I haven’t watched this video yet, I’m sure it’s going to make my blood boil when I do. The soft cam, the Olds 350 diesel, the cookie cutter interchangeable parts,interchangeable “image” of the mid yo early 90s, rushed 440T4 transmission, the list goes on. It’s all symptoms of a common Big 3 problem, decision made with the next stockholders dividend, boardroom meeting, or performance bonus in mind instead of the long term. GM spent 80 years making a name for themselves, the bean counters ruined it in a fraction of that time.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
I hadn't really thought about it but I made a decent living in the '90s and oughts from GM failing their customer . You ain't whistling dixie about interchangeability , if you suspect a part fits, try it probably does .
@genehart261
2 жыл бұрын
Glad that you put it that way, GM not the only ones making junk! My '75 LTD was a rolling mechanical nightmare, 8 mpg on a good day.
@leebuck180
2 жыл бұрын
Ah yes, the Oldsmobile diesel. That engine could "smell" a hill and paired up with the "reliable"(LOL) 200r4, NOT! My dad had an 81 Oldsmobile that on a trip from Richmond, va to Charleston, wv on I64 would only run 45-50 mph going up the grades on the west Virginia turnpike with the go pedal mashed in the carpet, but man that car had ICE cold 🧊 a/c and a radiator as big as 1 ton truck, the engine never overheated.
@richardprice5978
2 жыл бұрын
i remember as a kid that soft camshaft plus over heating and head gaskets-2x got my mid-80's k1500 truck and my parents and i remember now the argumenting my mom did didn't help dad is hard on vehicles, wondering now if that's one thing that split up the two anyways the engine bay is empty now got jacked so it's probably going to end up a BEV
@flyonbyya
2 жыл бұрын
Same fate as suffered by GE, Boeing and other former titans. As long the CEO, CFO, COO, Board Members and others AREN’T compensated and rewarded by some measure of performance, but rather a golden parachute…They’ll suffer failure after failure. And you wonder why I own Toyota and Lexus ??
@oceancon
2 жыл бұрын
My buddy and I had an inkling that the camshafts were defective as he had one wear out on his Camaro that had the 305 engine. We went to the dealer who had a "bunch" of these cams in stock; funny thing that there were so many in stock for an item that typically goes the life of an engine. We knew something was up!
@richardprice5978
2 жыл бұрын
the dealership's didn't want to own up to it in 1990-1999 as my 80's k1500 truck went bad but at the time i didn't own it on paperwork
@jeffbranch8072
2 жыл бұрын
I worked with a guy that had once had a Chevy Suburban with a 305. Coming back across the UP the cam lobes rounded off, and he forever after referred to that engine as the "305JC" - 305 Jello Cam.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
a 305 in a suburban ? yikes , the pistons are the same diameter of a coors lite. soft cam ain't helping either .
@jeffbranch8072
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I don't think they offered that combo very long in the 80's. And when you compare the lower block of the 350 and 305, and certain internal components, the 305 really was cheap junk.
@richardprice5978
2 жыл бұрын
same but a k1500 1984-88
@jeffbranch8072
2 жыл бұрын
@@richardprice5978 , yeah, I think that was the same time frame they offered a 305 in 'Burbans. You probably had the same engine, same cam.
@richardprice5978
2 жыл бұрын
@@jeffbranch8072 probably the truck was original ordered by a burely ID usa roofer ( i thought it was ordered with weird options ) and then a "nice" lifted frarm truck for my uncle and next a construction / concrete truck for dad then my first truck in high school and now going to be restored and modified to my taste's probably a BEV as its easier to pass yearly testing in my areas
@majorpayne5289
2 жыл бұрын
👍In 1986 I bought an 81 Chevy Z-28 Camaro. 50k miles. Beautiful well kept car. A diesel mechanic was original owner. He told me about the soft Chevy cams. He replaced the 350 cam w/ a bit larger one along w/new carburetor tuning. That Z-28 was a super fast car after that. Owned it for 1 yr but insurance was killing me! Sold it, got married. Always missed that one after selling! Very fun, fast car. Good info! Thx 👍
@jz422
2 жыл бұрын
Back in the 80's when a 454 came into the machine shop it wasn't if it had a flat lobe, it was how many.
@dalemihocik4732
2 жыл бұрын
Wow, this sure takes me back in time. My first new car, one was a 1978 Impala. It was a 305 V8 and included the F41 suspension package among other options. Suddenly at 11,000 miles it developed a ticking noise from the valve train. With the valve cover removed you could see some of the rocker arms didn't move as high as the others. Worn out cam lobes at this mileage? YUP! I actually got GM to repair this for free as I was part of a class action lawsuit that prevailed. Go figure.
@mark98070
2 жыл бұрын
I think I got lucky during that era because I didn't buy any GM, Ford or Mopar products. Instead I bought a 1982 Toyota with the Legendary 22R engine. That, without a doubt was the best vehicle I've ever owned! Yea, I know...Rice burner... Fantastic vehicle Imo.
@mikee2923
2 жыл бұрын
Obviously you didn’t live in the rust belt. Not that the domestic cars were a whole lot better, but I remember when I was little in the 70s and early 80s the only foreign cars on the road around western Pennsylvania were VW bugs and later Rabbits because they had a plant locally that built them. You would see an occasional Datsun Z car but that’s about it. I remember riding the school bus in grade school. There was a Subaru Brat in someone’s driveway. It stood out because it had seats in the back outside. This was in grades 4-6. It was a cool looking thing in 4th grade but by the time 6th grade rolled around it was a complete pile of rust littered with rust holes. This was in the late 70s-early 80s. Toyotas and Hondas really didn’t start to appear around here until the mid to late 80s.
@carwashadamcooper1538
2 ай бұрын
I've owned Celicas from 79, 81, 82 and an 85 Supra. They were all great vehicles, but The 1980 was my favorite by far. White with black interior, rear window louvers, Notch back, alloy wheels, 5 speed and just enough power to (almost) get in trouble. It was the best slow car at going fast that I've ever owned.
@JwcubTHS
2 жыл бұрын
My parents had a '78 Chevy Malibu Classic with the 305 V8 and the TH200. I drove it for a year at college and then sold it at 80K miles to a friend. He liked the way the engine sounded like a sewing machine; little did either of us know about the soft camshafts in those engines. I learned about the problem a decade later and it made total sense why the lifters were noisy. The TH200 on the other hand, never gave us a problem, even though it was undersized for the car.
@scrappy7571
2 жыл бұрын
I also remember the era of bad camshafts. Just last week replaced cam and lifters in a 2021 GMC 5.3. We got 'em lined up here like cord wood.
@paulmoss7940
2 жыл бұрын
wow
@justins3847
2 жыл бұрын
Yea I read about the cam an lifter problems on the newer GM's, especially the variable cylinder displacement.. Bla bla.. if a 4 year old 1500 body doesn't rust out faster
@bennyhill3076
2 жыл бұрын
Ugh! This vid brings back memories! My Grandmothers 1975 Chevy Nova , ( bought new) with the 305 suffered from the soft Cam lobe syndrome as well and while I do not remember at what mileage it failed , I remember that it was covered under warranty. (My Grandfather meanwhile began to lose faith in GM and as a result he bought a Ford for his next car)
@leightonfarms4962
2 жыл бұрын
a good man!
@bennyhill3076
2 жыл бұрын
@@leightonfarms4962 Well he bought a new 1986 Ford Escort Sedan and that car just exuded cheapness to me! And I remember that it had the roughest shifting trans axle of any car I had rode in at that time. 🤥
@leightonfarms4962
2 жыл бұрын
@@bennyhill3076 yep, 👍👍👍👍👍
@LionsTigersBears
2 жыл бұрын
Yup put put put
@jeffbranch8072
2 жыл бұрын
The first car I bought with a Pontiac OHC6 ('69 Tempest for $200) had completely rounded off lobes (lobes GONE, just circles) on cylinders 5 & 6. It had run as a 4 cylinder for quite some time. There was an oil passage in the block going to the rear lobes and if it got clogged up for any reason this would happen. I used a rubber mallet to knock the stuck valves open again, got a good used cam, and the car was running on 6 again. I was surprised that brand new cam followers (rockers on an OHV engine) were in stock at the dealership (Rinke Pontiac at 11 & Van Dyke) in the early 1990's.
