Camshaft recommendations

Labeline

Labeline

New Member
hi

I posted a while ago about changing the heads on my P6. Unfortunately that has had to be put by the wayside until I have the free cash to replace them....restoring houses is more expensive that I had allowed. I have however decided to do some work. I have a new water pump and uprated oil pump bits to fit. While I am doing that I am going to adapt the timing cover to accept a neoprene seal. Having decided to do that I thought I may as well change the camshaft and timing gear at the same time. I was going to fit a 3.9 camshaft from V8Tuner but have been told it will increase torque but was not the best upgrade for a P6. I have read quite a few posts about cam changes including fitting a standard cam which given the wear rate on a V8 may be an improvement but I was wondering what the best cam to fit would be for all round performance. I am not looking for a sports car but just the best all round and simplest improvement over and above what I have now. I will be replacing the heads in due course but not immediately. Thanks.
 
To be fitted in the next few weeks I got the Crower 50229. I'll let you know how I get on - can't tell you yet.

I chose this because

1) it suits the auto, any more extreme is probably not impossible, but not so comfortable - if your car is manual, you have the option of going further - it's a question of what you want. This also usually raises the torque peak making it less relaxed to drive.
2) Crower have a formidable reputation in the US market for quality.
3) It's very, very cheap compared to similar Piper and other quality aftermarket options.

This cam plus the larger valve heads are supposed to give 25-30ish bhp. Given your transmission losses stay the same for the auto that's 25-30% at the wheels, which should be extremely useful.

To be honest my cam is so worn now, it will be difficult for me to tell what is merely putting back what was missing due to wear and what the cam delivers on top of standard. I'm hoping for good things. Just accurate timing would be a huge help with the new chain.
 
Thanks. I am just assuming my cam and timing gear are original or at least old. I don't know what work has been done to the engine and as I am going to change bits that involve stripping down the front of the engine anyway it just makes sense to change it all. I will in due course change the heads but that's for later. My car is a 3500S. I am not really interested in big power increases as I am not convinced my original 4 speed gearbox would like it . I am just looking for a general upgrade to replace the standard cam.
 
From what I understand both the shells and the block itself might need to be machined to get the bearings lined-up correctly it's not just a case of pressing in/out.

I'm willing to be corrected on this but cam bearing replacement is into rebuild/short engine territory. Maybe there's a shortcut but not from what I've read on Land Rover forums.
 
PeterZRH said:
From what I understand both the shells and the block itself might need to be machined to get the bearings lined-up correctly it's not just a case of pressing in/out.

I'm willing to be corrected on this but cam bearing replacement is into rebuild/short engine territory. Maybe there's a shortcut but not from what I've read on Land Rover forums.
Click to expand...

Somewhere else on the his forum I have read there is a tool to remove the bearings in situ without dismantling the engine but you have to take the engine out to do it.
 
IIRC with the rad out and the front cover removed the cam bearing extraction and replacement can be done without removing the engine from the car. Further, ISTRC it isn't by any means always necessary, and more often than not the cam bearings themselves can be reused. That said, I might well be contributing pure codswallop, so hopefully somebody wiser and actually experienced will be along soon to confirm or deny my allegations.
 
Well if someone's done it "in car" it or had it done then it would be great to know because the parts aren't expensive and it would be a good thing to do in parallel with the cam itself. Even if the bearing themselves are not scored, surfaces tend to bed in together.
 
You would have to remove the gearbox as well as the rad and timing cover to replace the bearings with the engine in the car. You couldn't do the rearmost bearing with the box in. V8 tuner sells pre-sized bearings that you just fit and use.

I've had the tools made up from sizes I found on the internet.
 
Well, my camshaft is fitted and the car definitely has more poke and a slightly more "urgent" idle exhaust note. How much of this is due to having merely accurate timing and how much due to the Crower, I don't know. What I can tell you is that all steel timing gear is definitely noisier, although hopefully that'll settle down over time. What surprised me is how good the can and timing gear were. The cam and followers had wear, but it seemed even. I picture the rear lobes which usually fare least well (comments please). I can only assume the chain was stretched to hell.

IMG_20171001_203429191.jpg IMG_20171001_203905263.jpg
 
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