Another Cam bites the dust...

[ShadowsPapa]

One old method was to get on the freeway right away and drive it at 75 mph for about 1k and done.

I’ve got 100 miles on this one so it’s onto the freeway I go.

Best thing you can do is vary the RPM and load. Load it up a few times right away and done. Vary the RPM . Don't baby it, don't granny drive it, but don't take it to the track right off the show room floor (although that's less likely to be a problem than babying it)

The stupid part about the cam break-in bit I posted like you get from the major aftermarket cam people since the 1990s is that they say - if for any reason you have to stop the engine within the 30 minute break-in period, you have to start all over from minute 0.
Now how does that make sense? They want 30 minutes, you make it to 22 and find a leak, fix it, and they want you to start over again? I guess I don't get where that comes from.

From an engine rebuilding book from the late 60s-

From a Ford owners manual from the late 1950s/early 60s -

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[Lost1wing]

Wait, you guys are breaking in cams?

Funny as heck, pesos.

 

[KevinM60]

Best thing you can do is vary the RPM and load. Load it up a few times right away and done. Vary the RPM .

I'm using the manual shift mode for that while on the freeway. 7th gear at 70mph holds the rpms at around 2300. If I shift to 6th it'll run about 3000 and 5th goes to about 3500. If I get some clearing in traffic I can go back to auto and get on the gas to fire it up a little and then go back to manual mode once I get to cruising again. This is all on fairly flat roads.

 

[JTGuy]

Load on the cam???? really. the only load is the valves and they don't care what you are doing.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Load on the cam???? really. the only load is the valves and they don't care what you are doing.

What are you referring to?
Who said "load on the cam" (which is a thing, but we're talking general break-in for the most part.)

Higher RPM is higher loading.. even on the cam. That's a fact of physics. Inertia, mass and so on.

 

[JTGuy]

I know that high RPM does load the cam some but it is not part of the drivetrain making it go forward. The cam load is the same towing or hills.

 

[KevinM60]

Load on the cam???? really. the only load is the valves and they don't care what you are doing.

I know that high RPM does load the cam some but it is not part of the drivetrain making it go forward. The cam load is the same towing or hills.

I did get off the subject of the OP about cams when I went into the subject of a complete engine swap and the break-in procedure that we were posting on.

 

[Lochsa]

Alright, an update to my story:
Jeep Cares was involved, so I was able to get a cam within three weeks. I requested an engine replacement due to concerns for metal in the engine. Jeep said no, a new cam and followers is good enough, they said no metal found in the valve solenoids. I said okay, how about dropping the pan and at least cleaning the metal residue out of the pan? Jeep said not warranted. I said, okay, how about at least changing the oil? Jeep said no need, service advisor told me to change the oil when the service minder indicated an oil change is necessary. I said what?!?!?!?

I picked up the Jeep yesterday, and my initial impression was good. The Jeep was quieter, had more power, got better fuel economy and was overall more responsive than it ever has been. I bought an oil filter and some oil to do an oil change this morning. I had an oil analysis kit to send in to get a base line. I planned on doing another oil change at 500 miles.

The day prior to picking up my Jeep, I spoke with Jeep Cares and they were going to speak with me the day after I picked up my vehicle. Jeep Cares said they were going to offer me a compensation package that included an extended warranty and some kind of compensation for being without my vehicle for over three weeks. In exchange I would have to sign legal documents that would essentially set my Jeep back to having zero days in the shop.

Last night, I was admiring how quiet my jeep was and asked my wife to come take a listen. I decided to take another video and planned on posting it so others could have an idea of an engine without a tick. At 55 seconds into the video, I captured the birth of another tick! Listen to the video and you will hear the additional drum come into the orchestra of injectors and other engine sounds. Twenty miles into a new cam and followers!

Needles to say, oil changed this morning with an analysis sent off, and back to the dealership. The dealership agrees something is not right. What could fail so quickly in twenty miles? The sound appears to be from the number one cylinder again. Awwww crap!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Jeep Cares was involved, so I was able to get a cam within three weeks. I requested an engine replacement due to concerns for metal in the engine. Jeep said no, a new cam and followers is good enough, they said no metal found in the valve solenoids. I said okay, how about dropping the pan and at least cleaning the metal residue out of the pan? Jeep said not warranted. I said, okay, how about at least changing the oil? Jeep said no need, service advisor told me to change the oil when the service minder indicated an oil change is necessary. I said what?!?!?!?