@Fractal_blip
2 жыл бұрын
YOWZA 😆
@JacksonTylerOR
2 жыл бұрын
EGR valves. What a terrible time for car industry
@cadillacguy1890
2 жыл бұрын
Adam, one of the factors I believe has to be considered is oil quality and change intervals. The 1960’s were the era when vehicle manufacturers pushed the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for more stringent specs on not only oil viscosity, but detergency, flow characteristics, and additive package durability. In an attempt to make vehicle ownership more affordable for motorists, and market their vehicles as better engineered, manufacturers began pushing some maintenance intervals, especially oil change intervals, out further. There was quite a buzz, I’m told, when vehicles started having recommended oil change intervals of 6,000 miles versus the 3,000 that had been the industry norm for years. Then in the 1970’s, it went out to 7,500 miles, with a filter change at every other oil change. As engines would experience “premature” wear out with the longer intervals, SAE oil specs would change. I worked in an auto parts store during the late 1970’s, oil companies were putting out spec books. People would get irritated if we asked them what kind of car the oil they were buying was going in. But put the wrong oil in a newer car and engine problems were imminent. I wonder if some of the “soft cam” and early timing chain failure issues weren’t related to an improper spec (improper being older, thus cheaper, or improper weight because “I’ve ALWAYS used this weight oil”) being used in the vehicle? I don’t doubt that these parts were either improperly manufactured or engineered, but could the oil used have exacerbated the problem?
@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL
2 жыл бұрын
I remember one Chrysler engineer saying (this is from a common Mopar enthusiast site) that the conventional oil of that time, late 1970s, early 80s would barely flow during engine testing for minutes, but that synthetic oil always flowed well, even many degrees below zero. I'm sure the prevalence of synthetics, today, really helps cars last longer. (IMPORTANT EDIT! I've also heard that for some engines, synthetics should NOT be used during what some call the "break in period", for the first few hundred miles. I don't know if this is still true for modern vehicle manufacturers. Check the owner's manual.)
@cadillacguy1890
2 жыл бұрын
@@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL totally agree. I was with a major oil company in the early 1980’s, one of the engineers told me the typical additive package started breaking down by 1,500 miles, flow and detergency would start to be compromised immediately thereafter. He changed his oil without fail every 3,000 miles; 2,500 during winter months.
@MrTheHillfolk
2 жыл бұрын
Filter changes every other time are the dumbest thing ever. Most of those junk filters are bypassing by like 1000-2000mi anyways and add maybe 2k if it was a decent filter. The domestic engines have such low spring rates in the filter for bypass that even a decent filter is bypassing by 3-4k for sure.
@cadillacguy1890
2 жыл бұрын
@@MrTheHillfolk truth. Imagine leaving 20% or so of the old, contaminated, deteriorated oil in the engine for another oil change cycle. As Adam has explained, producing and marketing vehicles is an extremely complex project, of which maintenance is a piece of the puzzle with its own complexities. Manufacturers want to sell vehicles. Making vehicles last forever would be bad for business. But long before you get to that aspect, you have a cost factor. Chevrolet could build an Equinox, for example, that would last forever, but it would have to retail for something north of $100,000 to $125,000. So manufacturers have to measure durability vs. cost for everything that goes into their vehicles. Ditto recommended maintenance. Virtually any vehicle can last for 250,000 to 300,000 miles or more without major component failure. BUT you’ll be doing much more frequent and comprehensive maintenance to it, things like changing oil every 3,000 to 4,000 miles, transmission fluid changes every 40,000 to 50,000 miles, brake fluid and coolant flushes every couple years, and a host of other things. Manufacturers don’t recommend that kind of frequency or even some of those services at all because they don’t want it used against them, “look at how much it costs to drive brand X vehicle vs. ours”, and they want you to buy replacement vehicles. The tricky part is recommending frequent enough maintenance to keep the vehicle operating properly long enough that the purchaser perceives the brand as a good buy, yet not so long that it lengthens replacement cycles and costs too much to maintain. Bottom line, if you want to get lots of minimum trouble life from your vehicle, perform maintenance frequently, probably more frequent and extensively than what the manufacturer recommends. I don’t keep a vehicle that long, but the enjoyment of driving a vehicle working properly is worth the cost, not to mention showing a potential buyer a stack of receipts for all the maintenance increases the value of the vehicle you’re selling.
@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL
2 жыл бұрын
@@cadillacguy1890 On my cars, especially 4 cylinders, just after 2,000 miles, the oil will look noticeably discolored, and I start losing it. I use synthetic. Waiting till 5 to 10,000 miles would seem ill advised, to me.
@jjsradioman4876
2 жыл бұрын
I can remember the era of bad camshafts very well. My father was a shadetree mechanic in his spare time and changed numerous camshafts for friends and family. It was a cottage industry. I would hold the trouble light and pass tools. The local police agency ran police-spec Malibus and those would wear out camshafts in a matter of months. The solution was to use TRW camshafts. The engine rebuilding shop swore by the TRW camshafts and offered a guarantee that that was far beyond the OEM replacement camshafts. Did the 60-degree V6’s have a similar problem? There was a rumour about town that the Pontiac-Buick dealer would burn a hole in the strut tower to change the camshafts in 60-degree front wheel drive applications. The cutout was welded back in and slathered with undercoating. Besides a metallurgy problem, some thought the OEM camshafts did not have enough offset relative to the lifter. Some offset is desirable so that the lifter spins on each lift. If dead centre, the lifter will not spin, causing the bottom to dish. Not sure if the camshafts were cast and machined incorrectly, or they were allowed to walk during operation. In your Pontiac camshaft, you can tell by the wear pattern that there was definite offset. The wear pattern is shifted to one side of the lobe.
@THROTTLEPOWER
2 жыл бұрын
Yep, I agree!
@mph5896
2 жыл бұрын
Thats a pretty hack way of getting a camshaft out. I have replaced a few camshafts in v6 GM's in the car. Basically have to pick the entire engine up 2/3 feet until there is room to slip it out. Its basically an engine/trans removal job with the engine still physically in the car.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
TRW or Isky's, Iskendarian cam and lifter sets were awesome value for money, ofc you go a step or two above stock.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
@@mph5896 yeah the torching a hole is most likely urban legend after 1 guy did it .
@louisbaiani6262
2 жыл бұрын
Yep had a 3.0L Buick Century that had a soft cam
@Flies2FLL
2 жыл бұрын
It's a crying shame that GM doesn't put the kind of effort they put into the C8 Corvette into all their cars~ Great video!
@paulmoss7940
2 жыл бұрын
Don't you have to drop the C8 motor out the bottom and send it off if it needs work ?
@ponchoman49
2 жыл бұрын
I'm wondering if the camshaft issue on the 4100's was more from coolant leaking in from the intake and wiping out lobes than an outright soft cam problem by the mid 80's. We used to update the intake gaskets on these engines if we got a nice running one to help prevent warranty returns and I don't remember any coming back or needing a camshaft replacement on engines that got this update in the 90's. Our mechanic was so good at GM intakes he used to pump out several per day and could do them in his sleep and that was in between all the other crap we threw at him!
@Vegaswill714
2 жыл бұрын
This is an issue I was not familiar with, thanks for the interesting video. I am a retired engineer (NOT from the automotive industry) and I remember in the 80's many companies began outsourcing manufacture of components to outside firms. They often awarded contracts based on low price and didn't do an adequate job of monitoring their suppliers QA/QC processes. The manufacturers didn't do this purposely, it often happened from naivete and inexperience. I might surmise a similar thing happened here. I remember from my own experience suppliers being very clever at cutting corners in areas that were not detected in our acceptance testing.
