Cam lube (those two words are not enough so there)

What is the best lube, or what lube do you engine builders like to use on your cams when putting the motor together? I was thinking of getting some Isky Rev Lube to coat the lobes and lifters with.

Then of course adding ZDDP to the oil for break in with something as GM EOS, or Crower ZDDPlus.

After the engine has been broken in and a few oil changes gone through it, do I need to still add ZDDP to my motor or no? Or would it be a good idea to keep adding it with every oil change?

My truck is just for street duty for now.

Flat tappet? You need molybdenum disulfide on the lobe and lifter face. Oil on the lifter body to ensure proper rotation of the lifter. You should also read the numerous threads on the forum that discuss the proper breakin procedure.

Yes, flat tappet.

For flat tappets I use moly lube. I use the stuff from ARP or Mr Moly. I coat the lobes as good as possible and try to work the lube into the surface. With that said I try to use a small amount as possible too because this stuff never goes away inside of the engine. When I install the lifters I also put some on the bottom only and again only as much as is needed to coat the bottom. Most of the time I put a little bit on a lifter and take another lifter and rub them together to coat both before installation. I seem to think that this stuff stays put even if the engine sits for a while before starting.

After break in the required ZDDP levels are much lower and you could probably cut your additive to about 1/2 a bottle per oil change. Keep in mind too that too much ZDDP in the oil can be harmful to the lifter/cam interface. It can cause pitting of these surfaces over time.

I have been running a bottle of EOS in my engine from day one. (thanks to advice from these folks here on this site) Every oil change gets another bottle.

My cam is a pretty steep solid flat tappet, and my lifters have the oil hole in the face for extra lobe lube. The cam has a lot of miles on it and still looks fantastic.

I'm not sure if it's the EOS helping or the Valvoline Race 10w30 oil, but I'm going to keep running both and hope that my good luck continues.

FWIW......

Greg

Valvoline VR-1 High Zinc Formula. Its the best.

I have used the Edelbrock cam paste and Dello 400 had zero problems. Now 4yrs later with my newer engine I am going to use the EB paste and Royal Purple break-in oil. Then for good measure add some comp cam break-in aditive.
Just make sure you use a good paste that will hold onto the camshaft, if your not going to break it in soon.

any of you guys ever use the lucas engine assembley? It says for cams, distributors, and bearings.

Tennessee Bullitt wrote:any of you guys ever use the lucas engine assembley? It says for cams, distributors, and bearings.

My brother sales a lot of their products if not all! He wanted me to try it and I might still. He has used it in his FWD turbo 4 cylinder, but those engines are a little different.

I used it to lube my lifters when I stuck them in but I used the comp cam lube on my new cam, I figured since I had it use it. It almost seems the same stuff as the comp cam lube.

last motor i did was a mild 351w, i used the cam break in stuff from comp, plus the cam lube paste-gel, and rotella oil, its been 2 years now and its still going great, but he uses rotella oil on oil changes...

Come on fellas, let's forget about all this expensive and senseless ways to get out of work! I'm not the smartest turd in the toilet , so let's do our engine assembly homework! Why buy expensive oil? After a half hour or so your going to dump it, right? Assembly lube or moly, is there a difference? I'm going to write this at the expense of being beat verbally as a stepchild, but what the hell!

Simple 5W30 petroleum oil, assembly lube that has the consistency of Karo syrup, COMP cams additive, valve spring pressure low, plenty of oil priming with 360* of crankshaft rotation (more than one time), a engine that is ready to start (ignition correct and fuel available) and start that son of a bitch! And don't let it idle around so you can sit over in the corner jacking off !

Yes, changing valve springs, properly locating ignition timing and resisting reving the engine to the moon as well as letting the engine idle down so you can hear that limpidity lump lump idle can be challenging. That's part of the job for most of us backyard masturbaters!

Just my $0.02 plus!

Now it's your turn, let me have it!

Dave.

Turning the engine over by hand a few times wont hurt anything right?

Livermore Dave ... you're absolutely right...!
]
Most people are always looking to find the easy way out with the least amount of work.

The cheap NON-detergent oil and an oil additive meant for flat tappet break-in is fine as long as the rest of your statement gets followed.

I use "High Pressure Grease" on the cam lobes and lifter faces, (the same stuff as Joe Gibbs lube and it doesn't plug oil filters like MOS2 does).

You don't want the detergent cleaning deposits from the surfaces at that particular time, (that miniscule film is a good thing here), and you are certainly not going to overheat it with no load; at least you shouldn't but, some people can break a steel ball with a rubber mallet.

Rev-Lube has worked well for me in the past but these days I'm pretty much only using Lunati cams and lifters, so I use the moly lube they send with the cam, a bottle of their oil additive, and Valvoline VR-1. In large part I do this for warranty compliance. I also do my break-in's with lighter valve springs. For the life of the engine I suggest VR-1 with either Lunati or Comp additive.

We use the ARP stuff and wolf's head oil (CHEAP) on the flat tappet stuff. We use John Deere break in oil on the roller stuff.

Been educating myself lately and have come across this. Seems to be a very informative read. I bought their stuff, both the paste and the liquid additive, and will be using it with my new cam and lifters. I'm curious what you guys think of the Tech Talk info.
ZDDPlus

LivermoreDave.... I agree to an extent. I personally (just my .02 and not commenting on what you said) like to use the VR-1 because of the high zinc content which makes it great for a new cam. I just don't want to buy cheap for the first fire, but in the same sense I don't want to get the REALLY expensive stuff. I'm going to stick with what I'm doing and maybe adding a little stuff that I read from other posts. By the way, is it possible to have too much zinc in the oil?

I run VR-1 in my motor all the time, this is for my motors that aren't built but BUILT. So what do I do with the lighter valve springs? do I have to still buy new ones because that's just a waste of money in a way. You aren't going to use them again. Plus, shouldn't you break in you motor with the spring you are going to use so the lobes wear to that amount of pressure? Or is this to prevent the lobes from wearing too much?

bb429power wrote:LivermoreDave.... I agree to an extent. I personally (just my .02 and not commenting on what you said) like to use the VR-1 because of the high zinc content which makes it great for a new cam. I just don't want to buy cheap for the first fire, but in the same sense I don't want to get the REALLY expensive stuff. I'm going to stick with what I'm doing and maybe adding a little stuff that I read from other posts. By the way, is it possible to have too much zinc in the oil?

I run VR-1 in my motor all the time, this is for my motors that aren't built but BUILT. So what do I do with the lighter valve springs? do I have to still buy new ones because that's just a waste of money in a way. You aren't going to use them again. Plus, shouldn't you break in you motor with the spring you are going to use so the lobes wear to that amount of pressure? Or is this to prevent the lobes from wearing too much?

The "lighter valve springs" are hiding in the same box with your complete valve springs! No need to buy more. As to the additive that one might add to the engine's oil, what brand is irrelevant just add a bottle every oil change.

Dave.

OldRedFord wrote:Turning the engine over by hand a few times wont hurt anything right?

Not unless it starts!

Dave.