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MG MGB Technical - Cam follower

Hi,

I'm installing a new camshaft and followers, the followers i brought , looking different , a few of them have a smooth surface and the other have a more darker surface on the picture the front one's are more smooth and lighter. They are all new, does anybody have any expierence with cam followers , and they quality, shoud i change them for the dark or go for the lighter ones ?
When fitting them, anly use camlube, or do i do have any other preperation. I was told to use Lucas Oil heavy duty stabilizer instead of camlube ?

serge



serge

Where did you buy them from? Just lookjing at them won't tell you the quality - the dark coating is probably phosphate but that is just a guess!

Fit using cam lube, nothing else.
Chris at Octarine Services

Hi Chris

I brought them here in belgium, in a local smaller store
with supplies parts for englisch cars.
Is there a way to check the quality,is it is phoshate should i remove it ?

serge
serge

I suspect they are "new old stock" and a little bit of elbow-grease would shine them up nicely.

Serge - follow Chris' advice about camlube - choose a 20-50 mineral oil but consider a zinc additive (ZDDP) and change the oil regularly.
Roger W

No - leave he coating alone - just wash any preservative grease off the tappets and coat them in cam lube before dropping them in the bores - use a finger inside the tappet to pull it up & down a few times to make sure it is free to move and rotate.
Chris at Octarine Services

One follower looks like it has a small chip on the side - don't carry them around in a plastic bag rubbing against each other that is the way to chip them.
Check whether they are flat across the cam face - if so you need to get a radius ground on them (72" radius) _ that way they will rotate in use. did you get your cam from a specialist cam dealer - has the lobe be ground with a slight taper - also recommended to ensure follower rotates.
Mike
Mike Ellsmore

Serge-
Just to elaborate on what Chris has told you, the phosphate finish is applied at the factory to retain oil during the beak in period. Whoever told you to use Lucas Oil heavy duty stabilizer instead of camlube is someone whose advice you should never, ever listen to. Use only a cam lube that has Molybdenum Disulphide (MoS2) Extreme Pressure assembly lubricants, and a ZDDP (zinc dithiophosphate) oil additive should always be used during the break-in phase.
Stephen Strange

May I suggest you use some choke cleaner or thinners to thoroughly clean the followers inside and out. I think Steve Strange is right with using moly disulphide paste, it can be hard to obtain but Suzuki still specify it for some engine builds so they produce a tube.....Suzuki Moly Paste 99000-25140. We use this on the lobes and on the followers as well as some ptfe white grease. i am not sure that most camlube has much more than thick oil and die in it but I stand to be corrected. Dont forget the all important break in at 2000ish rpm when you start the engine.

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

I have a bottel of cam lube from Kent Cams, High preformance cam lube, it States that it is based on a high concentration of zinc dithiophosphate , no mention of MoS2 ,it lookes like a brown red thick oil, The dark cam followers are flat across the cam.the lighter one have a smal radius

serge
serge

It isn't a radius on the cam face that makes them rotate - the tappet bore is offset to the centreline of the cam lobe, it is this offset that rotates the tappet.

Kent cam lube is fine - or if you can find it Graphogen which is a moly disulphide paste, I now use the cam lube simply because it is easier to get hold of - both will stay on the cam & tappets until the engine oil is circulating fully - hence the need to spin the engine at 2000/2500 rpm to ensure the crank is throwing the oil up on the shaft while it beds in.
Chris at Octarine Services

Serge, The only bit I would add to the above. Try and ascertain if the followers all came from the same, hopefully reliable, source and therefore have had the same heat treatment. Better still came from the same supplier as the cam itself. Gives a bit more ammunition if you suffer a problem.
Allan Reeling

Serge,

Have you ever been to Cat Cams in Wommelgem (near Antwerp in Belgium)?

I had my XPAG cam and followers refinished there.
If you are in doubt about the quality of your cam and followers, I'm sure they can have a look and even refinish them to their high standards.

It's one of those old fashioned specialists that is a dying breed. When I (unannounced) placed the carton box with the cam and followers on the counter, he looked for about two seconds and said 'ah, is that for an MG TC?'.
Pretty impressive, even if they were for my Y-type for which the parts are identical.

He went on to say that when he was finished with them, the visibly worn followers would be better than the original MG parts and much better than the crap you buy new.

Attached is a low quality picture. I forgot to take pictures of them (before and after)

Willem van der Veer

The radius on the face of the cam is extremely important for longevity. The manufacturer of my billet cam would not give it to me until he inspected and measured the lifters I was using. He was very happy with the APT lifters. Many of the junk lifters are flat. Denis
Denis4

Spot on Dennis, years ago part of the Engineering department at Sheffield University drew part of the radius in full scale on a very long piece of paper for me :)

Chris, graphogen is....Graphogen Assembly Compound is a Colloidal Graphite paste in mineral oil, according to the website.

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

Chris, I hear what you say about about the centreline offset of the cam follower and camshaft causing rotation but local cam guru, Clive Cams (40 years cam grinding experience using Repco cam grinders (Repco - Jack Brabham 3 times F1 champion engine manufacturer)) insists on the cam follower face being curved (72" radius for B series engines). He also grinds a slight taper on the cam face - both to aid rotation and increase longevity. He has a long experience suppling cams for local MG race cars including grinding new chilled cast iron cam blanks sourced from Hungry (or Israel?).

Comp Cams pro cam and lifter lubricant is the recommended lubricant from a local respected machine shop and engine rebuilder.
http://www.compperformancegroupstores.com/store/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=CC&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=103&Category_Code=LUBE

Willem, I am not sure about drilling holes in wall of cam followers as it creates a weak point (I have personal and expensive experience of a broken cam follower with only one small hole for oil drainage!). Recommendation now is no holes. 18V cam followers (43 grams) are considerably lighter than the early 18G milk churn followers.

Comments appreciated.

Mike
Mike Ellsmore

Mike,

The holes in my followers weren't drilled, they were cast in. The cam followers in my picture are from the 1250cc XPAG engine, they always have holes and the camshaft lobe lubrication relays on it.
Willem van der Veer

This thread was discussed between 12/02/2014 and 15/02/2014

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