@RealDeanWinchester
2 жыл бұрын
Another trick they'll do is switch suppliers without going through the same durability tests. Not intentional, just incompetent.
@21stcenturyfossil7
2 жыл бұрын
I don't have any specific knowledge but I do work for an auto supplier. We don't make cams but we have inadvertently shipped substandard parts (on the order of a few per million). There are penalties, beginning with return shipping of up to the entire order (at our expense), 100% reinspection of the parts (at our own expense), replacement of any bad parts (our expense, of course) and the likelihood of late delivery penalties. The OEM gets to offload alot of risk onto it's suppliers. As far as cams goes, it seems to me that samples from every delivery would get checked for lobe hardness. This ain't rocket science. But what if GM screws up their own cams? Isn't there a strong short term incentive to keep this mess off the books? Don't take responsibility, just shove 'em in. But, given that the soft cam issue came up many times at GM, I'm saying it's 100% GM's responsibility. Either they were letting their supplier get away with murder time and time again or they screwed up their own cams and just didn't let it bother themselves.
@mattrodgers4878
2 жыл бұрын
Classic example of bean counters screwing things up. All they see is the dollars and cents. It’s usually the engineers who have to figure out how to fix the problem. Of course, it’s the consumer that suffers the most.
@21stcenturyfossil7
2 жыл бұрын
@@mattrodgers4878 Beancounters aside, I think much of these serial problems come from an upper management attitude that they're going to punish the people who screw up, rather than fixing the process. I can imagine a lunchroom conversation: "Damn! Some idiot on second shift set the timer wrong on the heat treat oven and now we've got another 800 soft cams!" "Whattya gonna do?" "I ain't gonna report it! If I reported every damn screwup on the floor, next week would consist of 4 days filling out paperwork and one day in the unemployment line." "Couldn't the system be- foolproofed?" "Maybe. I submitted an idea where various parameters could be programmed on cards that traveled with the parts. Detroit didn't care. If the bigwigs can't personally take credit for an idea, it's no good. Anyway, I'll bet some of these cams last until my pension is good!" Not that I have any personal knowledge of what happened at GM but I do think a malignant corporate culture would explain alot. "
@davidmiller9485
2 жыл бұрын
@@21stcenturyfossil7 I have a question then, what the hell is going on with factory spec cams and lifters. I've seen them eat themselves up during break in. Usually the lifters are so out of spec that they won't stay pumped up and then eat the cam. It's starting to get frustrating. (this is for hydraulic lifters by the way)
@adamtrombino106
2 жыл бұрын
Way back in the day, we used to call these cams 'suffering from the China syndrome' which was a movie from the late 70s. What's interesting to me is that while Chevys and some Olds mills seemed to get lifter tick, Ponchos didn't, just lost lots of power and even misfired at idle. Same with some Caddys and a couple Buicks I worked on. What I will say is that a lot of the cars I worked on got aftermarket cams/lifter sets along with dual roller chain sets and we never had an issue after that.
@jwelchon2416
2 жыл бұрын
I guess this is a problem with the new Chrysler V8's. The lifters run dry and round off the lobes on the camshaft. What I remember the biggest problem on malaise era cars were nylon teeth on the timing gears. They would strip about 30,000 miles and you were dead in the water.
@Flies2FLL
2 жыл бұрын
For what it is worth, Lycoming had a problem with soft camshafts in their O-320 light aircraft engines. The O-320 was a 318 cubic inch air cooled four cylinder engine, very similar to a VW type 1 engine with overhead valves and a single barrel updraft carburetor mounted below the oil pan. Despite the simplicity, this was a HUGE problem and the cost to repair [read: Full overhaul] was upwards of $25,000~! Remind me to never buy my own airplane- Great video as always!
@MrTheHillfolk
2 жыл бұрын
A bud just located a new cam for his 65hp continental, and it wasn't cheap. Almost unobtainable ,or it's getting to that point he said. Still, a small plane like dad's 46 luscombe is less than a new Harley, unless you need an engine rebuild. Pops engine needed a crank ,ended up being 12k all said and done back about 7-8yrs ago. So for around 30k total if you need an engine you can be flying.
@misters2837
2 жыл бұрын
I have never heard of "soft cams" in O-320's but pitting due to extended storage times and oil film not staying and providing rust protection.
@mph5896
2 жыл бұрын
Today, the Dodge HEMI camshafts are failing. Roller lifter needle bearings go and the lifter eats up the camshaft. I have done a TON in the past 7-8 years. Crummy part is the heads need to come off to get the lifters out.
@mschiffel1
2 жыл бұрын
A friend of mine had a 1978 Bonneville with a bad camshaft. The car had 180,000 miles and it ran very smooth and idled well. It just had no power. The rocker arms only went about half of their normal lift. It ran great around the city but struggled to do 50MPH. A new JC Whitney cam and lifters fixed it.
@Flies2FLL
2 жыл бұрын
Who designs something this poorly? Which bar in Detroit had they been drinking at before they designed this engine? I've never owned a GM product and I doubt I ever will, there is a Porsche 981CS 10 feet away from me in my garage. They do stupid things from time to time too, but NEVER this bad~!
@howebrad4601
2 жыл бұрын
I don't think I'd complain at 180000 miles
@robroberton2667
2 жыл бұрын
I owned a 1977 Firebird with a 305 V8. At low miles it had no power and idled rough. GM replaced the heads due to valve guide wear? No improvement and no further help from GM. I later replaced the heads 2 additional times, once with rebuilt 305 heads then with chev 350 heads. The problems never went away so I sold the car. Probably the cam shaft shaft was wore as you described. Wish I new about that issue 42 years ago! Thanks Adam and keep up the great work!!
@Wiencourager
2 жыл бұрын
I know a family that had a 80 Malibu wagon, with 305. Got a flat cam by 80,000 miles. He never bought another GM car. After buying nothing else for decades.
@robertdiehl9003
2 жыл бұрын
I had same flat cam on a 1979 Chevy Impala 305 c.i.d. back in the day... I had a mechanic advance the timing and drove it for a year locally in the neighborhood because it had no power but did run no more then 30mph so it was an errand/grocery getter...
@randallorr3730
2 жыл бұрын
What was a pain on the Cadillacs as you experienced is multiple lobes would wear off of the camshaft but yet it did not make any noise. Just low power. I found with the Chevrolets the engine would have a tick noise most of the time when a cam lobe wore off. Usually with the Chevrolets it was just one lobe. My understanding on this was during this period of time the manufacturing of these was so streamlined that exactly what you said was true. The hardening process was not adequate and hence the early lobe wear. The cost cutting in manufacturing during this time was brutal and it made for a lot of poor quality products.
@alantrimble2881
2 жыл бұрын
"The cost cutting in manufacturing during this time was brutal and it made for a lot of poor quality products." Facts! Also, this was a tumultuous time in the GM-UAW relationship, which often resulted in poor quality products. And then you have the bean counters. The engineers would design a quality product, only to be over-ruled by bean counters, which resulted in an inferior product.
@sking2173
2 жыл бұрын
@@alantrimble2881 - Sounds like what’s been going on at Boeing for the last 20 years ...
@michaelmurphy6869
2 жыл бұрын
I remember those problems with the camshafts on the SBC's, ( late 70's to mid 80's carburetored engines, when they went to EFI things got better ) when the lobe would wear down to the point where the valve barely opened particularly on the exhaust valves. The engines would idle a little rough, but throttled up there would backfiring though the intake. Usually the lifter that was running on rounded lobe was pretty "dished out" compounding the problem and some of the lifters would somewhat "mushroom" at the base and almost impossible to remove out of there bores with the cam still in the engine. Some you had to remove the cam first if possible, I learned of a trick that another mechanic had come up, whereas he would take a piece of 1" or 1 1/2" (can't remember exactly...long time ago.. lol) ID PVC pipe, cut a length as long as the engine then slice it in half slide through the camshaft bore, push the lifter down its bore and the pipe would catch the it. Then fish it out with a magnet. That wasn't always the case, the majority of the time all the lifters usually came out, some a little tougher than others. GM's quality control was pretty much non-existent at that time, besides the lack of hardness on their cams and lifters was probably a cost cutting move (among many others) along with improper cam break-in at the factory lead to that demise. It always amazed me that one of the largest auto makers with all their engineering and manufacturing resources built basically junk on a mass scale. Even today GM is having quality control problems with their "Active Fuel Management" lifters, I guess the ghosts of the past are haunting them now...
