looking for advice on new cam break-in ive done some research and get conflicting answers .the cam maker recommends removing the inner spring on my dual valve springs during the break-in process.my engine guy says i shouldnt have to .my valves are 125lbs on the seat and 245 open .one thing they all agree on is get it started quickly and keep the rpms up around the 2000 range for at least 20 minutes varying up and down by a few hundred rpms .any advice would be helpful thanks.

 

I have never removed any inner springs. Your spring pressure, to me is not that high. I would start it as is. Like they told you, keep the RPMs up, 2000-2500, for 20 minutes, going up and down, between the two. Also use a cam break in additive. I use the one GM sells. Change the oil after you are done.

 

Be sure and put the cam lube on the cam and bottom of the lifters before you ever start the engine.

 

The GM stuff is called EOS and mat be available at your local GM dealer. Use 4 qts of straight 30wt and 1 qt of EOS. Follow the rpm recommendations above.

 

Will do thanks for the input guys.

 

I guess the EOM is the zinc or ZDDP additive? There's oil Napa sells that has it in it already, comes out grey.

 

EOS has been around since the 60s. I was into Chevys back then. I used it on a lot of 30/30 & 097 solid lifters camshafts, never wiped any lobes. Now if you "breath" wrong your afraid you'll wipe a cam lobe. I would use a better type oil and NAPA Gold/Platinum filter. Follow break in procedures.

 

I've heard from reputable sources that if you are less than 300 lb open, you can break in without removing the inner spring. I'm surprised your open load is so small (only 245 lb) with dual springs.

 

We broke it in Friday using comp cams assembly lube on the cam and royal purple break-in oil.did talk to guys who would wipe the cam down with stp oil treatment pour the rest in with 10w30,with no issues . Do have a question ,how soon should I change the oil after break-in?

 

"Some" say 3 hours running time or 300 miles. Everyone has an opinion. I'd go with that. I like to take a blue shop paper towel and pour the filters oil in it slowly letting it filter through then turning the filter over on the blue towel over night to see what's in there. You can do it in a funnel. If in doubt you can always cut the filter open.

 

Right after break in

 

Exactly. The break in oil is for just that...to break in the cam. Change the oil and the filter and do another one at 500 miles. Then you can go out to 3000 miles for the next one.

 

thanks for the help ,i may have more going on here. ran the engine tonight and noticed a slight ticking sound from the passengers side .decided to pull the valve cover and check to see if everythging was tight and notice while running the engine with the valve cover off the two rearmost pushrods were squirting oil pretty far as the rest were just pumping oil normally .any ideas what causes this ?could it be lifter preload out of whack on just those two?

 

Hi Jeff, there's a quick method just to be sure there's no cam lobe/lifter issue, try to run it for a minute or two w/o any valve covers. Do one side at a time if it helps?

You need to watch the pushrods for "rotation", they MUST be spinning, can be fast or slow, but they need to be spinning. We usually take a "magic-marker" and draw a straight line on each pushrod before installing them, makes it easier to see if necessary.

Couple tips here for future cam breaking-in. Use only "moly" on the lobes and the lifter faces, don't use any other "recommended" lubes for this procedure, most don't work in the real world. The "moly" will also hang on longer that than the more "liquid" break-in lubes, some builds tend to end up sitting a while before firing!!

With all the flat-tappet cam/lifter issues cropping up more recently many customers opt for the hyd-roller platform from the start.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. Your posted spring pressures should NOT pose any issues with the break-in, on a dual spring platform with higher pressures we prefer to use lower pressures initially. We still do a smaller number of BBC flat-tappet builds and these get fired (usually on the dyno) with only the outer springs in place.

 

The moly plugs the oil filter, so change right after break in, and again after 100+ miles. It also makes the drained oil have glitter in it, so don't mistake that for a bearing problem.

 

x2.

 

So I changed the rockers that were excessively squirting and corrected that issue . Removed the intake to find a slight exhaust leak around the heat risers .i regasketed the intake and torqued to specs . Engine sounds great with no leaks ( for the time being).thanks for the replies and assistance