I had an expensive swing of the rubber mallet today!! As some of you may know, I was supposed to have surgery on my ankle this morning and had planned on attending CM02 in a boot cast and bumming open seats. Well my surgeon had a motor bike accident and broke his back so the operation has been rescheduled.

I was excited about the opportunity to get some work done on my 40, since I'd been gone for 2 1/2 weeks and had thought I'd have another 1 1/2 weeks of no progress (surgery, recuperation and CM02). I got right out to the garage and got right to work. I got tons of nuts, bolts and washers cleaned, I got my oil pan and side cover stripped and wire wheeled and ready for painting, and also removed the steering box bracket in preparation for the mini PS conversion bracket (power tools - insert Tim Allen grunt). Next I turned my attention to my engine rebuild in progress. I got the timing gear onto the crankshaft with a little work, and next was the timing gear onto the camshaft and then the installation of the cam shaft, etc.

Well I never got to install the camshaft. I started the gear onto the shaft and tapped it on part way with my rubber mallet. Then I noticed that I forgot the thrust plate (btw, mine has a raised side, which way does that go?) so I turned the cam shaft over and held the shaft about mid shaft and thought I'd carefully tap the gear off. Afterall, I only tapped it on part way, I didn't need a gear puller did I? WRONG!! 3 taps later I'm holding half a camshaft!! :mad: :mad: Here are the pictures

http://home.offroad.com/~md11fr8dog/Graphics/BrokenCamShaft1.jpg

http://home.offroad.com/~md11fr8dog/Graphics/BrokenCamShaft2.jpg

http://home.offroad.com/~md11fr8dog/Graphics/BrokenCamShaft3.jpg

Oh well, the lessons we learn the hard way!! Fortunately, the person I bought this from, a very well respected Cruiserhead, has seen the pictures and is sending me a new camshaft. He will take the broken one back to his grinder!! :smokin:

when you get it, send it to 'Crow' or a similar place that specialise in cams and get a big phat grind on it, say you want heaps of torque and stuff, and theyll really go at it

i got a stage 4 grind on my cam for $90 :smokin:

and it just lopes along at idle, cant stall it, BAGS of torque!

i had the downey torque cam and loved it. btw....probably a good thing you found this out BEFORE you got the engine togther.

I am running the medium grind Clifford RV cam. I love it tons of torque, lumpy idle and, decent fuel milage........ Just a thought:skull:





Sorry to see your cam break though:eek: ..........that sucks:eek:

How big is that mallet?

Looking at the photo's it looks like a one time blow did it. Strange. Can you see if there are any "beach" (i.e. patterns you see in the sand from the waves rolling up) in that lowest area of the break?

Just curious. Engineer at heart, so when I see something fail I like to figure out why.

Almost wondering if the camshaft was DROPPED at some point? This could have occured BEFORE the cam grinder ever saw the cam!

An example of a "didn't have to happen" is when you get a crank grinder not using a radiused grinding stone leaving a sharp corner at the joural to crank. Bad news (break waiting to happen). In the case of the cam, the break is NOT near the lobes, but does seem to start in a corner (stress raiser), but that corner was CAST ages ago. :D

Made this mistake of loaning out an old Metallurgy text book with all sorts of great information. Wish I still had it!

I'd appreciate any input from any of you ME's with a FA background. Thanks!

Tom :usa:

Originally posted by The Duke
i had the downey torque cam and loved it. btw....probably a good thing you found this out BEFORE you got the engine togther.

Yep, but ometimes you fall in sh!t and come out smelling like roses!!:cool:

Originally posted by roundrocktom
Almost wondering if the camshaft was DROPPED at some point? This could have occured BEFORE the cam grinder ever saw the cam!

Who knows, anything can happen during the shipping!! I know, I work for one of those companies!! ;)

An example of a "didn't have to happen" is when you get a crank grinder not using a radiused grinding stone leaving a sharp corner at the joural to crank. Bad news (break waiting to happen).

Yep, the seller is taking the broken camshaft to his grinder, with the pictres, with the argument! Hopefully he'll get a replacement. In any case he is sending me another.

Originally posted by r77toy
How big is that mallet?

It was my small BFH!

Sean,
You sure have some luck. If it is a reground cam, chances are that it broke near one of the lobes that was hard surfaced and ground. They may have cooled it too quickly after welding leaving it brittle.

Originally posted by Pin Head
Sean,
You sure have some luck. If it is a reground cam, chances are that it broke near one of the lobes that was hard surfaced and ground. They may have cooled it too quickly after welding leaving it brittle.

Yep, that's in line with the consensus! It is in fact reground.

It just forces me to start cutting out panels and welding in the new qtrs and wheel wells. I kept hemmin' and hawin' and finding "something" else to work on!! My roll cage arrives in a week or so (from 71RCKCRZR), so there is even more insentive to get the body work done and gthe frame cleaned up!!

But, the new camshaft arrives next week, more distraction!!;)

maybe you could woprk out some of the bugs that you're having with your landing gear struts? ;)

Originally posted by BJ On Roids
maybe you could woprk out some of the bugs that you're having with your landing gear struts? ;)


Hehehe, liked that chop, eh??