new cam....new problem

eric n · Nov 10, 2005

Hi all. Well I haven't done a lot new for a while so I haven't posted for a while but.......

My old Cam (about 7,000 miles old) just recently went flat (that's what the mechanic said). So I called Comp Cams and asked what they recommend. They came up with what sounded like a great recomendation so I dropped it off with the shop and ordered the cam from Summit racing.

On the drive home things went south. Odd sounds and loss of power. I am guessing (ONLY GUESSING) that the new cam is destroying the Distributor gear. I'm guessing that because with my old engine we went through 3 comp cams because of this problem, before switching to isky. This feels similar. Has anyone else heard of this problem???

Also My shop charged me 11 hours for r & r of cam. This included getting it tuned nicely (drive home was great until it became lousey). Also the Car is an AC car so there was a little extra time for that. Still I was anticipating about 6 hours. Am I wacky or are they Slow/dishonest?

grego37 · Nov 10, 2005

when they put in the new cam, did they also put in new lifters?

Did they break in the cam properly?

302 coupe · Nov 10, 2005

if its a roller cam it will require a hardened distributor gear. But then again, with a roller cam its virtually impossible to wipe a lobe. But with a non-roller cam, your dsitributor gear shouldn't be wearing.

Honestly, I think some mis-diagnosis has occured somewhere.

eric n · Nov 10, 2005

yes new lifters were added.

No the cam isn't a roller.

As per the non roller no wear.... I had 3 distributor gears completely whiped out when my old engine was built by a local shop with a 30 year local history (doesn't say they are good, but they deffinately have experience

302 coupe · Nov 10, 2005

Maybe a bad cam retainer plate, which would be strange. Maybe the oil pump is really tight, and putting excess strain on the gear. Its an odd problem, assuming the the right combination of parts, and it seems like you've got that covered. Just trying to think of things that could possibly eat up a dist gear.

You might want to drop the oil pan to clean out the metal shavings (from the wiped lobe and 3 dist gears), and install a new pump while you're in there. Pumps are cheap.

06cobra · Nov 10, 2005

^^ I agree!

Also something to check is the disty itself, sometimes they don't seat all the way down on cam gear. Needing either shims or grinding of the base of the disty. this is more of a problem for the chebby's but has been known to happen on the odd ford too!

iskwezm · Nov 10, 2005

11 hours???wow!!!its about a 4-5 hour job..(well at least thats what takes to do it,i had to get faster after my my cam went flat in my new engine )what color is your car,i was just up there for the Highway 99 cruise and saw really clean blue shelby clone

mudbilly · Nov 10, 2005

when i had my Comp Cam installed the engine builder said that the Comp Cam timing set that i bought would not work for some reason. he found something else to install, i don't know what, probably should have asked but i still have the timing set sitting in the garage

i installed a MSD distributor right out of the box and did the break in and haven't any problems...

D.Hearne · Nov 10, 2005

Sounds to me like they're forgetting to install the cam retainer plate. That will destroy both lifters and distributor gears.

jbuening · Nov 10, 2005

mudbilly said:
when i had my Comp Cam installed the engine builder said that the Comp Cam timing set that i bought would not work for some reason. he found something else to install, i don't know what, probably should have asked but i still have the timing set sitting in the garage

i installed a MSD distributor right out of the box and did the break in and haven't any problems...

Wanna know why they didn't want to use the Comp Cam timing set? See pics below

amnit: Yep, thats my timing chain and the true dual roller timing chain from CompCams. Their cam sprocket is thicker than stock ones and you see what happens there. I had to grind my fuel pump eccentric down to get it to work. Good thing i didn't start the engine like that.

