

| Subject: | Re: cam breakin' |
| From: | pensioner |
| Date: | Wed, 19 Mar 2003 06:28:34 -0800 |
Laurasdog spake... The 2000RPM for 20 minutes thing is all about cam/lifter break-in. The cam and lifters want LOTS of oil until they get somewhat seated in to each other. One of the worst things you can do is let an engine idle a lot during cam break in. Those first few minutes of a cams operational life determine a lot about how long it will last... To which I mumbles ... Perhaps, perhaps not. The camfaces are hardened, polished surfaces. The followers are hardened polished surfaces. The lubrication method is splash. There is no "sealing" needed as there is in the ring/liner interface. Nikasil liners and piston rings knead close tolerances to function effectively as a seal. Cam-follower interfaces only need enough lubrication to prevent galling and micro-welding. Roller-tappet cam systems are designed to deal with high spring pressures that allow valve float to be postponed until higher rpm and avoid the galling - welding failure that would occur in a sliding contact interface as found in non roller systems like ours. I fail to see on a fine-structure basis how "seating" the cam to follower interface can materially affect it's life. Good builders will often put a suitable amount of assembly lubricant on the cam face to avoid the first few seconds of operation without proper lubrication. After that the abrasives held in the oil and the lubricating properties of the oil dictate the scuffing wear. Doesn't seem to have much to do with "seating". I'm not a tribologist but I often play on the tv.
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