Anyone want to write about cams? I would like to try with this post to make the differences of the 6.0 cams a little clearer for everyone. I think if everyone contributes their knowledge, it could be useful for everyone.

When I overhaul an engine, every single part is documented and stored in its designated holder so that I always have the appropriately paired parts together in case details of the cause of damage come up.
Always interesting for me is, how strongly the camshafts wear with wrong oil or too long oil change intervals (wrong oil filters etc....).
Due to the 2 valve springs that each lifter has to compress, the lifters and camshaft are heavily stressed as we all know.
This 2006 6.0 Powerstroke engine cam has only 66K mls / 105K KM on the clock, and has "suffered" most severe damage from a defective EGR cooler (owner filled degas bottle up with pure water instead of coolant, engine oil was water-oil-mix) - the camshaft is at the limit of "useful" reusability. I polish the bearing seats and the cam lobes, I'll post a video of it the days.









Both the runout and the stroke are checked




Here are the clear imprints of the lift rollers:




after polishing:






You can clearly see how the "roller track" widens at the point where the valve pair begins to open. Extremely large forces are generated via the rocker arm, push rod and lifter, which are transmitted to the cam lobes by the lifter rollers.






what is different about the cam lobe of a Cold cam? Does anyone have similar pictures of a Cold cam so we can see differences?

 

 

here are a few moving pics of the cam.


Jack's videos are perfect as always, no additions needed here in my opinion.

Maybe my post will evolve in the future ....

 

Oh, never perfect, Hartwig, but just supporting your investigation. The more data we all acquire the better we can understand this engine. You've got a treasure trove with this poor engine.

What I can't help you with is the different configurations of the cams available in respect to how they perform.

 

For what reason are stage 2 cams often installed in rebuilds?
What speaks against a good original part?

 

When I was buying a cam, all of the stage 1 cams were reground stock cams, and I didn't want that. The stage 2 from everyone was a new billet. I really wanted the unique '03 cam, but those were not available at all unless you wanted a used cam. And since we really don't know the true nature of cam/lifter failures, there was no way I would buy a used cam.

The '03 engines have a great off-idle response. I never had any issue breaking tires loose if I got a little aggressive from a stop, which would also generate a little black smoke (OE programming too.). That aggressiveness also was good with extra weight or trailer.

I originally bought a stock '04.5+ cam, but when I got it it had an inclusion in the lobe surface. That was enough for me being in the middle of the forensics on my Ford reman. So a proper inspection was not being done on these; I didn't want any part of it.

Today there are stage 1 cams out there from new billet. If I was rebuilding today, it's what I would buy.

 

I wouldn't want to install a reworked cam either.
I had been thinking about which cam to use for the engine I'm rebuilding (most choose stage2 for their rebuilt). The cam in the pictures above has run 65k, I think it will do its job for a while after polishing.

 

Jack, I once saw a video of you checking the distance from the valve to the piston. If I remember correctly you had an adjustable push rod installed. Is the video still online? I can't find it anymore.
Here it is now 00:30 AM , I need to regenerate ;-)
Greetings to the USA, see you tomorrow

 

Yeah, I modified two of the old pushrods so they were adjustable, and made two of the lifters solid. Both are pretty easy to do so you don't have to buy parts to do this. Up through Stage 2 cams should be fine as long as the piston protrusion is below the maximum.

The video: