Torque camshaft report

[aaron1976]

I finished installing a camshaft from Russ, Type4 and although I have a few bugs to work out I thought I would post a report on what I have noticed.

Torque and lower egt's. That is what I have noticed and even with lifters that don't like being on a new cam, I have more torque. My lifters are making a lot of noise and if I rev over 2500 rpms, I lose 2 cylinders as the lifters seem to collapse until I let the rpms drop down to 1500 or so.

The new lifters are ordered and I am not going to drive the truck again until I change them out and I can't wait. I drove down to Logan, Ut yesterday and there are plenty of climbs to test the cam out on. I have an ATS non wg turbo and the turbo comes in about 300 rpms sooner. Even if I drop out of the turbo boost the engine just keeps making torque. Before, if I let it drop below 2100 rpms (out of the turbo's operating range) the engine would fall on it's face and I would have to down shift. Not so now. the turbo makes 4 psi or so at 1700 rpms and that makes a lot of difference.

The egt's are about 150 lower too so that is always a good thing.

The horse power is down right now but that is due to the lifters and probably needing to be timed again. My injectors are at about 300k so I think they will make a big difference too and even with the lifters rattling along I can tell a very noticeable difference in the torque and torque band.

So that plan is to get the new lifters and pushrods in and replace my injectors. Then I will have it timed and see what it will do. I really think I will like it. It seems to love the 8 and 9 percent grades now. I can't wait to get it all buttoned up and do some towing.

I will post the progess and results as things progress.

 

[icanfixall]

Good to see this... Those injectors were worn out about 200,000 miles ago. Buy a set of Delhpi BB codes and run it again. Those are about the best stock injectors you can buy. The G code turbo injectors are about the worst thing these motors see. The design was for emmissions issues only. They just can't compare with a set of BB injectors... Timing is very important too.

 

[OLDBULL8]

So that plan is to get the new lifters and pushrods in and replace my injectors

Yes sir,new lifters are required with a new cam. If the foot of the lifter is worn in the least, they will not rotate with the engine running and possible ruin the cam lobe. Lifters have a very slight arc on the foot, about the arc of a 5 ft circle. The push rods should be installed with the copper coated end up.

 

[Diesel JD]

So that plan is to get the new lifters and pushrods in and replace my injectors

Yes sir,new lifters are required with a new cam. If the foot of the lifter is worn in the least, they will not rotate with the engine running and possible ruin the cam lobe. Lifters have a very slight arc on the foot, about the arc of a 5 ft circle. The push rods should be installed with the copper coated end up.

This is good info, probably something a lot of realtive newbie shade tree mechanics like myself do not know! I thought his was only the case if the lifters were worn out. I guess most would be on a 300K mile engine. Those are some pretty good results for everything not being right. 4 psi at 1700 on an 088 sounds incredible, were you making any boost there before? Mine is never boosting, maybe .5-1 psi at that rpm if I'm really laying into the throttle. Usually nothing if I'm nice to it.

 

[icanfixall]

Oldbull Our lifters do not rotate in the bores. They are needle bearing roller lifters and "dog bones" hold them in place. The valve springs do have spring rotaters under them. I personally replace the lifters when I do a rebuild on these idi motors. I do it for the peace of mind know ing they are not going to come back and bite me later. Spending around $200.00 more on a rebuild isn't going to kill me...

 

[OLDBULL8]

ICAN : I guess I had a brain fart. Heck I know that. I'm tired, should be in bed, worked to long wireing my new garage (shop) today. Was just going to go back and delete my post on that. Sorry about that.

 

[david85]

Thats one of many things I love about this forum. If you make a mistake, some one has always got your back and no one ever takes it personally when they are corrected.

Anyway, I am following the torque cam reviews very closely as they come in. I'm actually thinking of having a spare set of lifters ready for some time in the fall or maybe winter and swap out the cam at that time.

No time to do that until then so for now, I'll stay on the edge of my seat and eagerly await each update.

 

[The Warden]

Anyway, I am following the torque cam reviews very closely as they come in.

You and me both...I wish this cam had been available in 2004

Here's a question for anyone who's installed a torque cam so far...how has it affected your fuel economy? I can't imagine it would have a negative effect other than the driver playing with the "fun" pedal some more but it'd be nice to see some before/after numbers if anyone has or can make them available.

Also, this may seem like a silly question, but going back to the issue of replacing lifters...is it mandatory to replace lifters when replacing the cam if the lifters have been done fairly recently? I installed all new lifters when I went through my engine in '04 (about 40K miles ago)...if I need to replace 'em, I'll replace 'em, but if you guys think they'll be okay, it might be good financially.

Thinking about pulling the trigger, if I can afford it...

 

[Agnem]

This is good information, but I would encourage you NOT to make any changes to your fuel system, including timing, until you have had a chance to fully evaluate the performance of the cam. Once you change your injectors and set your timing, all bets are off, as the thing is going to run tremendously better, and your not going to be able to tell what benefit the cam is contributing.

 

[aaron1976]

I made boost about like you did Diesel JD. About .5 in the 1800 rpm range and the turbo did not become efficient until about 2150 rpm. The extra boost at the lower rpm tells me that it is flowing more. I like the extra torque for sure.

Even though I had worn out components, there is a definite gain in torque. The end result will have to be compared to what I had before which was really pretty good. The timing was almost on before (not enough adustability) but I am sure the pop pressure was very low. The truck had good power and I was getting about 17 mpg.

A question I do have is about the pushrods. Since the cam is a regrind, is there any chance that the hydraulic piston in the lifter would sit too high as a result of a small diameter of the round surface of the cam, not the lobe? I would think the difference is slight enough that it wouldn't make a difference. Just a thought but not much of one.

I thought about ordering in a set of 7.3 powerstroke pushrods which are just a bit longer. They use the same lifter as an IDI but I am not sure if the rocker arm end of the pushrod is the same.

Hopefully I will have everything next week and have it in by the end of the week and I can tell you more.

 

[aaron1976]

Agnem,

That is a great idea. I will wait to install the new injectors until I can evaluate the new cam properly. It would yield a result that is more comparable to the power the engine produced before the changes. Thanks for the input.

 

[88beast]

psd springs will work but the pushrods i already looked into youll have valve to piston contact do not do it
put in a psd spring itll stiffen it up but it has yet to be tried on a runnign motor
im gonna do it with my cam swap (i cant wait till it gets here) and then turn up the ip a good bit

 

[FordGuy100]

I think the cam helping the exhuast side will really help the turbo motors create better boost down low. Would make sense from what you are seeing.

 

[seawalkersee]

I can't comment on this yet, but will soon be able to give somewhat of a report. I am porting my heads too and hope to have it back together within the next two weeks.

SWS

 

[Rot Box]

I drove down to Logan, Ut yesterday and there are plenty of climbs to test the cam out on.

Nice scenic drive that's for sure It surprises me how many members are close to Cache Valley. We need to have an IDI mini rally one of these days

I can't wait the hear back on the new lifters. I shall have to look into this upgrade when the time comes