Pretty sure I know the answer, but figured I'd ask anyway. Already have everything off for the opti, and the idea crept into my mind. Already have Ported heads and new valvetrain and high pressure oil pump and is a 4 bolt main so would only need cam and timing chain to install. Shifts would probably be kept to 6200rpm. Would the cam bearings be too worn or broken in to the stock cam to make the swap reliable?

 

A lot of that is going to depend on how well the motor was maintained before. Assuming it's not your sole source of transportation, at that milage I would go for it if you're confident it was taken care of. If it pops then it was about time for a rebuild anyway...

 

I think I' pop for a rebuild

 

Yeah its probably too risky, might as well wait til I can rebuild and get a bigger cam, no use blowing it with a small cam just to turn around and want a bigger cam in with the rebuild.

 

100% agreed

 

I would cam it, but then again I was spraying a 100k h/c bottom end with a 150 shot so listening to me might not be the best idea. I'm going on my 4th cam change in 3 years and my stock bottom end has 100k on it right now, but I'm staying all motor now.

 

if the motor is running strong now id stick it in.. it will shorten the life of the engine but what alot of people dont realise is that caming the engine alone will not hurt it so much as the over-reving of the engine resulting from a higher hp peak with the larger cam. keep the revs under 6300 and it should hold up for a while.

 

True, but I'd still be a lil weary. 6300 is a descent shift point. I've never run an LE1 cam but it seems as though it should be tame enough to keep the r's in that area.

 

From previous experience, I'd do at least new bearings. It would be a shame if you went through all the trouble of doing a cam install, then have to tear it down all over again later on. that's just my .02

 

I'd say wait for a rebuild. I had 138k miles on mine when the trans & rear blew, so I figured I'd put a cam in it. I searched this forum and read that a lot of people have decent luck putting a cam in a high mileage engine, so I started pulling my engine apart. This is what my front cam bearing looked like

If you run into this, you can always just replace the cam bearing, but it's a lot of work to pull the engine out so you may as well start saving for a rebuild instead of doing a bandaid fix. My cam swap turned into an expensive 383 rebuild. I love the new engine, but I wish I had resisted the urge to change the cam.

 

I would at least do a "freshen up" on the motor.
Such as bearings, rings and seals. I've seen these motors go quite a long time without a rebuild. If you wanna do a cam, then its time build. If this is your DD then I would at least find another motor and build it the way you want it. When your NEW motor is ready pop it in and have 10 times more fun because its going to have alot more power than it would just doing a cam in a 150,000+ motor. Its going to last 3 times longer than it would with what you have now.
BUT, if wanna see how long it lasts by all means just do the cam.
Check the front cam bearing before install, this will tell you if it needs a rebuild or not. (excessive wear)

 

Yep my front cam bearing was shot!

 

You'd have to take the cam out to check the bearing and if it ends up being shot, it might be a bad idea to put even the stock cam back in.

Not sure what other people went though, but in my case there was a little grove that the cam wore in the bearing and the other cam journals folded the small lip on the outside of the bearing inward onto the bearing itself as I pulled the cam out and it was very tight in the bearings, so pulling out the cam pretty much turned the engine into a boat anchor. I pretty much had to at least replace the bearings at that point, which involves pulling the whole engine.

I'd recommend making your decision before pulling the cam out, you may find yourself at the point of no return if you try to check your cam bearing

 

What do you mean when you say POP? I have 94 with 102K on the clock and every once in a while when i get on it I hear a pop and it just sort of sit there and then it kicks in.

 

Sorry,I meant install.
BTW is your opti original?
Time for a cleaning and a new cap and rotor kit.