Camshaft POLISHING Experiment... [Comparison Pictures]

[shiro1745]

Since I took my engine apart I've been thinking about replacing the intake camshaft cause of the HPFP lobe wear, but throwing another $300 on top of the too much money already spent with this build was a bit too much for me at this point, so I decided to do a little experiment. I'm polishing the camshaft lobe where the follower sits and soon I'll find out how it holds. I'm not sure how that lobe is designed since there's friction involved and not rolling like between the camshaft and rocker arms, I'm wondering if it has has any coating for smoother friction?

Anyway, here are a few pictures where you can see the polished side compared to one of the worn side. I took a few pictures of both sides using different exposures for a better image of the marks.

For this I was going to use fine emery cloth but couldn't find any around here. I ended up using 800 grit sandpaper with WD40. At the and I'll use finer sandpaper to give it a smoother polish. Anyway so far the marks went out really easy, probably 10 min taking my time. If this fix doesn't hold long I'll just get a new camshaft and replace then. Anyway I though this would be a nice experiment, if this holds ok it could be a relatively easy fix with the camshaft in place, you'd only need to remove the cam chain housing cover at the back of the engine.

I'll keep this thread updated!


One of the worn sides
The marks you see are deep enough that I can feel them when sliding my nail over. There's a few spots where actually my nail almost gets stuck or I should better say it stops for a fraction of a second. All three sides of the lobe showed the same wear.

Click this yellow bar (not the image) to see the original resolution image




Polished side
The imperfections you see are nothing but light reflections except for the circled spot. I'll probably try to completely get rid of that spot too when I do the other sides even though I don't feel anything with my nail.

Click this yellow bar (not the image) to see the original resolution image

[mec]

Awesome idea, I'm sure it will deliver results!

[shiro1745]

Oh and this will go in with EPY's cam follower

[mec]

Oh and this will go in with EPY's cam follower

Did you mic the lobe before and after to see how much you shaved off? I seem to recall seeing a wear guide somewhere...

[shiro1745]

Did you mic the lobe before and after to see how much you shaved off? I seem to recall seeing a wear guide somewhere...

No I did not, but I only did one side, I guess I could try it, I would only need to buy one. Let me see if I find one at a local store.

[mec]

No I did not, but I only did one side, I guess I could try it, I would only need to buy one. Let me see if I find one at a local store.

I picked mine up from Home depot for like $40

[shiro1745]

I picked mine up from Home depot for like $40

I'll get one tomorrow. By the way did you send me a piston ring installer tool with the others? I think not cause back then I wasn't thinking to do rings, but my brain is fried and I might be wrong.

[mec]

I'll get one tomorrow. By the way did you send me a piston ring installer tool with the others? I think not cause back then I wasn't thinking to do rings, but my brain is fried and I might be wrong.

I don't recall at the moment, but I seem to remember thinking you didn't need it. If you do need it, go to harbor freight, they are like $7

http://www.harborfreight.com/piston-...ers-69663.html

[shiro1745]

I don't recall at the moment, but I seem to remember thinking you didn't need it. If you do need it, go to harbor freight, they are like $7

http://www.harborfreight.com/piston-...ers-69663.html

Yeah, I'm more worried that I lost it if you did send one, but I always kept them in the same box so I tend to believe you didn't send it. I may have taken a picture with everything you sent so I don't loose anything, I'll double check.

[mec]

Yeah, I'm more worried that I lost it if you did send one, but I always kept them in the same box so I tend to believe you didn't send it. I may have taken a picture with everything you sent so I don't loose anything, I'll double check.

Yeah I just found them in my garage.

I sent you the valve remover tool, valve stem pliers, crank gear and bolt for drilling dowel pin, bearing lube, assembly lube, motor mount, timing tool, tensioner holder tool

[shiro1745]

I couldn't buy a micrometer, they didn't have one in stock. I'll leave it for monday when I'll go to harbor freight.

[aluthman]

I couldn't buy a micrometer, they didn't have one in stock. I'll leave it for monday when I'll go to harbor freight.

Amazon Prime. I bought mine for $20.

[vce1232000]

Nice results

[QUATTROA4B7]

I like this, surprised nobody tried it earlier

[SykoraA4]

So am I correct in assuming the biggest issue with a worn cam is actually the abrasive surface caused by the wear and not the actual material of the cam lost by the abrasion? Wouldn't repolishing it result in a slight difference in the cam profile, resulting in a less efficient stroke to the hpfp? or is it negligible.

*Edit, Repolishing, not replacing.

[shiro1745]

So am I correct in assuming the biggest issue with a worn cam is actually the abrasive surface caused by the wear and not the actual material of the cam lost by the abrasion? Wouldn't replacing it result in a slight difference in the cam profile, resulting in a less efficient stroke to the hpfp? or is it negligible.

Not sure about all this, I hope somebody with more experience would chime in. I'll stop by HF and get a micrometer set, I want to measure what I lost by polishing it.

[CLEANA3]

nice info ,should be sweet to see the results with some miles on this .

[FraggyA4]

So am I correct in assuming the biggest issue with a worn cam is actually the abrasive surface caused by the wear and not the actual material of the cam lost by the abrasion? Wouldn't repolishing it result in a slight difference in the cam profile, resulting in a less efficient stroke to the hpfp? or is it negligible.

*Edit, Repolishing, not replacing.

The real issue is the old cams are softer then the new ones. The wear you see is normal and probably not very sufficient, but it will probably have a positive effect.

Not sure about all this, I hope somebody with more experience would chime in. I'll stop by HF and get a micrometer set, I want to measure what I lost by polishing it.

I will post a picture of my cam so you can see what the true issue is with the cam follower recall. It's more then just the follower wearing out it's also the cam lobe that wears out over time which eventually leads to possible fuel cuts. So for all the people who continually replace their followers are just putting a bandaid on the real problem which is the cam. Shiro from looking at your picture your cams look great and I see no reason to replace them. You will understand when I post my picture.