I can go along with everything except changing the oil ASAP, and not "when the reminder told you to". Sorry, that's severe service, and a risk of the filter getting filled enough that combined with thicker oil on a cold start it could go into bypass - letting crap through.
Naw, change it after a short run to let the oil grab the crap and send it to the filter, but no more.
No way I'd drive on that oil without a change.
As far as the rest of the engine - it should be fine. There isn't a way (short of a burst filter or filter in bypass) for that crap to get into bearings and so on. Screen picks up chunks, the oil hits the filter and the filtered oil is what gets pumped to the bearings.
Paranoid me might drive a few hundred miles and change it again, but that's me knowing I'd sleep better at night.

 

[Thunderspud]

Alright, an update to my story:
Jeep Cares was involved, so I was able to get a cam within three weeks. I requested an engine replacement due to concerns for metal in the engine. Jeep said no, a new cam and followers is good enough, they said no metal found in the valve solenoids. I said okay, how about dropping the pan and at least cleaning the metal residue out of the pan? Jeep said not warranted. I said, okay, how about at least changing the oil? Jeep said no need, service advisor told me to change the oil when the service minder indicated an oil change is necessary. I said what?!?!?!?

I picked up the Jeep yesterday, and my initial impression was good. The Jeep was quieter, had more power, got better fuel economy and was overall more responsive than it ever has been. I bought an oil filter and some oil to do an oil change this morning. I had an oil analysis kit to send in to get a base line. I planned on doing another oil change at 500 miles.

The day prior to picking up my Jeep, I spoke with Jeep Cares and they were going to speak with me the day after I picked up my vehicle. Jeep Cares said they were going to offer me a compensation package that included an extended warranty and some kind of compensation for being without my vehicle for over three weeks. In exchange I would have to sign legal documents that would essentially set my Jeep back to having zero days in the shop.

Last night, I was admiring how quiet my jeep was and asked my wife to come take a listen. I decided to take another video and planned on posting it so others could have an idea of an engine without a tick. At 55 seconds into the video, I captured the birth of another tick! Listen to the video and you will hear the additional drum come into the orchestra of injectors and other engine sounds. Twenty miles into a new cam and followers!

Needles to say, oil changed this morning with an analysis sent off, and back to the dealership. The dealership agrees something is not right. What could fail so quickly in twenty miles? The sound appears to be from the number one cylinder again. Awwww crap!

If this turns out to be another cam/lifter failure......this might be the best audio representation of this issue ever captured. Good work.

I didn't capture it on video, but the 5.7 in my Grand Cherokee had a similarly noticeable change in sound when it wiped it's cam. I recall thinking that it could not possibly be anything else when it happened. It was so obvious.

 

[JTGuy]

I would pull the pan just for a look. I would take it to the dealer if I found anything in it and ask to trade it in.

 

[Lochsa]

I'm going to disagree about metal in the bearings, the filter filters down to about 35 microns, some of the metal dust produced will most likely be smaller than that.

I guess it is a mute point now, it is back in the shop, how did I get a new tick in twenty miles? Something is not right with this engine and the variable valve lift. What is the chance of getting another bad follower? Statistically it should be low if in fact the failure rate is as low as some quote.

 

[Lochsa]

I would pull the pan just for a look. I would take it to the dealer if I found anything in it and ask to trade it in.

I am going to use the oil analysis, for evidence. If under warranty, I pull the pan, I'm afraid they may void my warranty.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I would pull the pan just for a look. I would take it to the dealer if I found anything in it and ask to trade it in.

You can't be serious? Of course there will be something in the pan. You don't think it's all going to stay right there next to the cam lobe and follower and go no farther?
Hundreds of cams replaced with nothing more than an oil change - including other makes and models over the decades, proves there's really nothing to fear.
Even back in the 70s and 80s, we did cam swaps, valve jobs and other work, and at most, did an oil and filter change. In a few cases, a pan came off, but that was for things like the nylon ripping off cam sprockets, or similar situations. Even then, it's of no real concern.

If it was mine, with as easy as it is to access the pan, I'd pull it, clean the screen and pan, and put it back and call it good.

 

[Stan H]

I didn't hear anything other than the idle slow down . Clean it up change the oil and filter . ( me personally I would have done it in their lot ,Not Joking) then ease it in for a few miles then moderate RPms for awhile then drive normal. Stay under 55 for a day or so. And dont do WOT for a few hundred miles. After that run as normal and Flog that thing. Run RPMS up into the 4 grand category.
Dude I do every day .

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