Oh and was a High Volume oil pump installed? that will create alot of stress on the dizzy gear and will eat them up in a hurry. Just a thought

mudbilly · Nov 10, 2005

OUCH

jbuening said:
Oh and was a High Volume oil pump installed? that will create alot of stress on the dizzy gear and will eat them up in a hurry. Just a thought

yep, he installed a hi volume pump, i had actually bought and taken a oil pump to him and he refused to install it.........

what would be the symptom if my dizzy starts to wear, i figger i have about 5 thousand miles on the rebuild..

jbuening · Nov 10, 2005

You will have some play if you twist the rotor with the dizzy cap removed. It will naturally have some play but the more wear on the teeth the more play will be noticed. Really the only sure fire way to tell is pull the dizzy. You'll notice abnormal teeth wear on the gear and the teeth will be thin. Not to get off track but most shops that i know will try to talk a person out of a high volume oil pump. Too hard on the dizzys and i remember reading somewhere that it was hard on the bearings but don't quote me on that.

ttoney · Nov 10, 2005

Failed SBF Distributor Gear Article

http://www.cobralads.com/butcher63.html

A lot of this going around lately. Some interesting info.

302 coupe · Nov 10, 2005

thats a good link ttoney. That could explain this weird issue.

mustangdave · Nov 10, 2005

That's an amzing link but they keep referring to Cobras and gear material so I assume they are talking about late models.
More likely is the fact that your shop sucks. Surely by now, all of the bearings are damaged and perhaps the cam bearings were never installed correctly. With all of those metal shavings, you need to tear it down and check for damage. Find a shop that checks clearances such as crank AND cam endplay, bearing thickness, etc...

jbuening · Nov 10, 2005

ttoney said:
Failed SBF Distributor Gear Article

http://www.cobralads.com/butcher63.html

A lot of this going around lately. Some interesting info.

Those problems are mainly with roller cams eating up the gears. Roller cams are made of much harder material and is tougher on the gears, thus the reason for a steel/bronze gear. Could be similar situation though. I'm betting on the high volume oil pump causing it.

HistoricMustang · Nov 11, 2005

Two issues common with the small block Fords deal with the valve train and the distributor gear. Having struggled with both through the years I solved the distributor gear problem by going with bronze. You have really got to grease that gear up when installing.

I do run a high volumn (not high pressure) oil pump.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

eric n · Nov 13, 2005

iskwezm said:
11 hours???wow!!!its about a 4-5 hour job..(well at least thats what takes to do it,i had to get faster after my my cam went flat in my new engine )what color is your car,i was just up there for the Highway 99 cruise and saw really clean blue shelby clone

Mine is Blue, Tahitian Pearl Blue to be exact (honda civic color from last year). I didn't take my car to the show, but it was out and about over the weekend. It could very well have been mine that you saw. While not perfect, it's a pretty tight looking ride.

eric n · Nov 13, 2005

I am now told by my guy that I have a f'ed valve. I've had these heads on for about 3 years, no problem. New cam goes in and valve gets bent????? Small ding in the top of the piston??? The mechanic asked me if I was over reving it. I picked up the car, put my five year old in the front seat (no rear) harnessed him up. I've NEVER over reved this car. I'm certainly not going to do it with my boy in the car.

The guy said he was going to make it right! We shall see. As an aside, I have a buddy who has loaned me his 05 Mustang GT to drive around in through the week end. Hell of a nice ride. These 3 day test drives can get you hooked.

D.Hearne · Nov 13, 2005

jbuening said:
Wanna know why they didn't want to use the Comp Cam timing set? See pics below

amnit: Yep, thats my timing chain and the true dual roller timing chain from CompCams. Their cam sprocket is thicker than stock ones and you see what happens there. I had to grind my fuel pump eccentric down to get it to work. Good thing i didn't start the engine like that.

Oh and was a High Volume oil pump installed? that will create alot of stress on the dizzy gear and will eat them up in a hurry. Just a thought

With that much dammage, the pump cam should have been in contact when the timing cover was bolted on. Should have leaked oil like crazy too. If not, then I'd suspect the cam retainer wasn't installed. Last thing would be a too thick cam gear. A high volume oilpump wouldn't cause all this damage.

new cam....new problem

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