stephen newberg
SHO Member
I do not know if everyone is reading the folder on V8 camshaft fix, so I am going to cross post this to make sure everyone interested can see it.
Well, this got me thinking about it all again and I decided to actually ask an expert, so I went down to Balcomb Metals yesterday and sat in Harry's office for a bit and then got take out to the shop to be shown some more things. It took a couple of hours, but here is the gist of it.
First, the cam/sproket attachment system used is not at all uncommon, and will likely never cause a problem. The ones that do fail will likely be random failures do to an off angle during the mating or a problem with the expansion pressure applied. With about 50ish failures out of 15,000 in use, Harry advises to stop worrying.
Second, if you are still worried, Locktite is the way to go. He puts metal together with Locktite all the time, and for situations under huge stresses. Works great. He suggests using the breakable version (Red, I think he said, but it might be Blue because we talked about both: regardless, it says on the tube), just in case one day you want to be able to get the sprokets off, but if you think should that happen you are going to replace the cams at the same time anyway, go for the unbreakable version. It is stronger and it really does not break. He says this application is perfect for the way Locktite works so long as the sprocket is nhot already slipping, just wick it in until it will not take more, and be sure to have a catch tray under the application area. Obviously, the joint should be cleaned with a non-residue cleaner first.
Harry has been putting metal together for a living for 40 years, with keeping the internal parts of engines in one chunk as a major line of his work. I would guess he knows exactly what he is talking about. So, if you want to have peace of mind on this, go buy yourself a tube of Locktite, pull over the covers, and glue away. Cheap, effective, and then you can stop worrying.
pax, smn
<small>[ March 13, 2002, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: LASTSHO ]</small>
Well, this got me thinking about it all again and I decided to actually ask an expert, so I went down to Balcomb Metals yesterday and sat in Harry's office for a bit and then got take out to the shop to be shown some more things. It took a couple of hours, but here is the gist of it.
First, the cam/sproket attachment system used is not at all uncommon, and will likely never cause a problem. The ones that do fail will likely be random failures do to an off angle during the mating or a problem with the expansion pressure applied. With about 50ish failures out of 15,000 in use, Harry advises to stop worrying.
Second, if you are still worried, Locktite is the way to go. He puts metal together with Locktite all the time, and for situations under huge stresses. Works great. He suggests using the breakable version (Red, I think he said, but it might be Blue because we talked about both: regardless, it says on the tube), just in case one day you want to be able to get the sprokets off, but if you think should that happen you are going to replace the cams at the same time anyway, go for the unbreakable version. It is stronger and it really does not break. He says this application is perfect for the way Locktite works so long as the sprocket is nhot already slipping, just wick it in until it will not take more, and be sure to have a catch tray under the application area. Obviously, the joint should be cleaned with a non-residue cleaner first.
Harry has been putting metal together for a living for 40 years, with keeping the internal parts of engines in one chunk as a major line of his work. I would guess he knows exactly what he is talking about. So, if you want to have peace of mind on this, go buy yourself a tube of Locktite, pull over the covers, and glue away. Cheap, effective, and then you can stop worrying.
pax, smn
<small>[ March 13, 2002, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: LASTSHO ]</small>
