So I'm in the process of replacing the timing chains on a 2005 CTS with the 3.6L. I recently bought it knowing it had issues. 184k miles on the engine. I just got to the point of removing the valve covers and I don't have a ton of experience but the cams seem okay to me. How do these look? There was one lobe on the passenger side that has a scratch I could feel with my fingernail but the rest seem very similar.
How Do These Camshafts Look?
- Thread starter RoGuE
- Start date
SADI camshafts always look weird, Don't see anything I'd worry about.
Other than growing some fuzz, looks okay, for the ones we see. 
Ok, thanks everyone. I highly suspect that this engine was run low on oil at some point or another so I just wanted to verify.
And yeah, that lint was coming off my work gloves that are getting shredded. I ran my finger over the lobe and deposited some lint I guess. Oops
And yeah, that lint was coming off my work gloves that are getting shredded. I ran my finger over the lobe and deposited some lint I guess. Oops
Why not show us a close up of the “scratched” lobe? Or is the one you included the scratched one? It’s hard to tell.
All it takes is one bad lobe to start wearing and it will progress quite rapidly from there to the point of misfiring. The rest of the lobes can look pristine and it won’t make a difference, you will still need to change the camshaft.
All it takes is one bad lobe to start wearing and it will progress quite rapidly from there to the point of misfiring. The rest of the lobes can look pristine and it won’t make a difference, you will still need to change the camshaft.
It is the one in the close up photo. It's just a single line. It kind of looks like it's in one spot but it goes around as far as I could tell.
Ok, then your photo shows the back side of that lobe, which is not relevant. You need to rotate the engine until you can see the actual lobe and show us how that looks like.
They look good 
Why do you " suspect" the engine was run low on oil at some point ? Because you bought it knowing it had issues ???....Running an engine low on oil can bring on lots of issues, and not immediate issues either...Just curious.
The view of a Rogue that no drag racer would ever see?
Should have done everything else first (All the components needed to remove the timing cover) Then remove the valve covers & timing cover....The less time the internal side of the engine is exposed the better!!
Speaking of " suspect of being run low on oil", I need a sanity check here. I had LOTS of 70's Cutty's in my heyday. They all had the 350 Rocket engine. Use to get em cheap, $ 200-$400 bucks on private sales. Rented 2 garages in a backyard with dirt as the base, vs asphalt. Now that I'm thinkin about it, I wonder if they were run low on oil, then sold to a kid like me. They ran great for about 10k, then they would spin a rod bearing. I never ran them low on oil. So, I would go to the junkyard, get another Rocket for $ 85 bucks. BUT, before I'd get the tree limb ready for another swap, I'd always do this. Stick a rock in the throttle, wide open. Start the engine. Full RPM. Within a few minutes, the rod and a piece of a piston would come flying out the side of the block, along with 5 qts of oil. Things were quiet for 3-4 minutes. Then the RPM's would go lower, and lower,and lower, then seize. It just amazed me to see the smashed up bits and pieces !. Then the dirt would soak up all the oil. Not exactly environment correct. Just wonder if anybody else did this too ? I mean, it was the late 70's.
I suspect it because these engines are supposed to be notorious for being run low on oil since they can consume quite a bit. Also, I know the previous owner and he's not the type to have checked the oil level.
Oops. I was just following along with a video on how to do this job and that's what they did. I have it parked in a closed garage though and have had the cams covered up with some cardboard and towels.
Nobody cares anymore. " Oh, the engine uses oil ????....Lets mass produce it, the heck with it " Thanks for answering my question.
