Disco 1 Camshaft

Hi I was thinking of replacing my camshaft which as been scratched with a damaged cam followers roller
Would I be able to use a good second hand one or would it have to be a new one thanks

Coopers100 said:

Hi I was thinking of replacing my camshaft which as been scratched with a damaged cam followers roller
Would I be able to use a good second hand one or would it have to be a new one thanks

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Hi, as the camshaft isn't matched to the head or followers & any other worn/damage parts are replaced it shouldn't be a problem.

Andy Warren said:

Hi, as the camshaft isn't matched to the head or followers & any other worn/damage parts are replaced it shouldn't be a problem.

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Not sure I'd agree with that.
Whenever I have fitted a new cam I always fitted it with new followers used the special cam lube and ran it in at a high tickover for 20 mins odd.
Standard practice.
BUT they were always performance cams
AND I am Mr Old Skool!!!

Hi thanks for your responses so could I use a good second hand or new camshaft thanks

Stanleysteamer said:

Not sure I'd agree with that.
Whenever I have fitted a new cam I always fitted it with new followers used the special cam lube and ran it in at a high tickover for 20 mins odd.
Standard practice.
BUT they were always performance cams
AND I am Mr Old Skool!!!

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Hi, I know where your coming from & would probably do the same, funds permitting. I checked the LR parts list & it sells all the bits individually & not as 'sets'. So as long as the worn parts are replaced with new or good s/h items & in this case I would try & get the follower(s) & cam from the same engine, it should be fine.

Land rover engine tolerances are pretty poor. Have you ever measured the crank thrust clearance?
A second hand camshaft would not be an issue.

Andy Warren said:

Hi, I know where your coming from & would probably do the same, funds permitting. I checked the LR parts list & it sells all the bits individually & not as 'sets'. So as long as the worn parts are replaced with new or good s/h items & in this case I would try & get the follower(s) & cam from the same engine, it should be fine.

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This is getting deeper and deeper!
theoretically yes once a cam and its followers have bedded in together then things are a bit easier,
BUT, you have to remember camshaft bearings and, if the engine runs tappets or any other form of adjuster then at the very least you would want to keep and eye on them as each rocker will wear slightly differently on the top of the valve stem or bucket.
But I am being a purist.
Pro engineers, which i am not, at least not in cars, will pop on with any luck and either agree or disagree.
But if all you want to do is keep an engine going cheaply, then just bung a new cam in it, run it in as described above, to give it half a chance, then keep your fingers crossed. it'll prolly be OK for at least quite a while.

No never use a 2nd hand cam..

Not unless you can work a micrometer and dial gauge to measure the lobe and duration, how do you know whether its worn out?

A new stock cam for a Rover V8 isn't expensive it is fool hardy to buy a component like a cam 2nd hand, and as said if it has already been run in to a set of followers that cam will be trash within a few miles in a different engine..

There is a reason you tag and place parts to make sure they go in the same position on your own engine, 'tis also a reason you never put new followers on an old cam..

New cam and new followers ...

Hi thanks for your responses so if I fitted a new cam would I need new cam bearings as well thanks

I changed the cam in my V8 along with the followers, the price was just over £100 for the parts. Well worth it and the engine is silky smooth & quiet. Must admit I did a lot of other things too like push rods, rockers, timing chain & sprockets and cylinder head gaskets. My car only has 75k on the clock but the camshaft was well worn as well as the followers which you could see a little recess forming on. For my two penneth - Why go to all the trouble of stripping the engine down and then rebuilding it with parts that are 2nd hand and guessing whether its going to fix the problem? New parts all the way for me.

Hi thanks for your response would you mind if I asked you whereabouts you purchased your cam and followers etc it seems to be a good price thanks

Got all the engine spares from Paddocks https://www.paddockspares.com/parts...very-1/engine-parts/3-9-litre-v8-efi.html?p=2

Jasonmichael said:

I changed the cam in my V8 along with the followers, the price was just over £100 for the parts. Well worth it and the engine is silky smooth & quiet. Must admit I did a lot of other things too like push rods, rockers, timing chain & sprockets and cylinder head gaskets. My car only has 75k on the clock but the camshaft was well worn as well as the followers which you could see a little recess forming on. For my two penneth - Why go to all the trouble of stripping the engine down and then rebuilding it with parts that are 2nd hand and guessing whether its going to fix the problem? New parts all the way for me.

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DIY certainly saved you some money not that id have the time... my 1987 3.5 RR cam started ticking with 10 years 105k miles on the clock, so got the main dealer to replace all that was necessary, picked it up two days later and paid the £1020.00 bill. Sold the the RR six months later and got a disco from the same main dealer.

Yeah, Discool it did save me quite a bit, however the £100 was only for the Cam & followers. Add all the other bits & pieces that I did and it was more than double the £100. But whilst everything was stripped I thought I might as well....

This was my cam, pitted & the lobes were worn on the edges.....

Jasonmichael said:

Yeah, Discool it did save me quite a bit, however the £100 was only for the Cam & followers. Add all the other bits & pieces that I did and it was more than double the £100. But whilst everything was stripped I thought I might as well....

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Oil & filter, for a start. Its called ‘consumables’ in the trade, so a satisfying job in the end.

Changing piston rings and big end shells is the nearest i’ve been to the inner bowes of an engine, although I thought an over head cam change for a fast road cam on a Pinto engine would be quick, but the cam is removed from its carrier towards the rear of the engine, so off with the head... and more consumables

I bought my Discovery as a 'doer upper' it had been off the road for 5 years sat in a barn. The engine was the 1st thing I started with & have been maintaining it since. Rebuilt the transfer box, new suspension all round, new swivels, brakes, brake lines, you name it! Its like the 4th bridge!!!

discool said:

Oil & filter, for a start. Its called ‘consumables’ in the trade, so a satisfying job in the end.

Changing piston rings and big end shells is the nearest i’ve been to the inner bowes of an engine, although I thought an over head cam change for a fast road cam on a Pinto engine would be quick, but the cam is removed from its carrier towards the rear of the engine, so off with the head... and more consumables

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It is true that it is a pain with a Pinto that the cam has to be removed from the rear of the engine. I even had a member of my club who deliberately organised the bulkhead etc on his kit car so he could change cams without removing the head.
Others drop the engine rather than take the head off.
I replaced one with a "high torque" cam,
they need a tiny modification to the distributor, but boy do you get the torque in early, much more usable than even a mild road cam. And even better fuel consumption.
Mine came from Burtons, don't know what they do for LRs they are great for Fords though. I also fitted a variable camshaft sprocket and as @Henry_b said, I used a DTI etc to time it in. But you would be reasonably OK if you just replaced the old one direct.

All good fun!

Jasonmichael said:

I bought my Discovery as a 'doer upper' it had been off the road for 5 years sat in a barn. The engine was the 1st thing I started with & have been maintaining it since. Rebuilt the transfer box, new suspension all round, new swivels, brakes, brake lines, you name it! Its like the 4th bridge!!!

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"4th bridge"
love it!
"Go fourth and multiply" After others have gone first, second and third!