@randallorr3730
2 жыл бұрын
@@alantrimble2881 Yeah. You are dead on. I remember when the updated S10 Blazers came out in 95 they where coming in on hooks with dead fuel pumps. They only had about 15000 miles on them. The dealer I was working for at the time was close to the engineering group for fuel systems. The lead engineer that designed that part came to the dealership to pick up a few of the failed parts. Talking with him he told me straight up he had designed a fuel pump that would have lasted the life time of the vehicle. These where a pain to drop the tanks on. Essentially he was told the pump was too expensive and he had to redesign it. Well, he redesigned it and guess what. The invasion of the bean counters has had and still has a huge affect on the final product for sure. I agree too the GM-UAW issue was big back in the 80s. Remember it well. Along with that to clarify the "cost cutting" that occurred. During the late 70s early 80s the emission and cafe standards caught pretty much everybody off guard. There was a culture and a thinking those standards would not make it passed the legislature. Well, it did. Nobody was ready to ramp up that quickly to meet those standards. In response there was a lot of cost cutting measures being done to reduce manufacturing costs. Everybody did it. However, the final result was a lot of parts that where sub standard. I was starting out in service at the time. I disassembled and repaired the transmissions and engines of this time period and man I could not believe how things had been lightened up. You could tell they had reduced the nickel in the engine blocks. The cylinder wear on engines that had 50000 miles or on them where striking. It was an interesting time. I learned a lot in a hurry.
@MoparDan
2 жыл бұрын
Adam, I owned as my first car a '78 Firebird Trans Am that was used by me as my Sunday car. Some years later it developed valve train noise and during an oil change to my disappointment I saw metallic particles in the drained oil. I had to have an engine rebuilder overhaul the Pontiac 400 engine, which meant boring thirty thousandth over and a new camshaft. I read later that this happened to a lot of Pontiac 400's. Damned General Motors! If I only knew what I know these years later I would have looked at the time in the classified ads for a ’73 or ’74 Firebird instead.
@crazycoffee
2 жыл бұрын
My dad's first car was a 74 Firebird SD455. He said it was the best car he'd had ever, even still. He sold it in 1988 for 500 dollars. He says he regrets doing that the most in life.
@jeffrobodine8579
2 жыл бұрын
@@crazycoffee A 74 SD 455 T/A in good shape is feching triple figures at auctions these days.
@drippinglass
2 жыл бұрын
@@jeffrobodine8579 If it was just a Firebird... even more. They only made a few of them.
@MrTheHillfolk
2 жыл бұрын
@@crazycoffee around that time a buddy who worked for a Pontiac gearhead got one of those. Worn paint but all there and solid. Turquoise and rust would kill it though. What's that ? A 67 tempest with a 455ho swapped in 😃 That SD was cool though, one of the last 70s cars with some power.
@jimgoff1170
2 жыл бұрын
I remember working on these engines (305/350) and they also had problems with the rocker arms pushing through the pivot. I think the engines from this era are why we have so many higher grade motor oils now.
@josh8344
2 жыл бұрын
I get the love for 60’s-70’s GM, even the emission strangled era, but you have so much patience to deal with Most 80’s GM, and for that matter any domestic. I’ll give you the late 80’s “big body” cars with the 3800 were mostly solid, but they still had awful issues like alternators that failed regularly.
@curtislynch8189
2 жыл бұрын
GM alternators are one wire. It takes an hour with basic tools to replace one.
@davidmiller9485
2 жыл бұрын
@@curtislynch8189 It takes an hour if you stop to down a can a beer every 10 minutes. 20-30 minutes is more like it.
@ZGryphon
2 жыл бұрын
@@davidmiller9485 But of course you _do_ stop to down a can of beer every 10 minutes, because it's the only thing that dulls the pain of replacing your alternator... again.
@davidmiller9485
2 жыл бұрын
@@ZGryphon LOL touche my friend.
@stevesmith6554
2 жыл бұрын
With engineering blunders like this it is no wonder everyone turned to Asian vehicles during this period. It is also amazing that GM survived even to produce the mediocre vehicles that it does today. Thanks Adam
@Henry_Jones
2 жыл бұрын
Trucks and suv revinue is what kept gm alive through the 80s and early 90s. If it wasnt for that revinue woulda gone bankrupt in the 80s instead of 2009.
@alantrimble2881
2 жыл бұрын
@@Henry_Jones You're right, but the "soft" camshaft problem in the Chevy 305 started in the early 1970s. GM was STILL paying warranty claims in the 1990s! The Chevy 229 V-6 suffered from the same "soft" cam problems.
@MrTheHillfolk
2 жыл бұрын
Boy the VW diesels were the best thing since sliced bread around my area. Couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one. I know mom's did the job for 145k without anything major other then batteries and glow plugs. If that was a gm car half the engine would have been replaced and probably 2 front ends by then.
@Henry_Jones
2 жыл бұрын
@@MrTheHillfolk diesels are more reliable from a concept standpoint because they rotate slower and dont have an ignition system. Its when emissions become a problem they get complicated.
@travislostaglia8861
2 жыл бұрын
Asian cars wouldn’t last in the rust belt they would rot too nothing much faster then American cars. People could fix American cars easier also the myth that everyone stopped buying American cars and started buying Japanese cars might be true in some parts of the country but not in the rust belt. The first Japanese car in my family lasted two years and was then junked a 1981 Subaru
@GrotrianSeiler
2 жыл бұрын
Fascinating conversation. I find great comfort in the depth of the nerdiness of this channel, and how many of us there are.
@Ascotman
2 жыл бұрын
Adam, the 1968 Chevrolet 307 V-8 had the softest camshaft and lifters! Would wear the the cam lobes down and make holes in the bottom of the lifters.
@fleetwin1
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, I remember this issue around that time also
@sking2173
2 жыл бұрын
Very true, but to my experience, Pontiac V-8’s in the late 60’s were more prone to this than Chevys ... The Chevys became worse about it in the mid-70’s ...
@knutbjornlarsen4435
2 жыл бұрын
Also had nylon faced cam gear. The only 1 I ever saw shred into the pan was on a 307. 67 was a change over year for the SBC's . 2. Things that I always put in my rebuild. Steel cam gear with double roller chain set. And Brass freeze plugs. Stock cams went in the scrap metal can.
@sking2173
2 жыл бұрын
@@knutbjornlarsen4435 - Back from that era, the nylon-toothed cam gear was common practice.
@timbullough3513
2 жыл бұрын
In my auto mechanics class in high school I recall an early Dodge Aries K car with essentially round lobes on the camshaft. The instructor Mr. Bench told us all to buy a Cadillac to avoid that problem. His 472 cube Caddy V8 from around 1972 was certainly fine. Little did he know how bad his 1987 advice was. Really funny how much of the education of the time was to prepare one for the industrial work force ... and I spent my whole career in the 'information society'.
@Flies2FLL
2 жыл бұрын
That's odd. The "Trenton" Chrysler inline four cylinder was rough as a cobb. It was basically an "improved" VW EA827 engine, but it was durable as hell and tons of fun with a turbo! I'm not an expert but I've heard these engines run forever as long as you keep oil in them.
@timbullough3513
2 жыл бұрын
@@Flies2FLL I can't claim to know anything about that early K car ... other than it was purple and obviously an early example based on the grill looking as Dodge Mirada as possible. Maybe it was abused. Maybe it had 200,000 miles on it. Dunno. It was purple however and the cam lobes were no longer extant.
