Im doing my final prep work getting supplies I will need to be ready for my short block that is coming in middle of May. I did some reading on assembly lube specifically in relation to roller camshafts, roller lifters and roller rockers. I came across one article that talked about high spring rate roller cams are recommended to have assembly grease used something such as the Driven Engine Assembly Grease.

I was doing some more browsing and found that Driven also offers a GP-1 Assembly Gel and I found a video showing a comparison and it was the only assembly lubricant that actually stayed put for a week while the others for the most part had dripped off.

Question is what is the difference between the Driven Engine Assembly grease and the GP-1 Assembly Gel? I cant find any information about the assembly grease to know how it compares to the assembly gel but I am so far slightly leaning towards the assembly gel for use on my cam, roller lifters, push rod ends, roller rockers, distributor gear and cam thrust plate.

 

You want a dependable lube that has high tack and high EP properties. For that I recommend LM48 https://products.liqui-moly.com/lm-4...n-paste-3.html, it's used by lots and has a proven track record. It's my understanding this is also available through CAT and is part 8T2998. Don't skimp on the lubricant.

 

I know, thats why I am trying to find the best stuff out there. I was going to just use the permatex assembly lube but after seeing that video where with in 2 minutes of application it was already dripping off the cam lobes it has me very curious about the GP-1 Assembly Gel.

This is the shoot out video that I saw last night that has me interested in the Driven GP-1 Gel but I was looking at the Driven Assembly Grease but not sure if their grease is the same thing as the gel or if its different.

I will take a look at the LM48 though. I still have time to pick a lube for my valve train. I will just leave what ever the short block builder placed on the main and rod bearings not sure I want to go disassembling the rotating assembly to clean and add a different assembly lubricant. I will be priming the system anyways.

 

The driven lube looks to be just rebranded Lubriplate 105. Nothing special and it has no EP properties.

 

See I am unsure about that, I been looking this week for product data sheets to make comparisons and I cant find anything on the Driven stuff. Like wise I looked at Crane branded lube since my cam is a crane cam and over on summit it shows a photo of the driven tub of assembly grease. I cant check Cranes website cause it doesnt exist anymore, you go to COMP Cams - Performance Camshafts, Lifters, Valve Springs, Rocker Arms it redirects to comp cams website. But every place online I looked for 99004-1 which is the Crane Cams cam lubricant shows the driven tub which makes me wonder if driven is some rebranded product like you are saying.

I dont know if I want to use Lubriplate 105 on the cam how ever, from the reading I did on Lubriplate its mainly for bearings not roller lifters or roller cams.

Will have to keep doing some reading, with how much money I have in my engine build and how much time getting to this point it has taken me I want to make sure I get this right.

 

Back in my day we'd use STP in ketchup squirt bottles when installing cranks or cams. It seemed to cling very well, was highly recommended by most better known engine builders, had seen a few NHRA top fueler pit crews use this method too.

Today's counterpart part would be the Lucas Oil Stabiizer product.

Not sure any of that's ^^^^ relevant with today's available products but maybe?

 

Yep that is the same thing I heard before as well. Diving deeper into finding out about roller cams specifically since they are a different animal with the higher spring pressure and more aggressive ramp profile I am finding out things like the STP oil treatment or the lucas oil treatment is not to be used on any cam break in as its just a thickening agent without the high shear protection of a true assembly lubricant.

But my big problem is I cant find product data sheets for some of these to see whats exactly in them to compare them as I suspect some might be just rebranded products and like wise everything I see online revolves around flat tappet cams and very little about hydraulic roller cams.

When I started my project collecting parts I was under the impression I wouldnt need assembly lube for the cam lobes as I didnt want to promote slipping of the roller on the lifter but now I am hearing that it doesnt promote slipping it helps to smooth out the break in of the roller lifter to the cam lobes which is a different break in than with a flat tappet that you want to break in by spinning.

I bought years ago a tube of the black moly assembly lube under the "engines" brand I believe it was, it was all I used when I installed new distributors in old engines to lubricate the cam gear till it could properly get saturated in oil. The engine builder I know uses the Permatex Ultra Slick and that was what I was leaning towards using as well since its a tried and tested assembly lube. Then I came across the video I posted above where the guy does a shoot out with different lubes and saw that the permatex ultra slick would drip off my cam with in a week and leave nothing but a little on the underside of the lobes. That wont work for me cause after I get my short block and start getting measurements to order push rods I still have to send my headers out to be ceramic coated and mail out my new DSII distributor to this guy in washington state to be recurved on the timing based off my engine specs. I may not get that stuff back before I finish my engine assembly so I need something that will stick to my cam lobes for more than a week The GP-1 looks to be the one that will do it assembly lube wise but there is also the grease that driven sells also which may or may not be the same as other products.

For my build after my assembly it might be a week or a month before I get to install the engine in my truck. Hate to do all this work and use what I think is a good lube and damage a $500 roller cam and have to pull the engine and replace the cam all cause the engine didnt get installed and started up right away. Really would be nice if I had a engine test run stand but I dont have the room for one of those but I do want to get one eventually for things just like this.

 

Many cams, both multi cylinder and MX bikes, plus a couple of small block Chevy cams were coated in this stuff when I assembled.
No problems.
As always, YMMV.
Redline Assy Lube

 

NEVER use grease as an assembly lube on the bearings when building the engine. The only place that an EP grease should be used is with a flat tappet cam. Grease on the lobes and bottoms only of the lifters. I've used a lot of different assembly lubes over the years, GM EOS, Driven HVL and Torco MPZ are all great, they are not grease and they all can dissipate into the oil after startup.