8k miles and the 4.6 is back on the stand again.

[4Runner]

So I’ve been plagued with valley pan/ intake sucking air from the valley into the intake runners. That’s problem one. The other problems are misfires and a noisy valve train. Sounds like slipped liners but it can’t be that. Been into the motor 3 times on the upper end for preload adjustments/ leak repairs to no avail. So it’s back on the stand and I found the noise / misfire problem. When I installed the camshaft , I slid it in to check the cam bearings then removers it and slopped on the prelube. Put it back in and kept building. What I never thought would happen or could happen is this. 3 of my lifters all on the passenger side are catching 2 cam lobes at once. Ugh. I did not buy a cheap cam or so I thought. I’ve never had this happen ever. So much troubleshooting time wasted. So much money wasted to have to mostly rebuild this motor again! Shit. I could have had a supercharged LS and the kit for the time and money I have in this pile. Here’s the pics for proof. I guess it’s better that I know what it is at least.

 

[special ed]

Looks like maybe the cam is not sitting properly at the thrust plate. Did you measure end float?

 

[4Runner]

I haven’t pulled the front to look at the plate yet.

 

[StangGT5]

Out of curiosity, when you pull the cam stand it next to a stock one. I have seen a big block Chevy cam machined wrong. It was 1/4" longer than it was supposed to be.

 

[ERover82]

What cam is it?

 

[4Runner]

Well shoot. The only cam I will have is the new one I am going to order. This is the only Bosch motor I’ve done so I don’t really remember. I thought there was a plate that retained the cam that didn’t look adjustable I do remember throwing a straight edge on the cam gears to make sure those lined up. Only because I was worried about the quality of the timing chain set. I went thru 2 aftermarket sets. One don’t even fit at all, the other had a very loose chain. Finally order a genuine LR set that was not as nice as the OG set but better than the aftermarket ones. Seems weird that the cam would have a forward and aft adjustment and wouldn’t that change your time chain / gear alignment. I’ve never encountered this before. My cam does move forward and backwards but not enough to make a difference. Probably about the same as the thrust on the crank.

 

[4Runner]

An Earson ? cam made for the Wedge Shop according to the cam spec sheet

 

[special ed]

TWS usually sells Kent. There is no "adjustment to the cam but there are specs on the retainer. Also look at the TWS timing sets he is making now. They are beautiful. Look at the stamp on the rear of the cam when you get it out. Also when going together you should have checked lifter rotation on the cam by rotating it. I always mark the lifter and pushrod and rotate the engine to make sure they are moving correctly before assembly.

 

[4Runner]

So I don’t have much time but I just had to post something for now. The Wedge shop was unbelievably awesome. They sent me a new Kent cam and Johnson lifters for free. I did also buy their Bosch timing chain set which was top quality. The genuine LR set was still looser than I thought it should be but the TWS set fits perfect and is as tensioned as it should be. Without changing anything the new cam clears all the lifters , so that problem is gone as well. Big thanks to Woody. Now to figure out my valley pan / intake problem.

 

[Grum.man]

My engine rebuild has been a struggle too. For some reason 3 of my cam lobes wiped them self out after 6k miles. I ordered a new valve train from TWS as well, should be here tomorrow. Woody is a good guy to talk to but man are they slow to ship.