Cam followers???
Turbo Mini Forums

Right just been thinking, didn't hurt much.

2 parts to this one.

part 1: when you fill your mini up with oil, is the only way for the oil to drain into the gearbox, as I think it would be, through the running clearance gaps where the follower run up and down?

Part2: or is there another hole that goes straight into the box to help the oil drain down faster??

Now I was thinking about getting some followers with the holes in, If part 2 is the answer I thought it might help me cam get more oil on the cam, if it's part 1 then it won't do nothing I wouldn't think.
I've never heard of people having problems with them now adays with the sort with holes in.

Your thoughts please.
MW

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

there is i think to extra holes in the gallery which drsin down into the block from the followers.

it has been said before that the hole is designed to give extra lub for the follower to the block running guide. but have been known to crack

whether thats true i dont know so cant help you there.

buy the way mat spoke to a bloke at work and we can get the rockers redressed and oil dipped to reaneal the tips.

also said before i recon it would be a good idea for a cam maker to make a cam with small oil holes in the back of the lobe to aid lube for the cam.

but i still recon most wear is from using heavy springs and high lift rockers which cause premeture follower and cam wear.

mine is like new with running on standard rockers weres 1.5's have knackered a cam in a year before now.

still recon if you are hell bent on 1.5's then running a new cam with standard rockers for a few 1000 miles will give chance for the lobes and followers to case harden a bit before fitting 1.5's.

always looking for them bigger bunches of bannanas

A question, do you rigidly stick to the procedure of "knocking in" a new cam and/or followers at 3000rpm for 20mins?

Stock A+ cams (excluding the MPi ones) still look great after 60-80K miles. The ones i've seen of yours in thew past look like they've done 200+K miles.

We can assume oil lube is the same as a stock engine (drip and spray).
So what's different? Well - the valve train. Plain and simple.

You have three basic choices IMO:
1) cross drill camshaft
2) spray bar the camshaft
3) reduce your valve train mass and spring poundage to an amount acceptable for your application.

The first two are 'band-aids'. Something that is best classed as a temporary fix.
The last is where the true solution to the problem lies for sure.

Someone needs to do the test. To find the lightest spring compression in conjunction with a known lift rate, rocker inertia and valve mass for a set RPM.

Of course turbo's have to make it a little more complex as valves are also closing against port air pressure... Not sure how to add that into the equation, short of simple testing though!

Edited by turbodave16v on 16th Nov, 2005.

Yes tom all done that, some times i do and some times i haven't.

nice one about the hardening, good point hoggy and Dave said about that before to about getting one drilled, i like the idea of running in on 1.25 rockers

Dave good points, so reading your post am i right in thinking you don't think a hole in followers would help? as standard one don't have and are fine.

cheers guys MW

Edited by Miniwilliams on 16th Nov, 2005.

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

I would say always knock the cam and followers in, I once saw a Pinto engine in an RS2000 eat a brand new expensive Shrick camshaft in about 5 mins from initial startup!!!!!!!!!

hell mate, but it doesn't seem to make any difference on my engine.

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

Matt - you've tried everything; even highly expensive oil? Well, that says to me that you're overloading it. Plain and simple.

Just thought - you are running a decent rocker clearance aren't you?

yes his is TD i recon what you said is spot on as well as my self to much load on the lobes via 1.5 rockers, i think his springs are the same as mine which are the 180lb progressive minispares ones.

ive never seen yet a cam which should look like new after a couple of years when using a 1.5 rockers they have all been shaged on the inlet lobes for some reason.

always looking for them bigger bunches of bannanas

Yes Dave i see your point all added to gether seems there is other issues.

I've tryed clearences from 15" to 19" doesn't seem to be much difference. Would 19" be enought?

Yes hoggy, I'm sure i'm using the 180 ones. maybe i'll cut a couple of coil out of them this year

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

It's not just an issue of fitting "good" valve springs. What if you've got coil bind JUST before the valve reaches full lift? That will not make it run bad, but it'll put immense loadings on the cam/follower.

It's also possible that the lash cap stops on the guide even if not coil bind is present. This would cause the same symptoms. You could possibly hear it, but an A-series is so rattly and noisy anyway, especially with SC drops.

Edited by Vegard on 17th Nov, 2005.

LOL yes mine sounds like a tractor some times with the big gaps. Not a binding issue though i've checked many a time :(

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com