cam tower alignment

[thetremendoustim]

I posted my problem on zdriver and not to be redundant or a spammer I just wondered what any hybrid people had to say about the cam tower alignment.

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=152326&highlight=cam+tower+line

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=139927&highlight=cam+tower+line

 

etc

 

and here's my issue, I aligned them as best as I could by tapping them with a rubber mallet but they're not "two finger" turnable. I tried for about an hour trying to aligne them as best as I could and this was my best result:

 

 

what do you think? AM i going to be throwing metal around the top of my engine any time soon?

[m4xwellmurd3r]

that's REALLLY tight dude. not sure how to fix it, but i do know that your cam is way too tight.

[ozconnection]

Were the cam journals and cam towers lubricated before you tried this test?

[BRAAP]

That looks a bit snug, but not really that bad. Ideally you want it to spin freely with 2 fingers and if this is a cylinder head rebuild for a paying customer, you would want that.

 

Things to keep in mind when dealing with L-series cam towers;

1) Do not mix them up with other towers fomr other heads.

 

2) Do not mix up their placement on the head. i.e. stamp them before you remove them and install them back in that same exact location! They were machined in that order and need to remain in that order. YOu can even use them on different heads, so long as the top of the head is flat and the towers are in that order.

 

3) When the cam towers were machined at the factory, they were on a truly flat surface. As such, the top of the head needs to be truly flat. If the head was overheated/warped, the top of the head that the cam towers bolt down to will also need to be surfaced as it will be warped just as the bottom surface, therefore putting an arch in the cam line where straight cam shaft wants to spin. If the top is not surfaced as well, the cam line wont be straight and the cam will be tight in the towers.

 

If this is your own car, one that you will tear back into in less then 100,000, I would not hesitate to run it as is. It is snug, but but spins in one hand. That amount of tightness will not push through the oil wedge developed on running engine with adequate oil supply to the head, (the timing chain places FAR more pressure on the bottom of the front cam tower and you’ll notice little to no wear in that region).

 

Hope that helps,

Paul

[Phlebmaster]

Were the cam journals and cam towers lubricated before you tried this test?

 

Ditto... I just put my cam towers back on and I always use assembly lube before I slide the cam into place.

[thetremendoustim]

I talked to a shop to get my cam tower aligned and after explaining how its a little snug the guy said that should be normal: his reasoning was because on a brand new, perfectly flat head it will spin nicely with two fingers, however this head has GOD KNOWS how many miles on it so it going to be warped, which makes sense since I had to have the head resurfaced (hence the removal of the cam towers). So I think after I torque down the head I will test it one more time for any binding spots then put the rest of the timing components on! Its not going to be fun getting the chain back on though >.<

 

Ditto... I just put my cam towers back on and I always use assembly lube before I slide the cam into place.

Do i need assembly lube? I just used standard 10/30 on all my bearings : /

[Tony D]

I guess nobody evere had a mandrel made to do this expediently.

 

You might try Power Brother's Machine in Paramount CA, they may still have the drawing for my mandrel. Line-to-Line fit (within 0.001") on the towers...stick 'em on, bolt em' down, and run it!

 

From my 'centrifugal rotating equipment' knowledge database...

 

Looks tight, though as stated running it will let you know what you need to do to make it turn easier.