Sr20 det- worn cam lobe.

[leno]

I removed the rocker cover to fit a tomei ras kit, clean out spray bars and to investigate what I thought was a noisy lifter..

It turns out the tapping noise wasn't from a lifter at all, but a really worn cam lobe on the inlet side, it looks as if the spray bar was blocked over that one lobe causing it to wear loads quicker than the others.. (Around a 2/3mm lip on the edge of the lobe)

Obviously I'm not happy about this, but without wanting to spend large amounts of money what's my best course of action from here? Obviously new cams, but an I best getting a second hand inlet cam, or would it be worth putting an uprated set in?

Engine is completely stock bar fmic, 3" turbo back exhaust, and a boost controller (only set to 10psi as I have no ECU chip yet) i dont plan on ever going over stage one, so around 280/300 bhp. Sorry no photos as my hands were quite oily!

Cheers in advance for your help!

[Zornyan]

Just go oem for those power levels mate simple and easy

[leno]

Yeah I thought that would be the case, always worth checking first hand though!

[Mark]

You cant just change the cam, it needs matching rockers so if 2nd hand you will need the rockers that went with it or if new you will need new rockers as well. Cam wear can also lead to the bottom ends going so dont be surprised if the big ends start knocking

[leno]

I had read about the bottom end yeah, I just want to keep the motor going for as long as possible so I can save a bit of cash for a new/rebuilt engine.. On a side note, what sort of budget would I be looking at for a rebuild?

[Mark]

Mine cost me about a grand i think. If you are paying someone else to do it then double it.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

You cant just change the cam, it needs matching rockers so if 2nd hand you will need the rockers that went with it or if new you will need new rockers as well. Cam wear can also lead to the bottom ends going so dont be surprised if the big ends start knocking

Should he get matching cam caps too ?

[Actual_Ben_Taylor]

Should he get matching cam caps too ?

The caps match the head so should never be changed.


I'd do a full set of new cams, rocker arms and spray bars. I'd also want the oil pump removing and inspecting (replace if necessary).

[leno]

Sweet I'll have a look around, I was going to contact driftbitz as they seem to have a fairly large stock, anywhere else I should try?

[ANDY black s13]

A complete cylinder head from another engine (with no top end issues) would imo be a easier option,
as in it would save you setting up the rocker shims if you swapped another pair of cams/rockers into your head
even if the donor engine had a dead bottom end it could be cleaned up and reassembled in the order it was in
if you swap cams and rockers into your head the rocker shims will be wrong sized for your valves so you will need a selection of shims
and have to go through each rocker arm setting them up and getting the rockers flat to the cam lobe's
look in the breaking section or for sale section 1st as driftbitz etc will be a dearer source (imo of course )

[Jonny Wilkinson]

The caps match the head so should never be changed.

Thanks for putting me straight. I knew they were supposed to match something, hence my question. The joys of a failing memory

[leno]

Cheers for all the help guys! I think as Andy says I will try and find a decent top end, is it worth while me replacing anything else while I'm at it? The front casing appears to have an oil leak so I will be looking at that anyway

[Mark]

Before chucking money at it and possibly ruining a new head with low oil pressure i would check the bottom end and oil pump first

[B-Dogg]

I just stripped the engine because of big end fail, my inlet cam was worn too, so I'm buying both used in very good condition, I plain to buy new rocker arms and lifters too. Will I need to buy new rocker guides and shims? Can't I reuse the original ones fitted in the same place as before?

[leno]

Good idea, I am half tempted to stick it in a garage to do the work, getting a bit fed up spending every evening on it! Is there anywhere local to me (Hampshire) that is reliable and won't rip me off? I'd also want a few other issues sorted..