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Holy Roller

Holy Roller

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Has anyone had any problems with Comp cams from Summit being warped. The first one I got from them was warped 15 thousandths. And they sent me a new one that is warped 5 thousandths. Comp says the allowable tolerance is 0-3 thousandths, just wondering if anyone else is having or had problems with cams from Summit?
Thank you
Joe
 
never bothered to check any cam I've installed or removed, including a few summit cams, I've never had an issue either. shove it in there, it will break in
 
Bulldozer said:
never bothered to check any cam I've installed or removed, including a few summit cams, I've never had an issue either. shove it in there, it will break in
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I haven't had a problem before either, but comp says if it's warped past 3 thousandths it could cause bearing damage.
 
oldkimmer said:
Hi spring loads and misadjusted valve train cause more problems. Kim
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So it's better to have the cam as straight as possible. I'm just don't want to have to keep sending cams back and forth to Summit to get a straight one. Because they have no way of checking it. Comp did say I could send it to them and they would straighten it up.
 
I've seen Jim at Racer Brown straighten them. Fixture with a dial indicator, chisel, and hammer. Never a problem. I guess most manufacturers do not check?
 
If it slides in without binding it wouldn't be an issue. I wonder how many machine shops install new cam bearings and have to hone and shave to get the cam to fit properly when it's the cam that is causing the problem in the first place. Something to check next time. A lathe and a dial indicator would do the trick. .015 is quite a bit.
 
Holy Roller said:
Has anyone had any problems with Comp cams from Summit being warped. The first one I got from them was warped 15 thousandths. And they sent me a new one that is warped 5 thousandths. Comp says the allowable tolerance is 0-3 thousandths, just wondering if anyone else is having or had problems with cams from Summit?
Thank you
Joe
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Holy Roller said:
I haven't had a problem before either, but comp says if it's warped past 3 thousandths it could cause bearing damage.
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Holy Roller said:
So it's better to have the cam as straight as possible. I'm just don't want to have to keep sending cams back and forth to Summit to get a straight one. Because they have no way of checking it. Comp did say I could send it to them and they would straighten it up.
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66fs said:
I've seen Jim at Racer Brown straighten them. Fixture with a dial indicator, chisel, and hammer. Never a problem. I guess most manufacturers do not check?
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They had an issue with breaking cams on the v-6 engine that I worked on... For years they were scratching their heads wondering why the cams would break under warranty within the first 6 months.... :realcrazy:

They finally did a deep study and found that they had a "straightener" for bent/warped castings where they would take the bend out and that was causing the problem... After they discontinued trying to straighten the cam and send back the bent/bad castings, the problem went away...

Using one of them could cause the cam to break in less than 10,000 miles.... :( :steering:
 
toolmanmike said:
If it slides in without binding it wouldn't be an issue. I wonder how many machine shops install new cam bearings and have to hone and shave to get the cam to fit properly when it's the cam that is causing the problem in the first place. Something to check next time. A lathe and a dial indicator would do the trick. .015 is quite a bit.
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My machinist said he could fix the one that's. 005 but didn't want to be responsible if it cracked in half. And I didn't want to take a 350.00 chance, I wouldn't call it a race cam it's a 549 lift roller. The guy at comp said they ship out straight, they must get pretty beat up during shipping.
 
Holy Roller said:
My machinist said he could fix the one that's. 005 but didn't want to be responsible if it cracked in half. And I didn't want to take a 350.00 chance, I wouldn't call it a race cam it's a 549 lift roller. The guy at comp said they ship out straight, they must get pretty beat up during shipping.
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Lol ya right.
 
I never heard of warped new cams until now but then again , I never saw a cam broken in two until I opened my new Mopar Performance cam from within it's shipping tube and found it busted. Now that also is a confidence builder !!!!!!
 
OL DODGE said:
I never heard of warped new cams until now but then again , I never saw a cam broken in two until I opened my new Mopar Performance cam from within it's shipping tube and found it busted. Now that also is a confidence builder !!!!!!
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I know, I always brought the block home from the shop and put it together and never had any problems. I guess now days they don't put fragile or anything like that on the packaging and just shove it through the mail.
 
Several years ago I had a Crane cam that was .035 out because a rod bumped it. Crane said they would straighten it free, said simple process and said that all their cams were checked and straightened if necessary before shipping.
 
Blucuda413 said:
Several years ago I had a Crane cam that was .035 out because a rod bumped it. Crane said they would straighten it free, said simple process and said that all their cams were checked and straightened if necessary before shipping.
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That's what the guy at comp said too Blucuda413 so that's what I might have to do too.send it to comp and let them get it straight.
 
It's very easy to bend a camshaft. If it came in it's own box, and the handling is rough, simply "putting the box on the stoop" can bend it. Take it to a shop with V blocks and have them straighten it. Or buy/make some and do it yourself. All you need are the blocks and a dial indicator.
 
moper said:
It's very easy to bend a camshaft. If it came in it's own box, and the handling is rough, simply "putting the box on the stoop" can bend it. Take it to a shop with V blocks and have them straighten it. Or buy/make some and do it yourself. All you need are the blocks and a dial indicator.
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I was thinking of letting Comp do it, that way if anything happened. They would be responsible, but...who knows what it would be like when I got it back. Catch 22 I guess...
 
Yep. Fit tight. They said it might be bent. Measured the journals, a couple where on the lage side compared to the factory cam and specs. Sent it back to comp (with all measurements as requested). Got it back it fit exactly the same, same measurements. Took it to my machinist and he polished it into submission. I'm done with comp and their bad customer service attitude.
 
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Have you ever seen a you tube video showing how the employees at the major shippers or at airports, gently handle packages ? Football or soccer anyone ?
 
MoparLeo said:
Have you ever seen a you tube video showing how the employees at the major shippers or at airports, gently handle packages ? Football or soccer anyone ?
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I wonder how comp ships them to the vendors, usually Summit has pretty good packing. I have watched UPS sort their packages and your right...football and soccer.
 
Not to hijack the thread, but I haven't heard of these issues with other manufacturers. Until now. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I personally have mail ordered Mopar Performance and Crane Cams without issues. Are the shippers picking on comp? Or have I've just been lucky before?
 
fedex broke a crank I shipped. They dropped it on the flange end and must have hit at a 45 or something as there was a huge 50 degree chunk of flange rattling in the crushed box. I even put a 3" styrofoam block at each end.



When a crank warps from being stored on it side or improperly (not on its end?) they say to mount it up, torque it and walk away for a week. Even metal is somewhat fluid over time. They rotate propeller shafts on ships when they are stored every now and then.
 
Damage is possible every time any cam is handled. Could have been a factory dude. Could have been the shipper. Or the warehouse. Or the order puller. Or the shipper (again). Or the owner, or the owner's drunk friend (see it...lol) I forget which company - but someone uses a tube to ship. That probably helps some. Cardboard, even thick and multi-thick isn't good enough in a lot of cases. Take an old cam, drop it so it hits on one end, then measure it. It only takes once.

Comp is one of the most common bought - hence most common damaged, or wiped, or wrong, or whatever. I can say I've never had a badly damaged one from them over 30 plus years and probably close to 70 cams over that time. But that's me. Also never had any bad issues with anyone else's except Mopar Performance in the 90s. That's why I stopped running them. They were made horribly though - not damaged.
 
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