Cascade Crew

[kenf729]

Anyway, I was reading the TGO post on the rare 85 find and found this site, so I thought since I live here I should sign up here...

so here the deal, I bought an 89RS no motor or tranny back in Sept. well spent most of the time re-building an old 350 I had laying aroung, bored out to 0.30 so now I guess it's a 355, anywho intake is ther Performer with a Holley 650DP, flow master headers 2 1/2 in Y pipe to a 3 inch hiflow cat, 3 inch pipe back to the 80 series 3 inch out.

my problem...wipped the cam, so I bought the xe262 from summit, new lifters and springs. gonna be a weekend project to replace.

I know a friggin page before I even get to my question...so here it is, when putting in new hd lifters do I need to soak them in a oil bath, I've heard both do and don't, thoughts?

Ken

[Dewey316]

One of the other guys will probably chime in, who actualy know what they are doing. , but, I don't know that that would matter, I would think that before you crank it over, you would wnat to build up the oil pressure first, that might fill the lifters anyway.

On another note, make sure you use plenty of lube for the break in!

Welcome, glad to see another Portland area person, you should go introduce yourself in the general forum.

[kenf729]

Thats a good idea...done and thanks

Ken

[Dewey316]

Here is the real tech on it. Straight from Comp Cams.

[BigDaddyVu]

but don't over rev. allow cam brake in 30 mins. consistant "R's" no playn with throttle harmonic imbalance will give you uneven wear. Don't break 'em in like a race engine you don't have the time and money to rebuilt a engine between races.

[kenf729]

Dewey316...Thanks for the actual from Comp...

BigDaddyVu...touch confused, I was always told to keep engine up to 2000 - 2500 rpm's for cam break in, and chang rpm's once in a while...

[BigDaddyVu]

not idle to red line. just rev slowly and easy

[chevymad]

Ken I think you have it right. I think bigdaddy is talking about snapping the throttle giving it quick revs. You want to rev it up to 2k and let it run then just adjust it a few hundred rpm every so often till you get your 30 minutes in.

I've never presoaked a set of lifters. I do wipe lots of lube on them before i install them however. As you've allready gone through one cam and are using an XE grind on this one too, which is aggressive. Make sure you get a good oil and use either GM EOS(engine oil supplement) available at your dealer or the RED can of STP 4cylinder engine oil treatment. The RED can is full of the zinc/moly/phosphorous that the government recently removed from all gasoline engine oils. I would also run a diesel type engine oil These are higher in the zinc/moly as well. This would be Shell Rotella, Delo 400, Valvoline Blue etc. I personally like a straight 30 wt for breakin. If possible get the older diesel oil, not the new LE low emission stuff. It too has had most of the good additives removed. Racing oil is another alternative. But be warned valvoline VR1 racing oil is not really racing oil and it too has had the antiwear additives removed. True racing oil will not have the government seal or ratings on it. It will also say not for highway use.

[kenf729]

ok that makes since thanks bigdaddy, and chevymad thaks for the input on this as well, my first cam was installed by my buddy, and when asked he said what lube so with less than 5 hours on the rebuild it's comming apart, but I kinda wanted more than stock cam...

I was going to use just a standard 20-50wt oil with some EOS, think maybe I'd better go with diesel oil along with EOS, I don't want to have to do this again anytime soon.

So, here's another question, for the Or-a-gone folks, how hard is it to pass DEQ, no smog and running the performer?

[Twilightoptics]

You'll have a hell of a time with that cam and no cat.

Just my .02

Chevymad said everything I do on a break-in and my solid cam is still going strong... knocks on wood.

[Dewey316]

OR emmisions sucks. I couldn't pass at all, we even put the stock cam back in, and had a cat.

BUT, Oregon is a really easy state to register your car outside of emmisions.

[NHRA427]

What we always do is use moly grease on the cam and lifters. Start it and dont let it idle under 1500 rpms, Before I start I use a drill with a oil primer to make sure all the lifters are getting oil. I do around 1800. Every few minutes I snap the throttle to very the cam speed. Biggest thing is to get 15 to 20 minutes at 1500 or more for about 20 minutes. Some people dont think you need to break in a cam but they are the ones replacing them. If its a roller you dont have to. There is no such thing as pre soaking. Its not skin its metal. Never lost a cam in my life. Built over a 100 engines. As far as emissions your on your. Thats why I live where there aren't those issues.

[QwkTrip]

When it comes to engine break in, if you have 10 people in a room then you'll have 10 opinions. Some people go bomb down the drag strip right away. Others drive like grandma for 500 miles. I suggest you look into what the auto industry does to break in engines on the assembly line. They spent millions of dollars researching the quickest and cheapest ways to get the job done while ensuring long life. That would be my baseline to work from and then figure out how to best replicate that at home.

Now, while I'm at it I'll tell you my opinion. The main rule to breaking in a cam is to make sure that the engine speed does not drop to idle and try not to shut off the engine during the first 20 minutes. I like NHRA427's approach. Due to the dynamics of engines, they really like to operate at 2000 rpm. I'd probably use that as a guideline for maintaining speed during cam break in. But you also want to make sure the rings seat well to the cylinder walls. This is done best by placing the engine under load. That's why a break-in on the dyno is so useful. If you do this at home my suggestion is to go climb some steep hills for a few hours, or if possible hook up a trailer with load and hit the freeway. No need to stuff the throttle. Just make the engine work and vary the engine speed now and then. In fact, if you have other new parts in the drivetrain like a clutch or rearend then I would avoid stuffing the throttle for a few hundred miles.

Bottom line - there are a lot of things to monitor while breaking in an engine. You're trying to control engine speed, watch oil pressure, keep from overheating, adjusting spark timing, adjusting valve lash, adjusting fuel settings on the carb. It's NOT a one man job. If something goes wrong you want a few people helping so you have the best chance of getting it solved without shutting down the engine prematurely. Shut down the engine early and you run a much higher risk of wiping out a cam early. Will it happen for sure? No. Is it much more likely? Yes.

[Quasi-Traction]