Miatapower List Archive

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Mail From: Mark Cookson <(email redacted)>

I would say that they look OK, but I'm not a machinist. It looks like
just machining marks on the cams, and the bearing don't show signs of
being burnt or damaged/pitted/scarred. They're not mirror smooth, but
I don't think that they are really ever mirror smooth.

I've used Kaeding Performance in Campbell to do engine machining before
and I really liked their work. The guys are super pleasant and very
knowledgeable. While their primary line of work is dirt track midget
cars, they didn't have any issues converting my 1.6's head from
hydraulic to solid lifters or doing any of the machine work on my
engine (and they claim to have worked on few other Miatas). They've
straightened warped manifolds and turbos and knife edged and balanced
my crank when I got the Carrillos and Wisecos. That engine has been
running strong for about 1500 miles (which for me is about 18 months).
I've recommended them to a couple of other people who are super anal
about engine/machine work and they've liked the results too.

Anyway, I guess that's just a long winded way of saying to take it to
someone that knows for sure. I bet that they would look at it for free
(but no guarantees).

Mark

On Thursday, February 6, 2003, at 07:48 PM, Jason C wrote:

> Before pulling my (kaboomed) '00 motor, I decided to look at my cam
> bearings to make sure they're OK. I probably lost oil pressure for a
> few seconds at 6000+ rpm before I stepped on the clutch. The engine
> seized after that, big hole in intake side of oil pan and small hole
> in exhaust side of block.
>
> I found a strange wear pattern on all the cam lobes that were pointing
> up. It had the same pattern on both leading and trailing edge:
>
> pages.sbcglobal.net/jcuadra/cam/lobes1.JPG
> pages.sbcglobal.net/jcuadra/cam/lobes2.JPG
>
> If I drag a fingernail the worn part is not as smooth.
>
> So I took one bearing cap off the middle of the cam. There is
> definitely some grooving. Again I can slightly feel it with my
> fingernail.
>
> pages.sbcglobal.net/jcuadra/cam/cambearing.JPG
> pages.sbcglobal.net/jcuadra/cam/bearingcap.JPG
>
> Are my cams shot?