@Henry_Jones
2 жыл бұрын
@@Flies2FLL looks like a vw motor too and chrysler was putting vw motors in the omnis
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
Next on Motorweek..................😆
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
@@Flies2FLL I had a '85 Lancer you could outrun on foot during turbo lag. On the highway ran like a healthy v8, dang gas tank was too small 11 or 13 gallons .
@roberthoffhines5419
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the illustration. I remember my Dad (who dies in '86) telling me about our '66 Fleetwood (429) that had a "soft" camshaft. I just thought he meant the durations were set up wimpy!
@zorak1704
2 жыл бұрын
I remember my dad’s Chevy Caprice. Soft camshaft with a nylon timing gear. Not to mention the TH200 transmission.
@MrTheHillfolk
2 жыл бұрын
Eww th200. Helped my buddy swap the one out of his 82 firebird with the help of a B+M kit they made at the time. Hah if I recall the box said th200 to th350 conversion kit.
@stansburygreg
2 жыл бұрын
Back in 1990 I was gifted my grandfather’s 1976 GMC 3/4 ton Sierra Classic. It turned out to be my first ‘big’ engine job to replace the cam shaft. I don’t regret it at all. I learned so much.
@garyalleccia2793
2 жыл бұрын
Back in the 80s as a mechanic by trade, I was buying 305 Chevrolet equipped cars and trucks with wiped-out camshafts for 2 to $400 with low mileage in good condition. I would do a cam swap, timing chain, lifters, push rods and reseal the upper half of the engine and had a perfect running vehicle that sold that following week for fifteen hundred to $2,000. I paid for my first wedding and put a down payment on my first house fixing and flipping 305 equipped GMs. I was probably one of the few that was happy about it. But that Feeding Frenzy ended right after backfire fuel injection took over! made very good money fixing Corvettes and Camaros once you knew how to balance and tune the throttle bodies. And to this day I'm still a Chevy guy. I just drive a 2004 Tahoe with an L 59 Flex Fuel 5.3. This one will fall apart before the engine dies. The small block Chevrolet is still one of the best engines ever built by Detroit.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
It was good times .
@sking2173
2 жыл бұрын
Gary, you are a snake oil salesman - that means you’re a crook. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, GM was selling brand new 350 crate engines for under $1000 ... They called them Targetmaster engines ...
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
@@sking2173 um, the new cams wouldn't fail. Not exactly scamming anyone . You couldn't sell the car for $2000 after installing the targetmaster(big fan of mexican smallblocks btw). Gary was providing a community service and you owe him an apology .
@garyalleccia2793
2 жыл бұрын
@@sking2173 Actually it was the opposite. I was selling vehicles undervalued after the repairs which were disclosed to the buyers. And not one came back with a problem. I was making a legitimate living and saving people money at the same time. At one point I had a short waiting list. If you want to Target a snake oil salesman? Look for anyone selling a 2003 to 2007 5.3 Triton Ford with the original engine. Good day sir....
@rommaster1492
2 жыл бұрын
The 65 Falcon with a 200ci I drove in my late teens (circa 2006-2009) loved to eat the distributor gear on the updated Duraspark 2 distributor that I installed in it. I think I replaced two duraspark distributors before I finally got a hardened gear from a supplier and paid a machine shop to press it on one of the "worn" ones I had laying around. At the time I remember reading that the issue was cam gears from the late 70's and early 80's that Ford used were weaker than the older Cams used in the 1960's combined with the lack of zinc in newer oils. Maybe it was something about the metals in general back then as it sounds like the problem was around in multiple manufacturers (US at least). Or just cost cutting given the way a lot of these US 80s cars were built. I always wanted an 80's fox body until I sat in one and realized nothing in the interior was even close to the quality of my XR4ti, Ford of Europe must have had higher standards.
@jamesterakazis6624
2 жыл бұрын
Late 70's and early 80's are among the darkest days for US cars....
@markschommer7407
2 жыл бұрын
That happened to the 305 in Mom and Dads 1978 Impala by about 136,000 miles. Dad had a 350 put in and that made a huge difference. Now my 1979 Impala with the 305 didnt do that. It still ran as it should when i sold it with 146,000 miles on it.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
Aw, was hoping your Impala would have ended up with a target master 350. You know the gotta break a few eggs thing .
@chuckkropkeiii5837
2 жыл бұрын
Yes sir that's how I got my 1981 vet real cheap didn't run right and it made a ticking noise and down on power. It had 28k on it. It ended up being the cam. I ran it with the valve covers off and seen two rockers were just barely moving. I installed a stock replacement cam and she runs like a top. I thought poor oil quality too maybe for the culprit. The lifters were like you said concave. Good times.
@stevekeast2297
2 жыл бұрын
I worked as a mechanic in the late 70s thru 2018 I remember the soft cams in the small block Chevy engines lowest mileage I remember changing was 15,000 also remembering changing a lot of cylinder heads because of cracking Seen a few small block mopars and Fords having cams go flat not near as bad as the GM products I also changed a timing chain & gear with 10,000 miles plastic teeth all fell off the gear had to pull the oil pan to get teeth out of the oil pump pickup
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
yeah those nylon timing gears was some engineers ticket to the big leagues .
@johnz8210
2 жыл бұрын
Nice demonstration of cam wear. When that happens, you kind of need to ask well where did all that metal go. Think of grinding a lobe or two off the camshaft and mixing the grindings in the oil .... not a good thing. Amazingly they did survive after a new camshaft was installed. More modern engines with tighter tolerances might not. There's going to be some bearing damage.
@jamesplotkin4674
2 жыл бұрын
For sure, the oil pump is toast.
@davidmiller9485
2 жыл бұрын
@@jamesplotkin4674 Yeah when it gets that bad it's time for new bearings (rod and main) plus an oil pump. Be careful out there because their seems to be some issues these days with really bad cams and lifters. Their either to soft or out of spec and will eat themselves on break in.
@jamesplotkin4674
2 жыл бұрын
@@davidmiller9485 It's now at the point where we need to assume all the cams and lifters are crap, even from big names and use weak springs and lots of zinc in the break-in oil. Sad timed for us enthuziasts.
@Bobbygale121
2 жыл бұрын
Back in the eighties there was a GM training center here in Salt Lake City. Had the opportunity to attend the computer command control or "3C" school there in 84. GM was sealing everything with silicone back then and the instructor told us it was because the EPA didn't want anything dripping off the new cars. The government would take a new vehicle and run it for a prescribed amount of miles. Park it in a building and not one drop of oil could fall onto the ground. If one drop of oil hit the ground the car failed the test.
@LowEnd31st
3 ай бұрын
Mother Nature weeps for the amount of GM vehicles leaking unto her.
@razerbrosdynamics3917
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate the vid, I know too many GM fans. They avoid this era so far, but who knows what the future holds. Unfortunately I have seen worse damage to a camshaft. in a 2013 Hemi the previous owner let idle too long, that was quite something. Took photos of it too
@alecfromminnenowhere2089
2 жыл бұрын
I remember friends with those camshafts. People got so sick of GM that Chrysler was the popular choice. It floors me that mistake after mistake throughout the entire company keep occurring during this era.
@haneyoakie14
2 жыл бұрын
I had a 1984 Chrysler Laser 2.2 engine that one lobe rounded and the lifter fell out because it was so worn. I was the 3rd owner, and I knew the first two owners and knew the maintenance was always done on time. I replaced the camshaft and put new lifters in it myself. I also replaced the timing belt at the same time. I still hate that car 32 years later.
@life_of_riley88
2 жыл бұрын
You hate it or have it?
@haneyoakie14
2 жыл бұрын
@@life_of_riley88 I traded in that car in July 1991 on a new Ford Ranger XLT. But I still hate that Laser. I miss some of the cars I have owned. But not that one.
@life_of_riley88
2 жыл бұрын
@@haneyoakie14 A friend of mine had a turbo laser, fun car to drive, but looked like a real pain to work on.
