I have a 383 I am replacing all the gaskets on,figure I would find out what to look for,if anything as far as cam lobes being wiped out. Everything else checks out OK. Its apart so I thought I would ask now. Thanks all.

Assuming your valve covers are removed:

Start by removing rockers and shafts,

remove lifters one at a time and check bottom for wear.

You will need a long magnet to remove and install lifters.

Put a new chain in there while you are at it.

i've heard that weak cams or oil-starved cams can go "round"....this is what happened to the intake lifter on the number 1 cylinder of my 440....

The best way is to visually inspect each lobe whiel it's apart. If you dont think it looks good, post a pic...

Use a dial indicator or other measuring device "in the car" to measure lift, most accurate at the lifters.

If the cam is out just caliper them. You'll have to visually ID the intake from the exhaust, because they'll be different

Lifter condition is a fairly good indicator. If the lifters all show similar wear patterns, chances of one flat lobe are slim

I'm a BIG believer in keeping old lifters with the original lobe, so if you remove the cam and re-use it, lay out the lifters in order

Awesome responses and pics thanks. Gonna start pullin lifters here in a few. I'm feelin lazy,I'll have to think about the pics.........

Do you have a cam card for it?

Here is a picture of a lobe on one of my cams that I found a couple of weeks ago.

Stan

WILD BILL,wuzz up!! No card,virgin 71 383HP motor,stock cam.
If all checks out good I'm gonna degree it once I get a new chain for it.Gonna pull some lifters here soon and compare to some pics the guys put up for me(thanks!). I'm still gonna hold ya to that trans rebuild!

OK,I pulled a few lifters,and they have some wear,but NOTHING like the pic of the above lifter. It just has a slight concave to it,but dont look burnt,and its not as deep as the one pictured above. Is this normal wear? Should they be replaced? The lobes also look all about the same. Nothing like the lobe pictured here above.

I recommend replacing the cam and lifters if you have any concave lifters. They should all be convex when you put a straight edge on them. A little extra money here will save you a lot of money later.

Convex lifters rotate. Concave do not. This is what kills cams and lifters. If the lifter is slightly concave now, expect it to go bad in the future! This can be in 500 milies or 5000 miles but it will happen.

Sometimes you can get away with just replacing the lifter but just make sure the cam lobe is good by using a dial indicator to check lift and compare it to the others. This is preceded by a visual check for cam wear.

I don't know how you would degree the cam without having the card. All you could do at this point is use a dial indicator to look for differences in lobe lift of all the lobes. Compare intake to intake and exuasht to exuahst. The intake and exhaust lifts could be different.

I dont have a card,but I do have the factory specs on the cams. The same as a card I would think.

Here's a shade tree way to check the lifter surface. Remember, keep them in order!
Take one lifter and hold it horizontal. The bore surface is as flat as you can get, since these are not tapered on the sides.
Touch the base of a suspect lifter to the side of the horizontal lifter, trying to contact the highest edge evenly. It should have a very slight bit of light between each edge while touching in the middle. If not, it could be worn. If there is light in the middle, it's time for new lifters!

My buddy I just talked to has a set he's gonna give me. He just used them to break a cam in before he went to a different lifter set. The break in was successful so that is what I'll be using. Can't beat free! Thanks guys

can't reuse used lifters on a different cam, they are broken in to that specific cam.

Done it 100 times through the years,it'll be fine.
It's not a race motor,wont hurt anything.
As long as I treat it like a fresh cam and lifters,they'll wear in to this cam just fine.

it's a Dodge,I'm always knockin' on wood with it!

Can't you tell when a lifter is wasted because it slurs and stumbles?