I took an exhaust cam from a 1990 grand am vin A... I mesured the cam at the lowest point and zeroed and mesured the lift @ .3346"
what happened to the cam? did somebody steal it and replace it with a super crap one from a rebuild? did i mesure wrong? i'd like to Identify this cam... i know the engine was a goner.
the odo read 400,000+ km though and the intake had a pool of oil inside. ######086 head (I broke the cam case off the head), h.o. exhaust manifolt, ho intake ho idi cover... even says 2.3 quad4 h.o. on the fender.

____________________________
Dracula called, and he's coming tonight!

dont you have a 2200?


1998 Chevrolet Cavalier
5-spd

the high mileage didnt fare well on that engine. the fact that the cam has worn down that much is bad, i wonder if the owner changed the oil every 3000, or every 30,000-thats just pathetic.... its junk man. go to a local part house and spend $115.00 and buy a brand new exhuast cam. lifters are a must with this new cam, dont skimp out and use the old ones... or u just might end up with a brand new cam with lower lift than that used up old POS you took outta that GA.

solid lifter cams just do that man... over time and stress of the engine, the lobes just wear down, its a fact of life. the only way to really save it for long life is to ineed change that oil often.

and us 2.4 guys dont have the option of a roller cam... (eco guys... u SUCK!!!!) lol

Could be that the HO in the car took a crap, and they replaced it with a LO engine...... but even then the cam should be .370 or so. Every used cam I have used, I make sure to check all the lobs for abnormal wear, check the lift, and the bearing surfaces......

I agree though, new cams are the way to go.




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

I was just checking if they were in spec... at least i only spent $15... but still $15 wasted.
the cam does have evidence of heat wear. but the lifters looked like they were in good shape... i didn't even measure it.

____________________________
Dracula called, and he's coming tonight!

This is why i don't recommend people using used cams to do the "secret cam" swap.


- 93 mph in the 1/8 mile
Member of J-Body Of Michigan.

Why? I JUST took my cams out of the GTZ. miced them out and thay cam to .410


Chris


'02 Z-24 Supercharged
13.7 @102.45 MPH Third Place, 2007 GMSC Bash SOLD AS OF 01MAR08

Taetsch Z24 wrote:Why? I JUST took my cams out of the GTZ. miced them out and thay cam to .410


Chris

And you got lucky. Let's think about how old those motors are. And its not like the ones you find in a junkyard were taken care of that well unless it was a fluke accident. Now, you want a high mileage motor with irregular camshaft wear? Half of the lobes sorta flat, half the lobes really flat? There's no way I would be throwing a cam in my car to add more power if there was any chance that cam would have signs of wear.




PUSHROD SQUAD 2200 OHV. 462 hp / 396 tq *RIP*
Abe Froman Video Productions on Myspace (click here)

its been about 4 years since i tried buying the 95 intake cam from a parts house, so they might actually sell it now, but i doubt it beings it was only in one year engine.

the 90-94 LO exhuast cam is readily available and cheap.

its hard to get a good intake cam to... believe me, ive had a hard time getting one that was actually worth while. the first one i bought didnt spin in the housing it cam in... as well as 3 other housings i had lying around, so we came to the conclusion that the cam was bent. the second one i bought was worn down... 3 lobes were down below STOCK 2.4 cam numbers, and some were about the same as the stock 2.4 and a few lucky ones were actually up there were they were sposta be. the third one was the charm, all the lobes were close enough to together to warrant putting it in, all of them were above stock 2.4 numbers, but most of them were at the .365 where they were sposta be.

like I said...... I havnt had a problem with a used cam yet....... but I also check them over before buying them.....




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

SpeedRacerZ wrote:like I said...... I havnt had a problem with a used cam yet....... but I also check them over before buying them.....

As you should. A micrometer is a great tool to have and a very necessary one as well.




PUSHROD SQUAD 2200 OHV. 462 hp / 396 tq *RIP*
Abe Froman Video Productions on Myspace (click here)