ok, first: When putting the camshaft into the head, is tehre any particular way to torque it down? like...obviously, as it tightens down, the rocker arms are gonna start to push down on a couple of the valve springs. Is this ok? Do I need to rotate the cam so that it's not lifting any of hte valves?

And second: How do I break in a camshaft? It's a freshly re-ground Crower cam, and I have assembly lube. What's the process for starting the engine and breaking in the cam? thanks!!

 

My Helm's says to put the cam in with the keyway dacing up(TDC), and to put the rocker arm assembly in place, and loosely install the bolts. Make sure the rockers are positioned correctly on the valvestems, then tighten the bolts two turns at a time starting from the inside and working out.

 

as far as breaking in cams...all you gotta do is on initial start up just let the car idle for a long ass time. like 2 or 3 hours.....thats how ive done several 800+hp racing engines w/o any problem

 

Don't get stingy with the assembly lube. Coat the cam.

 

Yep, drown the cam, and once you start the engine, let it run, and run, and run, and run... 40 minutes minimum, 1-2 hours is ideal unless you have some crazy ground cam on an engine that is going to see a lot of stress, in which case longer is normally better.

Also, if your cam came with nitride coating, you should take a good rag, or a 3M scotch-brite pad and wipe it off of the cam lobes and cam journals before installing the cams. That stuff can clog oil galleys, and if some of it is stubborn, it can cause a catch section that will increase wear on your rocker arm pads.