Laura the Cam Killer!!!

[Rapid Randy Baker]

I just fig I would start a new thread. Most everyone knows I have been working on our Cutlass the the camshaft broke in half on.

It started with Laura driving down the freeway and the car started running rough and the lights in the dash all came on. She pulled over and shut it off. When she re-started it ran real rough and the oil light was on. She called me and I sent one of the guys out with a tow truck.

I guessed the alt. went out. They don't last very long on these new GM cars and with no juice it wouldn't fire the ing. correctly.

When the car came in, I checked the battery. It was fully charged. I tried to start it. It ran real ragged and the oil light does indeed stay on. My diagnosis was that something was plugging the pump. As I hate to work on anything that isn't a race car or a hot-rod I sent it and an new oil pump to a fellow drag racer who has a mechanical shop here in town.

He calls me a couple of days later. He says you aren't going to believe this, the camshaft is broken. He was right, I didn't believe it. I have never heard of any trouble with this 3100 V6 other than the intake likes to leak anti-freeze into the engine. So you lose fluid slowly, but not outside leaks.

I brought the car back to my shop. Pulled the engine after checking to make sure that the valves were not all moving. 5-6 were not moving.

Still not convinced I pulled the intake off. It is a broken cam. The theory is that the cam bearing grabbed the cam, and it just snapped it.

So I purchased an engine. It arrived yesterday. I spent last nite servicing the trans, and cleaning up the engine to go back into the car. Since I had it out, I decided to change the intake gaskets. You have to remove the valve covers to remove the intake. I was less than pleased with the inside conditions. It was really dirty with oil build-up. I thought I had been lazy on oil changes with my car. Mine looks like new inside. So my brother came by and we spent the evening trying to clean it up inside without washing a bunch of stuff down the into the crank area.

I called Scott, told him I was not coming to racecar nite. I hope to reassemble and get it back in the hole tonight. Birney is coming over again and the guys {raceteam} are planning on showing up to help.

Once it is back in the hole, then the fun of trying to remember where all the crap goes, and more importantly, what is the proper route to get it there. These cars have stuff stacked on top of stuff everywhere. I would hate to be a mechanic and work on this everyday!!

Rapid

[Gator]

Laura did it right....
If you're going to "break it"..then "break it"
Heck,it wasn't her fault..........
(You & the crew will have it going in no time)

[Rapid Randy Baker]

She made the mistake {?} of coming down to lunch with me Tues. She spent the whole lunch time fielding:

How fast were you going? Did you win the race? Did the race pay enough to fix the motor? No more netural drops!

She claims she drives the speed limit. I said yes she does, 2-times everytime she drives anywhere,,,,she is at the speed limit on her way up past it, and when she is slowing down she passes it again.

[jim sanders]

interesting thread Randy... how much did you pay for the used but good motor ?the problem is NOBODY MAINTAINS ANYTHING ANYMORE !!people are way to busy and drive their cars untill they break... my suburban racked up 200000 miles with very little problem other than the body flat rusted off the frame or i'd still be drivin it....... this late model junk is wanted to operate at 230 degress and then 7500 mi oil change intervals so then people figure 10,000 ain't gonna hurt anything,then they forget untill the oil filter is plugged up then they go to the quick lube joint and their 55 gallon drum of junk oil and well you can tell where i'm goin with this....

[draglist]

I pretty much ground a lobe off a camshaft one time in my 71 Le Mans. I'm embarrassed to say how I did it, though. I'm supposed to be a good role model... and I was being VERY bad when it happened. bp

[Gator]

I used to sell trucks to a bud who never changed anything
drove 'em 100 thou
gave them to his family or friends and off on another

anything will break...even if you hug 'em.

[jim sanders]

.... chevy had a problem with camshafts in the late 70s....even grandma 4door caprises were rounding lobes off em.... corvettes also....

[Rapid Randy Baker]

You are right Dr. Jim. I was as guilty of it as anybody. I only drive our "Good car" if we go out somewhere, or with Laura on the weekends, like Saturday.

Laura just takes Mike around to school and such. Since we live in a small town, it just doesn't get driven too much. I will drive somewhere on Sat, and notice it needs the oil changed or tires rotated. Then sometime the next week I try to remember to get the stuff to do it the next weekend.

Well then we go racing or whatever, and it doesn't get done on time. But, judging from how it looks on the inside, it is better than the last owner of this motor. I called the yard, who is a friend. Was giving him crap about it. He says, oh I forgot, you are a racer and everything has to be perfect. I told him not perfect, but this thing looks like the holding tank of a jiffy lube.

Anyway, he said they started it before they brought it down to me and it ran fine. So I am hoping that is true.

I put my valvetrain, rockers, pushrods etc in this motor cause mine was so much cleaner. I didn't bother to put the 1-bent pushrod out of Laura's in though.

[jim sanders]

yea sorry i wasn't clear.... i was referring to the motor you got with all the sludge.... and Gator is correct.... everything breaks eventually otherwise there wood bee no parts stores

[Gator]

our old shop dog still runs (my old crew chief still driving it daily)
237 thou datsun king cab p/u
god, the Japanese gave us our come uponce big time
sorry,but it's true.