Camshaft prelube
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Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19109
Printed Date: 07 Feb 2025 at 5:49pm
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Topic: Camshaft prelube
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Subject: Camshaft prelube
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 1:12pm
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It's been many years since I've installed a new flat tappet cam. Seems like all of the ones I did put in came with a special lube that was not supposed to be put on the journals, only the lobes and lifters. My cam is a custom regrind. I'm just curious what some of you guys that build pullers have been using. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Replies:
Posted By: Bull
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 3:09pm
| Lucas Oil Co. makes an engine assembly lube that I have used on the crank and cam. I used it on the advice of a mechanic that worked on heavy equipment for a number of years. They have it at O'Reilly Automotive. |
Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 3:30pm
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I assembled engines using STP as a prelube on all parts, quick wipe with a finger full of it. also used the GM cam lube on lot of jobs when doing just cam and lifters on 350 chev engine when replacing the flat cams. ------------- Faith isn't a jump in the dark. It is a walk in the light. Faith is not guessing; it is knowing something. "Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." |
Posted By: mlpankey
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 4:27pm
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buy a cam breakin lube . please ------------- people if they don't already know it you can't tell them. quote yogi berra |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 4:42pm
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Thats what I was thinking. With the exception of my Oliver 60 rebuild (cam and lifters were in good shape), I'll bet its been at least 20 years since I've put a flat tappet cam in. The 383 was a roller cam. Come to think of it, the last job I did with a cam failure was on a 6.2L gas Ford and the parts weren't available yet. It got a complete motor. Thanks guys. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: mlpankey
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 4:45pm
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let it run at high idle just as you would a solid flat tappet race cam also ------------- people if they don't already know it you can't tell them. quote yogi berra |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 4:50pm
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Now that you say that, seems like I remember doing that on engines I put together. Like 1200 to 1500 for like 10-20 minutes? I'll have to do a good job of priming the injection pump so it fires right up won't I? ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: mlpankey
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2010 at 4:51pm
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yeap ------------- people if they don't already know it you can't tell them. quote yogi berra |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 1:22pm
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Mitch, where do you get your cam lube from and what brand do you use? The Napa guy tried to sell me a bottle of Lucas additive that did say it protected the camshaft during engine break in. It was just a bottle of stuff you poured in the oil. It said it had zinc in it. Not what I remember using anyway. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: mlpankey
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 1:40pm
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crane cams/ or arp ass. lube. non of the zinc additives will mix with a oil thats a sm but its good to use with a oil it will mix with . ------------- people if they don't already know it you can't tell them. quote yogi berra |
Posted By: Butch(OH)
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 3:01pm
| Brian, you can get it at a GM dealer, or used to anyway it was just called GM cam lube. If you happen to have a speed shop nearby they will have it or have Jegs send it to your door. I have a large bottle of Fel-pro assembly lube (NAPA I think?) and its been my cam lube for the last 20 or so I have done. The Hi-po world and stiff springs require specail lubes, your 262 rebuild falls in the catagory of doesnt need it but wont hurt it. The pre-lube you choose needs to stay on the cam until you start it and you need to keep the Rs up on the motor for 15-20 minutes on the first start as the others said/ |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 6:28pm
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Do the zinc additives mix with CJ4 rated diesel oil? I now have a professional race engine builder saying to use Valvoline VR1 race oil to break it in on. He also says the old cam break in lube like I'm thinking of is no longer available. He says all I need is something that will stay on the cam and do keep the RPM's up for 15-20 min. He also says the zinc stuff in the Lucas break in treatment is a good idea. The plot thickens... Butch, you wouldn't happen to have a GM number would you? My parts guys didn't know where to look. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: Butch(OH)
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 7:47pm
OK here ya go, in living color, LOL I had forgotten about E.O.S. darned good stuff A bottle of each and your as good as it gets IMO.
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Posted By: AaronSEIA
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 8:28pm
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For us non-performance guys, why does a cam need anything more special than the regular assembly lube? Just trying to learn. AaronSEIA |
Posted By: Butch(OH)
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2010 at 8:54pm
The cam, lifter contact is probably the highest pressure area in an engine even with stock parts, hi-po springs take pressures waaaay up and thus problems can happen. You get fifty answers from 50 people but what I do depends on what I am building and what parts are going back in. In my opinion the H-D lubes are not needed here or for any application not using valve springs that will work on the back of 3/4 trucks. Heck the total spring rate on a tractor is probably less than half what just the inners are on a HI-Po flat tappet spring set. Old cams with old lifters (always in the same place) and stock spring rates I just use the same Lubriplate assembly lube that I use oon everything else or the Felpro product I mentioned above. New OEM spec cams and lifters always get the Felpro. I havent built up a hi-po engine for over 10 years and 20 before that we used roller cams exclusively. That last flat tappet perforance engine I worked on was probably in the mid 70s and at that time everyone was using the GM cam product or a Molybdoman Dysulfyde ?? (name butchered) product that was put out by all the cam grinders. One thing that is not debated is to not idle the engine for the first 20 minutes when you have new cam and lifters as the cam lifter area is lubicated by either splash or squirters and both need rpms to be effective.
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AaronSEIA wrote: