Well, you singled out my post so you are essentially picking on me. How does your post do anything for Erik's motor?

Maybe the next guy who comes along wondering where to buy his replacement camshaft does a search on this site and finds this thread. They will be informed of the hit or miss of AllMakes' parts. So while my post didn't resolve anything for Erik's motor, it hopefully will help someone else in the future make an educated decision on whether or not they want to roll the dice with AllMakes... I was thinking big picture, not just Erik's motor.

So sorry my post offended you to the point of singling it out, motivating you to add another "useless" post to the thread.

 

No post any of us make can turn those parts into quality items so saying that a post doesn't help is pointless, none of them help this particular situation. We can gain from his experience though and I thank him for posting so many pics and threads on his rebuild. Thanks to him we all know what not to buy and just what kind of garbage and inconsistancy come from places like BP and companies like Allmakes. Those parts made 2 stops at the corperate level before he got them and neither company recognized what kind of crap it was sending out.

Sucks for the OP but we should all thank him and be glad he took the time to share his experience with us in such detail.

I think by the end of this the man will be worthy of an entire shade tree, not just a branch.

 

Thank you for being honest. You and I both know that doesn't sound right. Rent/purchase/borrow/steal a dial indicator and stand that you can bolt to your motor (because a magnetic base won't work with an aluminum block eh) and check the end float. It's tied to the longevity of your cam and lifters. Your hoping for a number close to .002" if your truly lucky with this new cam. Your cam is not self centering, it will drift which means if it's sloppy (beyond spec) the lobes can ride past the lifter face just a smidge. That will cause premature lobe and lifter face wear. You don't want that......right? Your old cam was worn so if this one "seems close" to that then what do you think you have now. New thrust plate should be used too, as common as end float measurement is.

You probably should snag a dial caliper at some point if you don't have one.

Starrett was the defacto precision instrument company but they've been outsourcing through several countries including China. Your call. Mine are calibrated hand me downs made in the US.

You dropped a serious dime, spend the time. If anything fails you have confidence it wasn't your fault and you have recourse. Next time spend your money wisely and buy an American made cam (and lifters) that's annealed properly. Not my opinion.

If you leave it alone I'm sure it will start up and run for awhile and initially sound great but you plan on keeping this in the family for awhile. Do yourself a big favor and go by the book unless your not sure. There are errors so it's not the Bible but it's your best bet for 99.9%.

Did you have the bottom end done by somebody else? Haven't been following the other thread. You need to check their work if so. Not because you think they are not capable, because it's your money into this project and your dream to have it last. What mileage guarantee did you get, 30k?

 

Yes you're right. RAVE states:

End-float - Camshafts with thrust plate 0.05 to 0.35 mm ........... 0.002 to 0.014 in

I do have a new thrust plate. What's really strange is the "Camshaft end-float - check" doesn't check with the gear on. Without the gear the float is huge. Like 1/2 in. Doesn't matter what cam or plate is used. When the cam is pushed back it hits the plug, and pulled forward hits the thrust plate of course.

The bock prep, rings, bearings, and crank were done by a local machine shop. I'm wasn't even aware they even offer warranties on jobs like that. I did my best to make sure everything looked right per the RAVE's specs, and the local Rover shop recommended him so I have some valid level of trust based on their experience.

 

I am certainly learning a heck of a lot from the threads, photos and details contained within. Keep up the good work Eric. Thanks for sharing in such great detail.

 

I understand. The check is with the gear on, bolt in. Does the cam still rotate with the gear on? The thrust plate keeps the cam from riding out of the bore, the gear keeps the cam from sliding into the bore, towards the plug. .002 or less you'd be hard pressed to "feel" or hear. Another issue with incorrect measurement is that the lifters won't rotate as they should. The cam lobes are ground in order to facilitate lifter face rotation (from their center) unless it's a roller lifter. Maybe I'm not understanding your post, help me out.

So the shop did a short block. If you get a passing chance give em a hollar and casually ask if there's a warrantee. They might be awesome but we are human too, we make mistakes from time to time. You need assurance they will honor their workmanship. I'm not knocking the shop in any way, they come with recommendations, that means allot to me too.

 

Danny, you mentioned D&D, I even visited their shop, bought a Weber carb I was looking for. Did you know I used to live in the same village? Romeo MI. At the time they where doing MG V8 conversions and I was heavily into owning old Scouts, Jeep CJ's and M37 Power Wagons and Toyota's, I wasn't interested in Rovers or MG's. That was 1990, before the Disco showed up. My first interest in Rovers was the D90. I thought Rangies where ugly, still think so but I'd snag an 87/88 model even knowing their faults. I like simple, no junk bs power anything including steering. I like the feel of what I'm sitting in (or on as in bikes), love to hear the drive-train do it's thing.

 

Eric has no problem with confidence - anyone that throws down a jug of Rotella and tells SWMBO that it is the new door stop has got my vote.

 

Thanks for the detailed help, ihscouts. Took your advice and borrowed a dial indicator today. End-float came out to 0.008 in, well in the range RAVE specifies so it looks good to go.

 

No problem. You'd do it for me.