Used Cams

[Blue)(Fusion]

I'm looking to get a set of PI cams to put in my NPI engine. I've never cracked open my valve covers, but from what I can see through the oil fill cap, mine don't have this varnish on them. Do these look good or should I skip this deal and find them elsewhere?

These are from an '01 Crown Victoria and come with the bolts and washers. Will these work on my '00 cam gears or do I need to get the gears, too?

[way2old]

Technically, the camshafts are machined to the heads and the camshaft plates. I have not tried to see if they will interchange from one to another. If you go for it, let us know outcome. I would however be leery of the valves staying open too long and hitting piston(possibly).

[Blue)(Fusion]

From everything I've looked up, valve clearance will not be a problem and the 98+ use the same valve springs so valve float also shouldn't be a concern until about 6500RPMs which will give me a margin of safety (rev limitter set to 6,000). It's also a common swap for '96-'98 Mustang owners who have the NPI engines to let the engine breath better above 5,000RPMs.

As long as they don't look like they have wear issues to you guys, I'll go ahead and buy these and install them when I do my timing chain tensioners and arms.

[way2old]

You are the one that have your hands on the cams. We can't really see if there are any grooves or pits in them. Good luck.

[Blue)(Fusion]

Originally Posted by way2old

You are the one that have your hands on the cams. We can't really see if there are any grooves or pits in them. Good luck.

I didn't buy these yet, these are the pics that the guy sent me. He's selling them for $50 shipped and once he gets back to me I'm buying them. I figure if they are pitted, it's a $50 investment to know what cams should NOT look like.

I'll let you know how the swap goes and if it was really worth it.

[Blue)(Fusion]

Here's an update!

I got the cams pictured (from a 2003 Crown Victoria) in the first post. For $50 they were a good deal. It was easily determined that the cams came out of an engine that lost oil pressure based on the bearing surfaces. The bearing surfaces needed only a little bit of sanding which was quick and easy with two people.

It took two of us about 8 hours in a friend's driveway, including quite a few smoke breaks, lunch, and a trip to AutoZone. He has done it before so he knew how to attack everything well.

The end result is AWESOME! The idle is slightly rougher than the original cams. The low end torque is slightly reduced. But I also have a 70mm throttle body and 2.73 rear end gears which offer no help.

The difference is made in the mid to high RPMs. With the original cams, the motor made a lot of noise but didn't do much above 4,500RPMs. Now, it pulls HARD from 3,500 to 6,000+!!!

At the same time we did the timing chain tensioner and guide replacement. My originals were okay, but they would have had to be done soon. I now have some peace of mind about them.

Total cost for all the Ford OEM gaskets, timing chain tensioners, arms, guides, crank seal, crank bolt, used PI cams, and other oddball items (RTV, fresh oil, etc.) was about $350.

I'll add pictures tomorrow. It was a long day.

[Blue)(Fusion]

As promised, the pictures are located here.