Excessive Cam Wear

[timot_one]

I pulled off my valve cover yesterday so Cham and I could do a valve adjustment.  I currently have 160k on my motor, so the valve adjustment was a little bit over due.  When we pulled the cover off, there was a little surprise.  On my exhaust cam we noticed excessive cam wear on the lobes.  The valve lash was "too tight" (for a lack of better words) causing this wear, but to my knowledge this is the first valve adjustment done on my motor.  There was some wear on the intake lobes also, but not as bad as the exhaust lobes.  Either way, for all you guys that are swapping valve covers, here's what you want to look out for.  Now I can either swap in some aftermarket cams, or use this as the excuse to swap my motor finally.

Here are the shitty cell phones pics.  The 2 close up pics are on cylinder 3.

[CrackerTeg]

Wow. I should probably pull my valve cover back off and take a look now. Who would've thunk it?

[Knocturnal84]

i would like to learn how to do that but  i could sell you my stock cams if you want.

Does that wear mess up stuff like power or something

[Paulius005]

Good to know.

Thanks for the info Tim.

[stirfriedferret]

i would like to learn how to do that but  i could sell you my stock cams if you want.

Does that wear mess up stuff like power or something

Yes, it does.  It doesn't allow the exhaust valves to open as far as it should, which means trapped exhaust gases in the cylinder.  But in this case, I'm sure the power loss is barely noticeable.

[NVA-AV6]

Cams are only surface hardened, once you break thru it they go very quickly, excessivly tight valve adjustment would not have done that we have roller rockers, it is simply a combination of age and at least once there was a oiling problem, check you oil pressure ASAP.......

Also check the rockers underneith the really bad lobes and check for cracks, but the rockers should probably also be replaced.

[timot_one]

Thanks for the offer Sean, but I'm 99% sure I will be swapping the motor.  If I do replace the cams (which is unlikely), I would upgrade to a set of Skunk2 Stage 1 Turbo cams since I can get the set for $250.  It doesn't make sense to spend money on swapping in stock cams when I can upgrade for the same amount of effort and a little extra cost for parts.  The way I look at it, since I was already planning on swapping the motor for a K24A2, it doesn't make any sense for me to spend money that I'm just going to be pulling out down the road.  I'm just going to be swapping sooner than I thought.

Paul, thanks for the info.  I just assumed that since the valve lash was so low (we couldn't get the feeler gauge in without a lot of effort), it helped contribute to more wear than normally found on a high mileage motor.  I know that my cams are going to go fast, so I am planning on taking action ASAP.  I have had an oil pressure gauge since I've been running K-Pro, so I have been keeping an eye on my oil pressure.  I have been monitoring my oil pressure closely since my recent upgrades.  With Mobil 1 5W30, at an operating temperature of 152º, idling at 950 RPM my oil pressure is 30-35 PSI and at 3000 RPM my oil pressure is 80-85 PSI.

[thisaznboi88]

time for swap! Just swap and sell your old k24a4 motor on k20a or CL.

[timot_one]

I'm going to pull my motor apart and build the n/a motor that I have been planning.  I will either swap that into the Fit or the DC2 that I may be getting.

[striktlyaccord]

Sorry to hear of the troubles Tim.  So, are you saying that this is a result of having a different valve cover on your car, but per your suggestion in your OP, were you just suggesting that while doing a valve cover swap, that'd be a good time to check out the condition of all these internals?

[CrackerTeg]

It was a suggestion while swapping covers. His problem stemmed from the valve lash being excessively tight (as he so eloquently put it). The valve cover has nothing to do with cam wear.

[timot_one]

Correct Z.  I originally suspected the valve lash being too low as the cause, but based on Paul's remarks, it could be something else like an oil pressure issue.  Either way, it should not have happened on my motor.

[CrackerTeg]

I just looked up after you mentioned what Paul said. That makes sense. I haven't had an oiling issue (or so I think) since I've owned the car, but I've had it for half its life (64K miles). One of these days I'm going to pop the cover and see what's up.

[striktlyaccord]

It was a suggestion while swapping covers. His problem stemmed from the valve lash being excessively tight (as he so eloquently put it). The valve cover has nothing to do with cam wear.

Got it.

[NVA-AV6]

I just looked up after you mentioned what Paul said. That makes sense. I haven't had an oiling issue (or so I think) since I've owned the car, but I've had it for half its life (64K miles). One of these days I'm going to pop the cover and see what's up.

One thing that has been noticed is that with the Ks, very tight turns can cause the oil sump to go dry for a second if the oil is a bit low, do this a few times at high revs and you would definatly have a issue like this, I have always reccomennded to kepp your oil at the top fill line or even just a hair over.