Is it necessary to flush your oil right after doing a cam install?

 

Dont think there is much of choice. An oil change is needed

What I dont know is:
Do you change right after the cam install or after the break-in & then change it again (2x minimum)

 

the way i look at it, if your bleeding the lash adjusters like you should be, it would be nice to have fresh oil going into them. Its a roller cam setup though so i don't really think you need to worry to much about "breaking" the cam in, but I'm no expert.

 

Lifter should be bled. Cams need to be run on NON-synthetic oil for 30 minutes. So, yes. After you install the cams, drain and refill with regular oil, also change filter. Follow cam break in procedure. Then you can change back to syn oil.

 

I know this is true for flat tappet cams, but i have never heard of this being needed for rollers. I flipped through the Factory manual and the instructions that came with my cams, and neither call for any kind of a break in. Im just curious where you are getting this information from, because If i have been doing it wrong I would like to know about it.

 

It was on the cam card that came with my GSC's. I too used to always thnk roller cams didn't really require a breakin, but I did it just to be safe. I have since talked to a few race engine builder, and the way they see it is there is still very nearly metal-metal contact at the cam and roller. The cam may not be perfectly polished from factory, same with the surface of the roller (under a microscope they will have imperfections). So the standard 20-30 minute break in of holding the engine up around 2500rpms isn't going to hurt anything, and will help establish a better finish on the cam and roller before it gets beaten on.

 

A little reference:


http://www.drivenracingoil.com/news/...-break-in-too/

 

Yah it couldn't hurt. I wonder if GSC is just practicing CYA, or maybe it has to do with their metallurgy. I think ill shoot them an email and try and pick their brains.

I've got about 30k on my HKS cams and now I'm tempted to pull the valve cover and take a look, or maybe this is a good excuse to get one of those cool camera probes to go through the oil fill port.

 

See edited posted, and link to article by driven racing oils.

 

nice find, it seems to pertain more for brand new engines going through break in that happen to have roller cams, but good info.

 

im all for crossing the T's and dotting the i's so if there is a logical argument that this will improve longevity and engine health ill happily add it to my routine, thanks again for the information.

 

No there, is a paragraph specifically about the microscopic surfaces of the rollers. And one can assume that if a roller that appears highly polished has a microscopic surface, the cam does too.


"Think of a break-in oil like a primer. Putting down primer before you paint establishes a uniform coating to build from, and that is exactly what a break-in oil does – it establishes a uniform anti-wear film that provides the foundation for protection. Just like a thick coat of primer smoothes out a surface, a properly formulated break-in oil does the same thing. The protective layer of ZDDP anti-wear film smoothes out the peaks and valleys that comprise microscopic surfaces on the roller wheels and needle bearings."

 

Yah i did read that part, It seemed like a false analogy to me though. Primer fills in uneven surfaces, where as a break in wears away material. I think a better analogy would be polishing compound. Also they are selling a product and the attempt at an over simplification kind of made me think marketing cool aid. Im not saying their claims arent valid, just the lack of any empirical data does reflect on their claims in my mind.

 

No actually, ZDDP additive does bond itself to metal engine parts. What they're saying is correct. Yes, they are pushing their break-in oil, but everyone has a break-in oil, so they're really just pushing their brand. Good engine builders know that a good break-in oil should always be used. The high peaks get knocked down and the surface does get smoother, but the ZDDP bonds onto the part and into the valleys that are still there, creating a smooth protective film on the part.


If you do some reading on it, its pretty cool stuff. There are different ZDDP's that activate at different temps. So for something like a break-in oil designed for that initial 30 minutes, they use a ZDDP that activates and starts working at a lower temp to get critical parts protected ASAP. Read around the internetz, Driven isn't the only one that says these things.

 

Thanks again, I will do more research on ZDDP. The analogy definitely makes more sense with that context.