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Used Cam Break in?? #1543057 12/03/13 09:42 AM 12/03/13 09:42 AM
Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 6 MA D dodge413 OP member
dodge413 OP member D Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 6 MA	Ok Gear Heads! Here's A Question For You. I Am Installing A Used Hydraulic Cam And Lifter Set (Thanks To MikeyT) Into My Bone Stock 413. I Am On A Shoe String Budjet, Hence The Used Cam... Do I Need To "Break In" This Cam Into This New/Old 413 Engine? Do I Need To Use High Zinc Content Break In Oil? Do I Need To Run The Engine At 2500 Rpm For 20 Minutes? Thanks For The Comments!

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: dodge413] #1543058 12/03/13 09:53 AM 12/03/13 09:53 AM
Joined: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,317 Ohio J jlatessa pro stock
jlatessa pro stock J Joined: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,317 Ohio	Lifters and lobes have to be matched from previous use. wear patterns are usually different, but that being said, on a mild build, with low spring pressures, you can probably get away with it using an additive, my Joe

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: jlatessa] #1543059 12/03/13 10:45 AM 12/03/13 10:45 AM
Joined: Aug 2010 Posts: 343 S.E.Mich D drew72 enthusiast
drew72 enthusiast D Joined: Aug 2010 Posts: 343 S.E.Mich	As long as the lifters are matched to their original lobes there is no need to break in the cam. It's already done.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: drew72] #1543060 12/03/13 11:07 AM 12/03/13 11:07 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 926 MICHIGAN B BB65Barracuda super stock
BB65Barracuda super stock B Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 926 MICHIGAN	Quote: As long as the lifters are matched to their original lobes there is no need to break in the cam. It's already done. 1957 Power wagon wm300 original 10.000 mile truck, 1964 dodge Polara Convertible numbers matching

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: dodge413] #1543061 12/03/13 11:26 AM 12/03/13 11:26 AM
Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,708 S. Il. U.S.A. 5spdcuda top fuel
5spdcuda top fuel Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,708 S. Il. U.S.A.	It usually works. I would use a high zinc oil or some zinc additive. There is one thing to consider however. While it's true that the cam and lifters are mated to each other [ this assumes that each lifter is going back on the same lobe it was on before ], the lifer bores in the block you're using may and probably are at slightly different angles than the one it came out of. This MAY be enough to cause the lifters to wear prematurely. As I said at the beginning it usually works, just keep in mind that it's not guaranteed. If you're really worried you can just buy new lifters and go through the usual 20-25 minute break in procedure.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 5spdcuda] #1543062 12/03/13 11:34 AM 12/03/13 11:34 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 16,376 D dogdays I Live Here
dogdays I Live Here D Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 16,376	The last poster made most of my point. Lifter angle/placement will probably be a little different. IMHO there is enough of an issue that you put the cam in covered with break-in lube and run the engine at 2000 rpm or so for the 20 minutes. Look at it this way, what does it cost you to do this? So why not? I'd probably do this over replacing the lifters with new ones. Make sure your heads have enough clearance between retainer and seal, also that the spring doesn't go into coil bind. R.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 5spdcuda] #1543063 12/03/13 11:52 AM 12/03/13 11:52 AM
Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 6 MA D dodge413 OP member
dodge413 OP member D Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 6 MA	Unfortunately The Lifters Were Not Marked Which Lobe They Were from When They Were Removed. Supposedly The Cam Has Only A 1000 Miles On It And It Barely Has Any Evidence It Was Even Used.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: dogdays] #1543064 12/03/13 11:57 AM 12/03/13 11:57 AM
Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 6 MA D dodge413 OP member
dodge413 OP member D Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 6 MA	This Cam Is Just A Step Ovet Stock. It Is An Edelbrock Performer Cam With Like .425 lift. So There Shouldn't Be Any Issue With The Stock Springs Binding Or Anything.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: dodge413] #1543065 12/03/13 12:14 PM 12/03/13 12:14 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,721 North Dakota 6PakBee I Live Here
6PakBee I Live Here Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,721 North Dakota	Quote: Unfortunately The Lifters Were Not Marked Which Lobe They Were from When They Were Removed. Supposedly The Cam Has Only A 1000 Miles On It And It Barely Has Any Evidence It Was Even Used. New lifter time. "We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: dodge413] #1543066 12/03/13 12:16 PM 12/03/13 12:16 PM
Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,708 S. Il. U.S.A. 5spdcuda top fuel
5spdcuda top fuel Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,708 S. Il. U.S.A.	If you don't know which lifter went on it's respective lobe I would definitely get new lifters. FWIW whenever I pull a cam and lifters and think there is any possibility they will be used again I put each lifter in a zip lock sandwich bag and write the position [ eg. 1 IN. ] on a piece of masking tape and put that on the bag. The bag keeps the lifter clean and oiled and separate from each other.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 5spdcuda] #1543067 12/03/13 04:05 PM 12/03/13 04:05 PM
Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,732 Watertown, WI MikeyT master
MikeyT master Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,732 Watertown, WI	That is good to know! I didn't realize that either Mike 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: MikeyT] #1543068 12/03/13 04:58 PM 12/03/13 04:58 PM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 6,562 Downtown Roebuck Ont Twostick Still wishing...
Twostick Still wishing... Joined: May 2003 Posts: 6,562 Downtown Roebuck Ont	I used to swap used 340 cams into 318's when I didn't know any better and used the lifters from the 318 after taking them out of a bucket. Never had a problem. Never knew about cam lube either but I did slather everything in STP. Me in your position, I'm cleaning everything up good, putting the assembly lube to it and making sure ALL the lifters are spinning before I fire it. Fill it with Rotella 15/40, prime it, fire it and call it a day. Kevin

