Cam Followers - Basket Case and Not Marked

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The linked auction followers as per yesterday.

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Just checked the bores and it appears they have been honed at some point (likely when the PO had the cylinders done). At the very least they aren’t scored.

The followers slip in fairly easily. I'm just not sure the original tolerances or bore size and if they are out of spec. Have some telescoping gauges and will try and get some rough measurements.

I also see RGM has standard and oversize followers listed for significantly less (with the Andover logo).
 
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marshg246 said:
The eBay listing has 30-day return and a set of four is approx. $188 USD delivered to the US probably less to Canada). A new set from AN is over $610 USD plus shipping. They are going into used barrels. Seems like a worth a shot to me. Alternatively, could by the + .020 set some sell and have the barrels bored o fit them - now we're probably over $1500 USD.
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Which is more than a JSM cam and lifter kit...much more...

But here is the rub, JSM lifter blocks fit a standard lifter bore....
 
SEd27 said:




Just checked the bores and it appears they have been honed at some point (likely when the PO had the cylinders done). At the very least they aren’t scored.

The followers slip in fairly easily. I'm just not sure the original tolerances or bore size and if they are out of spec. Have some telescoping gauges and will try and get some rough measurement.

I also see RGM has standard and oversize followers listed for significantly less (with the Andover logo).
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There should be no play. They should be a nice sliding fit but just fall under their own weight.
 
concours said:
Mine were pretty galled, (from a layman head gasket job dropping sand into the pushrod tunnels, I think) I polished with machinists stone the O.D. of the lifters, and used crocus cloth on the bores. They ran reliably for 25,000 miles (and were still just fine). JMWO
Be aware, there was a problem with "soft" stellite pads on some recent replacements. Get solid assurance the parts you buy are NOT them, if you buy "new".
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Latest AN parts are one piece, no pads....
 
concours said:
What's the hardness? Material?
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Cobalt and maybe Chrome?
www.accessnorton.com

Cam followers - Andover to the rescue?

This just popped into my inbox, kudos to Andover for the investment in time and research: "With metallurgists on both sides of the Atlantic looking at this, a new material was formulated that would allow casting but was a little under the required hardness we needed. This was spotted by the...
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com
 
I had purchased the 0.020" oversize lifters from AN, to be fitted by Jim.
Blessedly, the heads up here, and Jim's good sense to put on the brakes, saved a failed engine.
I purchased another barrell, bought new pistons & rings, had the barrell bored, resurfaced the lifters myself and assembled the engine while A/N sorted out the soft lifter mess.
Missed a whole riding season that year.
Cam Followers - Basket Case and Not Marked
 
SEd27 said:




Just checked the bores and it appears they have been honed at some point (likely when the PO had the cylinders done). At the very least they aren’t scored.

The followers slip in fairly easily. I'm just not sure the original tolerances or bore size and if they are out of spec. Have some telescoping gauges and will try and get some rough measurements.

I also see RGM has standard and oversize followers listed for significantly less (with the Andover logo).
Click to expand...


Its only a picture but that cylinder looks to be looked after (not some rusted paperweight) including the follower tunnels.

The followers you have (I can not upsize the picture you attached so condition unknown in detail) have lasted 50 years unlike any replacement part ?
I have refaced OEM followers (done by Jim Comstock @ $17 each) with good outer surfaces and did ball hone the tunnels (and bore myself) and feel that will work fine on the NOS camshaft. (AU$20000+ no new paint or chrome bike)

I had considered new followers but will hold off (forever perhaps) until they have a proven track record which they do not have to date afaik, oddly enough NVT made over 200000 followers with a more than reasonable record. (The later ones might have had an improved pad to body joint)
I have two other OEM sets to have faced long before then.

If it is going to be a high mileage rider bike that is something else.
 
Time Warp said:
Its only a picture but that cylinder looks to be looked after (not some rusted paperweight) including the follower tunnels.

