Before starting it I also primed the engine. Cheap way would be an old distributor with the cam gear taken off, and everything else but the shaft/body stripped. I used a ½" drill motor to prime it. Driven it maybe 1,000 miles now and haven't had any problems with the cam.
for 15 minutes or so, and then it idled for a while after it was warm while we adjusted the idle on the carb & the timing. Before starting it I also primed the engine. Cheap way would be an old distributor with the cam gear taken off, and everything else but the shaft/body stripped. I used a ½" drill motor to prime it. Driven it maybe 1,000 miles now and haven't had any problems with the cam.
A general rule of thumb for breaking in flat-tappet cams is to get everything ready to go, start it up, run it @ 2000 RPM for approximately 20 minutes, then shut it down, check fluid levels & relash the valves to the hot spec. A decent basic break-in procedure for any street engine is to drive it normally after the cam break-in, don't hold any single steady speed too long, & avoid hard, full throttle if possible for about 500 miles.
Tommy
Tommy
I always make sure the rpms fluctuate for the duration of the 20 min, for example, 3000, 2400, 2800, 2200 and so on, but most of all before you start it take both valve covers off and prime the oil pump until all the rocker arms have oil coming out the pushrod hole. Crank the motor over a few times while priming it and lasty and most importantly check and insure that ALL of the pushrods are spinning in the rocker arms. the reasons cams go flat is because the lifters arent properly spinning on the camshaft itself.
x2 on the lifters spinning,make sure they rotate,however i have broken in at least 50
cams with out so much as a hic-up this way.prime engine with primer until oil come's
out of all the rocker's,start engine and go right to 2000 rpm for 20 min. then go to 2500 for 1 min. then 3000 for 1 min then 3500 for 1 min.after this go down 500 rpm
every min until 1000 rpm then set idle. shut down let the engine cool down a little and then change oil and filter. then set your timing and carb to spec. has not let me down
yet. just my opinion.
cams with out so much as a hic-up this way.prime engine with primer until oil come's
out of all the rocker's,start engine and go right to 2000 rpm for 20 min. then go to 2500 for 1 min. then 3000 for 1 min then 3500 for 1 min.after this go down 500 rpm
every min until 1000 rpm then set idle. shut down let the engine cool down a little and then change oil and filter. then set your timing and carb to spec. has not let me down
yet. just my opinion.
i was always told break it in how you're going to be driving it. if you built it to race it, break in the cam, change the oil, and give 'er.
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