@adamtrombino106
2 жыл бұрын
I had an 85 Daytona turbo that actually had a broken cam but still ran. It had broken right behind where the cam gear bolted on, so the cam timing was off. I never could figure out why the car had no power until it blew a head gasket in 90, and I took the head in to be checked as a unit before just slapping a new gasket on it. The machine shop found the broken cam! New stock cam and it was like I had a new car. Lots of power, unreal mileage too with the 5 speed. I got rid of it in 97 due to rust, but it still ran perfect. To this day, I cannot figure out why or how that original cam broke. Bad casting? Improper torque of the cam gear bolt? Timing belt too tight resulting in stress on the cam? No clue.
@haneyoakie14
2 жыл бұрын
@@adamtrombino106 wow. That is crazy
@GoldenGun-Florida
2 жыл бұрын
GM provided a "Goodwill Adjustment" for customers who had camshaft failures in certain V8s. I received two $150 checks from Chevrolet Motor Division on two late 70s Caprice Classics that I had changed the cam and lifters.
@johnkufeldt3564
2 жыл бұрын
Adam, I really enjoy your channel, I try to watch something every day. Your knowledge of trivia and the engineering of the various brands is a breath of fresh air. thanks for your efforts, they are appreciated .
@georgethomas3334
2 жыл бұрын
Small block Chevy V8 cast camshaft lobes were induction hardened on automatic, high speed, Tocco heat treat machines. The cams were fixtured and rotated on center with each lobe positioned within a "fish tail" that heated the part to a target temperature and time duration. Following heat treat, the camshafts were quenched. The system could produce quality parts, but manufacturing controls were inconsistent (stated politely) in that era.
@georgethomas3334
2 жыл бұрын
The opposite wear pattern occurred when small block V8 engines were transitioned from cast to steel Camshafts. Early production engines had Distributor gears wear out prematurely as they were "apple cored" by the harder steel Camshaft gears. Once this quality concern was identified, heavy grease was added to the gears at point of assembly.
@jimmyaber5920
2 жыл бұрын
The blame is hard to pin down. In the late 70s the blame was placed on oils. The oils with viscosity improver additives to get a 30 point spread (10w40, 20w50) were causing it. It made sense as the Chev dealer I worked at used bulk oil that was 10w30 and that is all you'd get. The failed cam small blocks we saw weren't serviced by us and had stickers for 10w40 as that was considered by most as a miracle drug. The parts Mgr at the dealer got the bulk oil through a GM program and there was some benefit that the GM 10w30 got him and he wouldn't budge for anything.
@RealDeanWinchester
2 жыл бұрын
I recall there being a stink over 10w-40. And just think, the popular thing to is to use oil that's not even rated for gasoline engines in a gasoline engine. People are so clever, they have finally figured how to solve the problem of camshaft wear, wait...... Is there a problem? No.
@anthony221956
2 жыл бұрын
My Dad was a GM dealer parts manager from 1949 thru about 1990... Chevy small blocks were known for camshaft wear at higher mileages - 75,000 - 100,000 Pontiac V8s were known for their infamous nylon timing gear teeth they were put on there to make the timing chain quieter, but as the engine got older the nylon got brittle and they broke off, the engine jumped time and stopped dead in its tracks I am not as familiar with Buicks or Oldsmobiles, but i know that Olds engines used rocker arm shafts as opposed to individual stamped steel rocker arms like Chevy and Pontiacs and they were noisy as the cars got older
@HamJamming
2 жыл бұрын
Adam, I wish you had discussed what GM did, or did not do, to address these problems. IIRC, GM denied that the problem existed and wouldn't repair the engines. This is why I would never buy another GM product. They simply don't stand behind their products and don't honor their warranties. Over a period of many years, I determined that GM simply was not a good company to do business with
@GoldenGun-Florida
2 жыл бұрын
WRONG! I received two $150 checks from Chevrolet Motor Division for two late 70s Caprices that I had replaced cam/lifters. Get your facts straight.
@HamJamming
2 жыл бұрын
@@GoldenGun-Florida $150??? Ha, ha Anthony; you just made my point! It probably cost the owner $500 - $1000 to get the cam replaced. And many owners got nothing! You're a clown, boy.
@GoldenGun-Florida
2 жыл бұрын
@@HamJamming And you don't know what you're talking about. My suggestion is to research BEFORE posting dribble on these boards. You said that GM did nothin, you were WRONG. Study harder next time. You failed.
@adamtrombino106
2 жыл бұрын
A guy I worked with had a 78 Impala with the 305, bought brand new. The cam went soft in late 80 with about 30k on it. GM did warranty it and also put in a new timing chain set. That lasted until the car had about 47k on it. He knew Chevy wasn't gonna take care of it this time, so he put in a very mild Isky cam and lifter set with a dual roller chain set. It lasted another 200k when it finally dropped a valve seat, and he got rid of it in 2001. Point is, A some dealers were taking care of the problem at their expense. B. we techs knew not to trust even new GM replacement parts, and found that the aftermarket was the answer at the time.
@GoldenGun-Florida
2 жыл бұрын
@@adamtrombino106 Kinda blows out of the water the notion that GM did "nothing" like another wizard posted.
@thomasdeir6212
2 жыл бұрын
I remember this well. Our 1980 Caprice blue block 305 4 bbl had the problem.
@CrazyPetez
2 жыл бұрын
Nice porch chat Adam. It’s a wonder how American car manufacturers, having been in business for decades, usually selling serviceable products, sometimes produce products. I remember the soft camshaft problems, thankfully no personably, but as a Corvette Forum contributed, mainly in the C3 section. There were lots of slightly older Corvettes suffering from bad camshafts. And not to just pick on GM, Ford and the 3 valve modular engine was also terrible. Ford should have replaced every 3 valve engine free of charge to owners.
@ryanblume3747
2 жыл бұрын
had the same issue on my 79 Malibu with the 231V6 took me forever to diagnose, car had only 30,000 miles and this was 1996 so it was pretty old at the time, local parts store had the cam in stock so I knew it had to be a common issue, mine only had one rounded lobe and was backfiring quite a bit
@debrakinney2010
2 жыл бұрын
This was an issue for the small block back in the late '60s also. An old machinist told me it was caused by the lifter bores being machined not perpendicular to the camshaft.
@derrickodyes1934
2 жыл бұрын
Not only soft camshafts but nylon lined aluminum timing chains that shreaded. Block metalurgy was weak and threads stripped out as head bolts pulled on them
@steves9905
2 жыл бұрын
I think the manufacturers were really experimenting to see how far they could reduce production costs during this time and didn't really have the full technology to support it. I have a 1980 F350 dually, first year for the styleside dually, and it is positively dainty compared to my '69 F250...all plastic on the inside, thinner gauge metal, drilled frame, etc. really a reduction in robustness, which they had to walkback some of the cost savings somewhat because of the fragility. the 400ci engine is pretty robust tho. some of it had to do with fuel economy, but the cheapening overall of US made vehicles really accelerated during this time frame.
@alecfromminnenowhere2089
2 жыл бұрын
Did you experience the windshield "pop" when a snowplow was attached to those Swiss cheese framed trucks? The truck would flex so much the windshield would come out.
@willallen7757
2 жыл бұрын
@@alecfromminnenowhere2089 no, but it was already my least favorite body style .
@patpalermo7629
2 жыл бұрын
worked at a garage part time in the late 80's. called them rubber cams. wasn't a day went by that we didn't see at least 1.
@jawkneebebad
2 жыл бұрын
Do a video on the plastic timing gear 305s of the 80s as well !
@mattcrooke8321
2 жыл бұрын
Same company, different country! The late 80’s 1.6 and 2 litre OHC engines fitted into the Vauxhall Cavalier and its Opel counterpart, were known for premature camshaft knock. You could hear one coming a mile off!