The followers you have (I can not upsize the picture you attached so condition unknown in detail) have lasted 50 years unlike any replacement part ?
I have refaced OEM followers (done by Jim Comstock @ $17 each) with good outer surfaces and did ball hone the tunnels (and bore myself) and feel that will work fine on the NOS camshaft. (AU$20000+ no new paint or chrome bike)

I had considered new followers but will hold off (forever perhaps) until they have a proven track record which they do not have to date afaik, oddly enough NVT made over 200000 followers with a more than reasonable record. (The later ones might have had an improved pad to body joint)
I have two other OEM sets to have faced long before then.

If it is going to be a high mileage rider bike that is something else.
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Thanks for the input Time Warp.

Thats the the dilemma I face - what can be reused for the rebuild and still have piece of mind, (without breaking the bank).

As far as I can, tell the bike really hasn’t been abused (which corresponds to the mileage being under 22,500 miles).

The barrel is still on standard bore was stored properly and been honed prior my purchasing. I’ve since cleaned up, painted, and sprayed down with a rust preventative.

I was hoping to reuse the cam and crank, as they both appear to be in good nick.

The only obvious engine component that had damaged was x1 bent push rod. As mentioned, the PO had hit all the push rods with a fairly aggressive wire wheel. I have since purchased replacement stock units from Andover.
 
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All new followers should be one piece cobalt chrome. Since they were tested and we modified the maching process not one has had the face fail on any cam type.
During testing the test rig broke, most annoyingly, but had the test not stopped at that point we would have missed a huge find when the items were inspected by the manufacturer as it gave us a massive understanding of the interface.
From this, a desire for harder surfaces is not always a good thing, even more so if your valve chain is not controlled adequately. If you use higher spring pressure, you must really ensure it controls properly, failure to do so will trash a cam far quicker than lower pressures or spring rates.
 
SteveA said:
Latest AN parts are one piece, no pads....
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And sold a good few so far. Clearance should be 0.0015'' minimum.
If it was possible to make the two piece at reasonable cost with minimal product loss during process then I still would. Feel free to show a grinder a two piece tappet and ask how much to grind one all over. Most will refuse as it is two piece. You'll see that the current style makes sense and is actually very cheap.
 
SEd27 said:
I was hoping to reuse the cam and crank, as they both appear to be in good nick.

The only obvious engine component that had damaged was x1 bent push rod. As mentioned, the PO had hit all the push rods with a fairly aggressive wire wheel. I have since purchased replacement stock units from Andover.
Click to expand...

My 1971 still has a stock journal crank (checking the sludge trap is an option as is what to do with the fasteners as far as replacement if that is cleaned)

I would recommend moly push rods from LCRKen on this website.
He sent me a set ( I replaced the brand new and installed Kibbewhite units with those)
They are close to to nice to hide away, only pic I have now.

Cam Followers - Basket Case and Not Marked
 
concours said:
What's the hardness? Material?
Click to expand...
Cobalt chrome formulated by an American owned company who themselves helped in the manufacture.
The hardness falls between all cam material, and was the reason we needed a cobalt chrome material that could be cast and also achieve a narrow hardness range of 3 points on the HRc scale. Most cams when the surface wears will also avoid this range which should help reduce rapid wear once the surface has gone.
We did look at this in some detail.
 
"achieve a narrow hardness range of 3 points on the HRc scale."

Say more....
 
Time Warp said:
My 1971 still has a stock journal crank (checking the sludge trap is an option as is what to do with the fasteners as far as replacement if that is cleaned)

I would recommend moly push rods from LCRKen on this website.
He sent me a set ( I replaced the brand new and installed Kibbewhite units with those)
They are close to to nice to hide away, only pic I have now.

View attachment 82772
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I had previously inquired about his pushrods. Ken is a wealth of information and offered some great advice. He mentioned that he was actually a fan of the stock units for a mild street motor.

This all said, I am having second thoughts/ buyers remorse as his custom rods look pretty trick...

As far as my crank goes, I have split and cleaned the sludge trap. It was shockingly clean. The nuts were also staked and therefore looked like crank hadn’t been previously opened up.

I have purchased a set of the correct Andover crank bolt/ studs, but have not yet reassembled.
 
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