Thread: Using a used cam...???

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I have a slightly used nice camshaft with matching lifters available to me. How bad is it to use this in my motor (a 454 with about 80K)???

Its free, I am on a budget and I need a cam, so this cam is really enticing to me.
thx

The wise answer is "don't do it." BUT, we have all done it or something similar when we were tight on money. You will want to examine the lobes for any signs of chipping or wear, and try to make sure the same lifter is used with the same lobe it ran with originally.

Much will depend on how careful the guy was who pulled it out,and how much you trust him to be honest with you.

Not the wisest thing, but I understand your reasons for thinking about this.


Don

I have never had a problem using a used cam (after doing the checks Don mentions), but ALWAYS put new lifter on it.

If even 2 lifter are not put on their original lobes it will wipe out those lobes in very short order and you will be doing another cam swap.

a new cam and lifters is $106. that is the way i would go or see how lucky you are if you are going to buy new lfters them just buy a cam to i would sand the new lifters with 600 wet dry a bit if you are thinking of going with new lifters new lifters on a old cam is not good they will have to break in on the old cam and could wipe the old cam out big block chevys can eat up cams good luck

No one is going to recommend it.

If you don't mind tearing it down in 10K miles to replace that cam, then go for it.

Short answer: BAD IDEA!

Long answer: So long as the cam has no visible wear, it should be ok to reuse it. I would still recommend new lifters unless you know the order they were pulled from the engine.

I have to think hard about this one, the price is right.

I was under the impression you cannot do this, but I see so many used cams for sale, I had second thoughts. My thinking: if people are buying and selling used cams, it must be ok to do..

My thoughts on this are ,..its pretty deep in the motor if it fails and if it does fail it may wipe out all the bearings in the motor.
I think it was summit or paw that has the ssi cam and lifters for about 80 bucks.....at the very least new lifters on a old cam.

I've used the PAW cam and lifter sets (two so far) and they are a good deal. They are actually Crane cams in a plain wrapper, a fact confirmed by the Crane timing tag inside the box, and in a conversation with a Crane tech.

The price is really good for all you get.


Don

I have seen a lot of "used cams" installed in my days. Very true, it is best to install new cam and lifters. Money dictates a lot of things when you are in need. I have never seen new lifters wipe out a used cam. However, if the cam has substantial wear already, nothing is going to keep it from wearing, whether new lifters or not.
If the cam is in good condition and the lifters are marked from their correct position and I needed a cam I would use them. The question is, if the cam is in good shape, why did the guy remove it in the first place? If he was putting in an upgrade cam it is probably not any better than you have now, unless yours is worn out.
By the time you consider that cost of gaskets, new antifreeze, timing gear (if I am going to have the engine down that far I certainly am not going to use the old timing gear), and time and labor doing the work????? There is a lot of consideration on doing this.
Of course, in my younger days, I have reused all of the parts before except gaskets. Like I said, $$$$$$$

Ed

the new lifter have a ground face (the foot) that can be very ruff this works in then you have a new cam. we would sand the lifters a bit with 600 wet/dry with WD to help them brake in on new cams and not wipe out the cam .with a used cam it has work in the cam with old lifters so just putting new lifters on a used cam would be a very bad idea .a very good way to tear up the cam

I have been really lucky the few times ive done it, Pat,s suggestion on prepping lifters is great, also helps if you add general motors engine oil supplement to increase the zinc content in the oil to help break in ,

that zinc works good and it also works good on a rash too .i get on my leg in hot weather

hmmmm, so that wasn,t rogaine i was rubbin into my chrme dome bald spot!

Originally Posted by sleeve396

hmmmm, so that wasn,t rogaine i was rubbin into my chrme dome bald spot!

hard to say what them blue pills would do for a engine