@jacquespoirier9071
2 жыл бұрын
typical GM quality, such wear condition is rare to seldom on others manufacturers perhaps only LADA that had known metallurgy problems. About all SBC original camshaft I replaced had damaged lobes, the most damaged were the exhaust of #7 cylinder on the V8 engines and #5 on the 90 degrees v6 engines. One of the side effect is a damaged valve seat and valve and of course, the lifter mating face. usually on an inline, the problem is much less evident because the lobes of the cam are much wider
@dave1956
2 жыл бұрын
I bought a clunker ‘80 Malibu with a Chevrolet 3.8 Litre (229 CID) V6. The car had about 60,000 miles on it when I bought it. I had owned a new ‘81 Cutlass Supreme with a Buick 3.8 Litre V6. I remembered that the car was quite underpowered and this ‘80 Malibu was even slower. It actually ran fairly smoothly but I couldn’t believe how slow it was. I took it to a friend for a tuneup. Lo and behold it was running on only four cylinders. My friend had owned a ‘78 Malibu with a 305 V8 and had the same issue.
@sooverit5529
2 жыл бұрын
A friend of mine that owned a Texas Mercury dealership back in the late 50's would often tell me of a soft camshaft issue they had back in 1957. He said they had quite the failure rate. In later years, he (since passed) became quite the restorer of 57 Mercurys, mainly Turnpike Cruisers, but had Colony Parks etc.
@MrLuckytrucker21
2 жыл бұрын
Yep, had to change a soft cam in a 77 chevy impala back in the early 90s, and the napa parts guy telling me this was a common problem!
@automan1223
2 жыл бұрын
Oh boy, I could do a follow on video after this one. #1. I never saw the cams fail on a well maintained GM engine. Poor oil service history, lifters would start to stick wipe out the lifters and the cam lobes...and poor coolant services and running hot....old style pellet Catalytic converters would melt down, clog up, over EGR the engine and turned into a total smog monster. Many makes and models w/gear driven distributor / cam sensor assys can whack out the computer and cause issues. Today, we find older Dodge products and Ford engines from time to time.
@user-cs1ne8gx9u
2 жыл бұрын
Yup I've seen it quite a few times back in the day with small Chevy's.
@corvettejohn4507
2 жыл бұрын
I remember this going on back in the late 1970's and early 1980's with the small block Chevy. So whenever I saw a used engine with the GM blue paint on it from the factory, I stayed away from it. The blue paint years were the soft cam years. Maybe the engines were just unhappy that they were no longer Chevy orange? LOL.
@dillonmiller956
2 жыл бұрын
My old neighbor once told me about a 67 Pontiac he bought with the overhead cam straight six that ate a camshaft in the first week he owned the car for that same reason. Soft cam due to a poor heat treatment or a bad batch of metal.
@bwtv147
2 жыл бұрын
I had a Pontiac with the 305 Chevy engine. When GM settled the class action suit over Chevy engines in other brands I received a $300 rebate. It wasn't enough. At a little over 50K miles the camshaft lobes wore down.
@LakeNipissing
2 жыл бұрын
Excellent information! I remember reading this affected 1979 to 1982 267, 301 and 305 engines. Didn't know also the 350, and the Cadillac HT4100 had the problem last even longer, as you pointed out.
@colesgarage666
Жыл бұрын
Ok makes since, I was thinking everybody got a bad batch lol, my 1983 k5 blazer "my parents bought new" still has it stock 305 with original cam, the as of 2023 it has around or over a half million miles. With the valve covers off a couple rockers seem to not lift as much, but seems to be expected after 40 years. Runs smooth and still has the power to get up and go.
@capricetony
2 жыл бұрын
I’ve had 15 or so 77-90 Chevy Caprice’s never had a bad cam, most were 305’s. I did see a few 267 Chevy’s (79-82) have this problem, but never had issues.
@walterjones5727
2 жыл бұрын
I agree THE 267 HAD CAM PROBLEMS
@capricetony
2 жыл бұрын
@@walterjones5727 around 50k the 267’s, people forget them, started out in the Camaro in 79’ then made it into others. The long lost Chevy V8’s the 267 along with the 262 lol
@jeffsmith846
2 жыл бұрын
My current repair project (which is about two days a week), is my 81 Corvette. I am replacing the cam because the #3 cylinder exhaust lobe is rounded off. The lifter was concave where it met the lobe. This all happened at 56k miles. Engine is spotless inside so it has always had maintenance. I have owned the car for 12 years and 11000 of the total miles. It is hard to say that a 40 year old car had a defective component, but it seems to be the issue here.
@mikerotchburns5198
2 жыл бұрын
Speaking of camshafts here's something I would be interested in knowing more about, the Kaiser Jeep Tornado OHC engine. How does a single lobe control both intake and exhaust?
@ZGryphon
2 жыл бұрын
Looking at images.hobbydb.com/processed_uploads/catalog_item_photo/catalog_item_photo/image/516900/Jeep_Tornado_Engines_13e266be-3e46-46fa-9417-87127b79b8ec.JPG , it looks to me like the valves are on opposite sides of the camshaft, so as the shaft turns, each lobe actuates first one valve and then the other.
@DaveMcLain
2 жыл бұрын
The cam in a Chevy V8 is held in position by the load of the oil pump but also the load from the taper ground on the lobes(all high to the rear of the block). If the camshaft was ground without the correct taper or no taper at all this would cause the lifters to not rotate(early failure) and it can also cause problems with the distributor gear teeth because it would allow the cam to move back and forth in the engine. This would be much more likely than a "soft cam".
@realflagracer
2 жыл бұрын
That's crazy. My parents had an 85 Ht4100 and I did the distributer hear on it at about 120k. I made sure they never beat on it or overheated and and got it to 200k before the heads gave out.
@onekoneb
Жыл бұрын
Years ago I bought a used '69 Chevelle with the 396 BB. I was so excited yet underwhelmed when I tried to rev that engine. One day a head gasket blew, so I went to replace it. It was then I noticed the cam lobes were all nearly flat. I don't know if previous owners just never changed oil or if maybe the soft cams were also used in the BB motors. Anyway, I buttoned it back up and got rid of it. I couldn't afford to rebuild that BB in my younger days. Wish I had that car today, though.
@joehorecny7835
2 жыл бұрын
I worked at a company, and the building was a previously used by a major OEM to the auto industry making springs. They hired an employee previously working there (same parent company) and he told us all types of stories. They would occasionally forget to heat treat the springs properly, and they felt it was too much trouble and expense to redo them, so they would try to slip them by. He said Cadillac had very high specs, and Chevy, well it basically just had to spring. So, Caddy would reject springs that didn't meet their specs. The springs are big, and they ship them in huge crates, so they would put the rejected ones at the bottom of the crate, and good ones on the top, and they would be accepted as they randomly test a spring or two. He absolutely hated Honda, he said Honda would test every single spring, even the ones on the bottom of the crate. This company made a lot of auto parts, and they would even stamp GM/Ford/Honda/etc on the part. Supposedly the auto industry doesn't want to be tied to a single vendor, and look at tires, and windshields, they just buy them. Those soft camshafts could have come from a single vendor, and they have vendor marks on them, I know that. This was in the 70s/80s so I guess that was the Malaise era. And yes, that previous employee, well he wasn't a motivated worker even with the new group and didn't last long.
@durhamresident4984
2 жыл бұрын
Good thing I sold my 1978 Camaro Type LT with 305 after 5 years or so. I wondered why people said I had a car with a rubber camshaft.
@NorthernChev
Жыл бұрын
Wow, as late as 1985. I thought this was primarily a 76-82 problem. I remember the early 305s used to have this problem, primarily on the back two cylinders.
@christopherkraft1327
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Adam for sharing another interesting porch chat 👍👍
@rextownsend5101
2 жыл бұрын
This was really unacceptable that this happened with a manufacturer that should have had proper quality control procedures. But,I experienced flat cams with a couple of non-GM cars as well: a 1979 Volvo and a 2004 Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep had the 4.0 liter inline six and very low miles when it happened. Not only did several cam lobes go flat, but a couple of hydraulic lifters wore holes in the bottom and stopped pumping up. The dealer admitted it was a common occurrence. The Volvo wasn’t as dramatic but was definitely low on power prior to receiving its new cam.
