Ok, I'm running Pro2 cams along with Skunk2 Pro Series valvetrains to run these high lift cams in my H-Series engine in my '94 Honda Accord EX. As I retension my t-belt the other night since it sounded like a helicopter or more like a loose flapping belt. Got that taken care of, so then I decided that I should remove the VC to check what my cams and valvetrains look like since I've been seeing tiny tiny metal shavings from my last oil change and engine flush, so this is what I found:

Its the #4 Cyl on the Exhaust Primary cam lobe(left primary lobe) that has that nick on it, WTF? Sorry for the poor cell pic. You can see on both ends of the primary lobe.



Lack of Lubrication? My oil has always been full, never has it been down to half. I usually fill it back up to Max if its down a quarter of a quart and I've been always running Mobile1 Syn.

Someone said that my retainer to valve guide are hitting eachother?

 

have you checked the rocker itself to see it is was damaged? are those skunk2 retainers and springs or just the springs? and stock valves?

 

H22's love to eat rocker pads and cams. Look into the mobile synthetic and see what its zinc content is. may need to put some zinc additive in the oil

 

Yeah, like what I said in my first post "Skunk2 Pro Series valvetrain". I got the Skunk2 Retainers, and Pro valve springs to run these cams.

And from a visual inspection, it doesn't look like it has any premature wear but I'll have to double check.

Is that what Zinc do? is to prevent this kind of internal damage? I'll have to buy a few bottles then each time I do my oil change.

 

No need to get smart about it. I asked the question because half the members on this forum like to run their big cams on a somewhat stock valvetrain. Here is a good write-up I found on oil and what the purpose of Zinc is http://micapeak.com/info/oiled.html

 

Haha, sorry. That wasn't my intention. Yeah, I know what you mean. But I am running the full valvetrain Skunk2 has for their Pro2 cams, because I don't want to deal with any valve spring bind nor valve float. Oh and thanks for the link.

 

run amsoil or torco...

/thread

 

NP. What oil were you using? Just curious.

 

I'm running Mobile1 Fully Synthetic oil. My oil has never been low. Whenever its down a quarter of a quart. I usually fill it up to the top dot.

 

mobil 1 isnt what it used to be. i would recommend adding http://zddplus.com/ if your going to run mobil 1.

 

Sweet. Thanks bro. I'll do so when Spring is here when I re-do the oil change using Mobile1 along with the Zinc bottle. Thanks.

I should be fine with that nick on that lobe right? I'll have to look more closely to the other lobes.

 

i would be worried if it was my car...i would try to figure out why the hell the lobe chiped like that.

"I've been seeing tiny tiny metal shavings from my last oil change and engine flush"

you have something wrong if your finding metal shavings in the oil.

 

Ah, ok. I'll have to talk to my instructor too to see what he have in mind that would cause it to nick like that.

 

Are you sure that the nic wasnt there before you installed them? I remember a thread recently on skunk cam that came out the box with a small chip out of the side of the lobe.
heres the link
https://honda-tech.com/forums/showthread.php?p=43755096

 

I'm not sure either as it was new from Skunk2 when I got it. Thanks for the link. Someone also told me that it might be the poor casting itself too.

 

is it just me or did it seem like the older skunk 2 cams were better made?

 

Hi guys,

I saw your thread so I thought I would chime in. The way the B and H series camshafts are made they are chill cast all at once. That being said if you have a defective casting ALL of the lobes will show signs of wear. Technically the vtec lobes will wear down faster as they are exposed to more spring pressure due to the lift they create.

With just the primary lobe on one camshaft showing signs of wear I am more inclined to say that it is some kind of condition created while the engine is running rather than a defective part. It could potentially have something to do with the slapping timing belt which was altering the cam timing.

To the OP if you would like to give me a call at 951.808.9888 ext 209 or email BrianN@Skunk2.com I will be happy to discuss what you are experiencing and what we can do to get you fixed up.

 

Ok, Brian and Joe at Skunk2 took care of me. They had arranged Fedex to come by and pick up my cams. They have good customer service must I say.

Here's some recent quality pictures I took when I had the cams out:





The rest of the lobes on the exaust cam looks fine except for one of the primary lobe on cyl #4 and the intake cam lobes are in good shape as well.

I did the finger nail test on my rocker pads and it's as smooth as glass with no rough wear.







Good thing the rockerpads are in good shape.

 

That does look like a casting flaw to me.

 

Yes siR.

 

I have a set that i just pulled out of a car looks identical . I plan on calling brian tomorrow .

 

WTF? You serious? Damn, what if the new ones that I'm about to receive does the same thing?

 

Anyways, I finally got the cams in today from Skunk2. All they replaced was the exhaust cam with the nicks and sent back the old intake cam along with the new exhaust as the intake cam still in good shape.

Got it all torque down except that I need to TDC the crank first which I will then have to remove both serp belt, crank pulley, and timing covers off to see the timing mark on the balancer gear with the dimple mark on the oil pump housing. Otherwise, I'll just go with the mark i made on my crank pulley and timing cover so I didn't have eto remove all that just to get the crank timed. There's no timing mark on my aftermarket flywheel, so I couldn't do it from there either but oh well. Thats where I stopped; needs to be TDC, timing belt just needed to go back on, and torque the cam gear bolts.

Boys/Gals, anytime you guys get new skunk2 cams, don't forget to inspect the edges of the lobes in case there's any small nicks nor chips. I've seen a few pictures of member's on here where their brand new S2 cams has nicks and chips on the edges of the lobes and it's a brand new set. So always inspect the lobes before you install them.











I'll go back to get it all done when Spring is here. I'll keep you guys up to date when the time comes. All my toes are freezing from being out in the garage for almost two hours.

 

I got another question, I noticed that both cams can slide back and fourth if they haven't been snug tight by fingers. So, I sorta got confused as I just notice this and didn't know if the cam should be bottom out towards the dizzy side or bottom out towards the timing belt side? Either way, I had it bottom out towards the dizzy side and made sure that both cam gears are evenly lined up so one isn't out farther than the other gear in case the timing belt might start to walk off? Anyways, just a question I wanted to ask about that. Thanks Gs.
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Lot of this has to do with spring seat pressure.. Had the same thing happen with
Pro2's pro3's blox c's