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: Twostick] #1543069 12/03/13 05:35 PM 12/03/13 05:35 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 25,200 Upper Midwest M MoparforLife Too Many Posts
MoparforLife Too Many Posts M Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 25,200 Upper Midwest	Quote: I used to swap used 340 cams into 318's when I didn't know any better and used the lifters from the 318 after taking them out of a bucket. Never had a problem. Never knew about cam lube either but I did slather everything in STP. Me in your position, I'm cleaning everything up good, putting the assembly lube to it and making sure ALL the lifters are spinning before I fire it. Fill it with Rotella 15/40, prime it, fire it and call it a day. Kevin That is what I would do too. Likely been done a lot more times without problems than with. With a mild set up I wouldn't worry about it.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: MoparforLife] #1543070 12/03/13 05:43 PM 12/03/13 05:43 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,721 North Dakota 6PakBee I Live Here
6PakBee I Live Here Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,721 North Dakota	Well, if you decide to go cheap at least verify that the lifters are rotating on the camshaft. Then you have a fighting chance. If they aren't rotating I don't care how little spring pressure you are running, the cam lobe won't last. "We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 6PakBee] #1543071 12/03/13 08:49 PM 12/03/13 08:49 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 25,200 Upper Midwest M MoparforLife Too Many Posts
MoparforLife Too Many Posts M Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 25,200 Upper Midwest	Quote: Well, if you decide to go cheap at least verify that the lifters are rotating on the camshaft. Then you have a fighting chance. If they aren't rotating I don't care how little spring pressure you are running, the cam lobe won't last. If the lifters aren't spinning it won't make a bit of difference if they are new or used. It will be instant destruction.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: MoparforLife] #1543072 12/03/13 10:25 PM 12/03/13 10:25 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,721 North Dakota 6PakBee I Live Here
6PakBee I Live Here Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,721 North Dakota	Quote: Quote: Well, if you decide to go cheap at least verify that the lifters are rotating on the camshaft. Then you have a fighting chance. If they aren't rotating I don't care how little spring pressure you are running, the cam lobe won't last. If the lifters aren't spinning it won't make a bit of difference if they are new or used. It will be instant destruction. Let's agree to disagree. If you light it up and a lifter is stationary, or barely moving, the 30 seconds it takes to determine this (assuming you've lathered everything up with break-in lube) won't kill the lobe. "We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 6PakBee] #1543073 12/03/13 11:14 PM 12/03/13 11:14 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,421 Balt. Md 3 383man Too Many Posts
383man Too Many Posts 3 Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,421 Balt. Md	If the lifters get mixed up on a used cam and lifters I would just replace the lifters (as long as the cam was good) and then use the cam break in lube and oil with alot of zinc. Then just break the lifters into the new cam like breaking in any cam and of course make sure the lifters rotate. I was never a fan of using used lifters on a used cam if the lifters got mixed up. You have to remember for the lifters to rotate the cam needs to have the angle on the lobe and the lifters need to be concave on the bottom (concave going out from the lifter bottom) a bit so the lifters will be forced to want to rotate. A used lifter may not have enough concave left on it for it to want to rotate. I always worry about that on used lifters so as I said if they get mixed up I prefer to replace the lifters. Ron Last edited by 383man; 12/03/13 11:21 PM.

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 383man] #1543074 12/03/13 11:59 PM 12/03/13 11:59 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,377 Omaha Ne T TJP I Live Here
TJP I Live Here T Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,377 Omaha Ne	Quote: If the lifters get mixed up on a used cam and lifters I would just replace the lifters (as long as the cam was good) and then use the cam break in lube and oil with alot of zinc. Then just break the lifters into the new cam like breaking in any cam and of course make sure the lifters rotate. I was never a fan of using used lifters on a used cam if the lifters got mixed up. You have to remember for the lifters to rotate the cam needs to have the angle on the lobe and the lifters need to be concave on the bottom (concave going out from the lifter bottom) a bit so the lifters will be forced to want to rotate. A used lifter may not have enough concave left on it for it to want to rotate. I always worry about that on used lifters so as I said if they get mixed up I prefer to replace the lifters. Ron www.tandmautomotive-omaha.com

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: 6PakBee] #1543075 12/04/13 12:02 AM 12/04/13 12:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,377 Omaha Ne T TJP I Live Here
TJP I Live Here T Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,377 Omaha Ne	Quote: New lifter time. Cheap insurance IMO www.tandmautomotive-omaha.com

Re: Used Cam Break in?? [Re: dodge413] #1543076 12/04/13 04:46 AM 12/04/13 04:46 AM
Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 30,431 Florida STAYcation BeEtLeJuIcE ! The village idiot's idiot
BeEtLeJuIcE ! The village idiot's idiot Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 30,431 Florida STAYcation	People have missed ...... ....as long as the lobes on the cam are good, all lifters have a good crown on them and all lifters spin free in the bores ....you are good-to-go. I have done this on my last couple of cam swaps and new engine builds ... put a dab of white engine enamal on the TOP EDGE of the lifter so you can observe the proper rotation EZ with the rocker covers off....

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