@paulmayo6006
2 жыл бұрын
Zinc was being reduced in oils to prevent damage to catalytic converters. Now there is basically no zinc in oil, but engines now have roller lifters or ohc.
@georgegonzalez2476
2 жыл бұрын
Reading through the comments we have as the culprit: (1) Soft camshafts. (2) Lack of zinc and other goodies in the oil. (3) Lifter bores with no tilt. (4) GM accountants. (5) Drinking on the assembly line. (6) Incorrect break-in procedure. (7) Incorrect break-in oil. (8) RTV? (9) Greedy dealers. And that's okay, it doesn't have to be just one cause, perhaps a bunch of little details, none too significant, but that added up to cam failure. We experienced something similar in the Honda BYBA AT's of 1999-2005, they squeezed in a fifth gear and had to shrink several gears. Very bad results with most trannies failing in 20,000 to 70,000 miles. Honda paid out $550 million in tranny replacements. Shazam.
@pillowsocket
2 жыл бұрын
It is crazy how this can happen and the vehicle continues to run.
@williamgregory6684
2 жыл бұрын
I had a Plymouth Reliant with that problem( no additional power under acceleration). Also same 87 Reliant and 89 Chevrolet full size g20 conversion van extreme paint peel.Could you do a video on the substandard paint of the era? Great videos , you are well informed! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
@joemazzola7387
2 жыл бұрын
General Motors made camshafts for 75 years without an issue all of a sudden 1978 and on there's an issue My 1978 Malibu 3.3 liter v 6 had a soft camshaft as well as it was a 283 V8 with 2 cylinders removed
@leebee1100
2 жыл бұрын
Love this. Calming. Intriguing. Well said, and informative. Perfect 👍
@curtvote1099
2 жыл бұрын
Crane Cams made a lot of money in the late seventies early eighties.
@jeffshadow2407
2 жыл бұрын
I just inherited my original 1985 Cadillac Eldorado from my mother's estate. It has been in garage storage since 2004. The 4100 was replaced by a Cadillac dealer in the mid-1990s, so I am hoping for the best! It has 24,000 miles on the newer engine.
@sking2173
2 жыл бұрын
That could be s good car for you. Those 85’s were nice cars even with that raggedy engine. Enjoy !!
@j.markkrzystofiak9907
2 жыл бұрын
My HS auto shop project was a ‘78 350 with 74k on it. The worst lobe had only .030 lift. The only lobe in spec was the fuel pump.
@markcollins457
2 жыл бұрын
Good subject, I purchased a used 86 El Camino in mint condition sharp looking two tone silver gray, the car would not get out of its own way. A friend had one with a v6 that performed great. So I bought a mild Crane cam and new lifters and rockers. The finished product was awesome I saved that cam also for years it had no amount of lift at all on the cam. The car was owned by 2 different people before I purchased it in 1989 with 38,000 miles makes you wonder why I bought it for $1800.
@bretfisher7286
Жыл бұрын
My father bought an '86 IROC Camaro. Soft camshaft-- on what was basically a street-legal race car. It was replaced on a broad recall, under warranty. That was the most unforgettably awful automobile I have ever encountered, by far. While it was a complete blast to drive and was ferociously fast, and had tremendous handling, everything in the car fell apart, over and over again. He finally sold it for a pittance, a couple of years after word had gotten around about the cars. There are almost none remaining today, as far as I can tell.
@vincemajestyk9497
2 жыл бұрын
Great explanation of the lousy HT4100. I've owned 2 1984 Eldo's and both had the POS HT4100. The first one was an ETC that used to belong to the President of Bank of America in Houston (new) that ended up in WV when I bought it. It was OK, all blacked out with tan leather interior. The second one that I bought was a perfect, mint 1984 Biarritz in black with a red leather interior. That car was owned by a Cadillac mechanic who completely went through the car and rebuilt the engine with dealer parts. Cosmetically it looked better than the day it rolled out of the showroom. The rebuild lasted a year before the engine developed what sounded like a tappet or lifter noise, and 2 weeks later the engine seized up on the way home from work. I really liked those cars but there were NO good choices for the engine. Diesel or HT4100. The best years were the 1979 or 80 when I think you could at least get the 368, the last real Cadillac engine. Even the 4-6-8 in '81 was a 368 that you could override to stay in 8 cyl mode. About 10-11 years ago I came across another '84 Eldo. Not a Biarritz but nice. Black/Black digital dash super clean 54k miles. Decent price. I just couldn't do it. I told the seller I'd have to have rocks in my head to buy another 4100. The other thing about those HT4100's is most used ones the exhaust always stunk or had minor idle smoke issues. I always wanted to find a nice pre '80 Seville which was the crown jewel of the Cadillac line, even above the Fleetwood, when they had the FI Olds 350 engine. I didn't really appreciate the bustleback restyle. I think those were supposed to be more of a hand built car to compete with the European luxury market. I think they used the B body chassis. My neighbor owned a garage and I remember some of those GM's in the 80's coming in from the factory with nothing but silicone for the valve cover gaskets.
@randallfabian6640
2 жыл бұрын
I have an '80 Eldo with the Olds 350 but someone put a carburetor on it with a fuel pressure regulator!
@donk499
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, these issues seem to come and go on the chevy small blocks. I remember a strange issue we had when these engines were used for stern drive boat issues: "intake valve tulipping". The larger diameter intake valves would sink into themselves causing running/power issues. I'm surprised your caddy engine didn't have lifter clatter with all those lobes missing. Perhaps the lifters were adjusted to compensate for the worn camshaft when all that engine work was done for the previous owner. Like you said, perhaps some of this damage was caused when the oil was diluted with antifreeze. For the life of me, I can not understand the engineering behind and aluminum block with cast iron heads....Why not just make the heads out of aluminum as well? Surely would have been a cost/weight savings. Just doesn't seem like the heads needed the strength of cast iron, they were worried about the heads warping due to fewer head bolts. They must have had some crazy reason for it
@fleetwin1
2 жыл бұрын
Guess I was lucky, but I changed the oil very frequently
@edwhitson9873
2 жыл бұрын
Adam it wasn't so much soft metal as it was the lack of a small hole in the tops of the rods that went away early 70s, it squirted oil up onto the cam and some genius Chevy engineering guy decided the sbc no longer needed that and then they started eating up cams more often
@knutbjornlarsen4435
2 жыл бұрын
That too. Big journal rods, have no spit holes. I'm rebuilding my Toyota engine 1990 and the rods have spit holes up past the parting line, drilled and chamfered. But why? It's a double overhead cam engine.
@bunky060171
7 ай бұрын
College freshman me, had a 1972 Pontiac Catalina with a 400, lobes rounded off on #8....buttery soft cam. Summit Racing in 1987 had an aftermarket cam made by Alliance, ground to the factory spec of a mid 1960's 421 [one of the McKellar cams] with proper heat treat, and lifter set, for a whopping $59. Oh, to be 19 again.
@duanebailey1056
2 жыл бұрын
I had a 1974 Olds delta 88 that my parents gave me when I was 17 in 1979 rocket 350 4bbl. Man I loved that car.. it had a soft cam,when you floored it (and I did that a lot) it would pop thru the carb pretty bad.I had big fun whit that car...MEMORIES.........
@basilcarroll9729
2 жыл бұрын
A bad lifter can also cause intermittent back fire through carb.
@dennissmith9577
2 жыл бұрын
Lost the camshaft on a '78 Pontiac Trans Am with the W72 T/A 6.6 400 engine at 18,000 miles. Sent metal all through the engine. Dealer said outta luck, new vehicle warranty was only 12 months/12,000 miles then.
@mph5896
2 жыл бұрын
Yikes. 12 month, 12k. Thats quite the warranty on a new car😂
@jongonegone1262
2 жыл бұрын
i remember using lots of moly addative to quiet a 5000 mile bought new 305 chevy. a old method porsche racing team used on their cars for competion.
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