Excessive cam wear?

[Trex101]

I bought used year 2004 Ford 4.0 Barra engine with 130k km on it and i notice it's slightly vanish and the cam doesn't look good.

What do you think about the cam wear from the picture? excessive?

 

[Shannow]

Striations and colour look strange, but it could be the lighting.

Otherwise looks OK

 

[Maritime Storm]

I'll second that, varnish generally won't form on a rubbing surface, short of removing the cam and measuring the lobes you won't be able to know how much wear is on them. From the looks of the picture I would say it appears to be normal wear to me.

 

[rshaw125]

Is it noisy? If it idles and runs smooth I would say it's in good shape. Run a high quality synthetic in it.

 

[ac_tc]

HDEO if camshaft wear bothers you.

 

[Trex101]

Abit overexposed because i need the flash to see the hidden cam but the colour are pretty accurate. Here another photos.

I'm currently on Amsoil ASL 5w30 but will probably switch to HDEO AMO 10w40 for my next oil change.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

That looks like a roller cam profile - no wear there.

 

[daman]

Is that the tip of the lobe?,is it roller????

 

[hate2work]

Reach in with a long L shaped pick and see if you can feel a lip on the cam lobe, that should tell you.

 

[steve20]

preferable something wood or plastic for the above

 

[mechtech2]

It sure does look like roller wear, not the typical lifter/bucket/shim of an overhead cam engine. It's too even. But what counts is the tip of the lobe, which is not visible.
The picture is not conclusive.

There is a bit of excess varnish . Not to worry.
Maybe the previous owner was cheap and neglected oil changes, or it could be running hot. Varnish is generally harmless.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

If it was SUB OHC cam the grind would have flat ramps and very little "noticable" duration at the max lift point - pretty much a "triangle" shape - not egg shaped like the OP's. So, no expected wear issues on the OPs cam unless a follower disintergrated.

 

[ledslinger]

Looks normal to me.

 

[Kestas]

Can't tell from the picture. But there certainly isn't any gross wear.

 

[Trex101]

I think it's DOHC with VCT, i got the details from wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Barra_engine

 

[ZGRider]

The cam lobe looks a little scuffed, but no hard surface "flaking" It should be OK.

 

[Michael_P]

Does the cam ride straight on the lifters or is there a rocker arm between cam and lifter. If the lifters come in direct contact with the cam it should use an oil suited for a flat tappet engine. My wife's 2001 Mazda has the cam riding on the lifters. I switched oils a few years back and noticed different wear on the cam on the next oil change. After that I switched back. Only if I had done a UOA before and after.

 

[Trex101]

I think i might choose HDEO Amsoil ACD 10w30 or AMO 10w40 for my next oil change, the cam definably doesn't look good.

 

[ledslinger]

I don't understand all the alarm, the roller only rides on part of the lobe. I don't see significant difference between the portion of the lobe that makes contact and the rest of it, other than color.

I recently rebuilt a 4.0 V6 with similar looking cams, that is what they look like when it is used. Mantain it well and don't worry about things that don't mean much.

If you think it is a problem what is the option? The only option I can think of is put new cams, and followers. Do all of the posters think it is a problem think it is time for this?