> almost cast. I was told that they just wear away to
> sludge and it's no biggie. Won't be any metal
What the mechanic told me I thought was very
interesting. Again, this was back when he thought the
cam had just wiped lobes, and not broken. He said
that camshafts usually wear down very quickly- in less
than 5000 miles. Evidentally the top 0.010 of the cam
is hardened, and once that wears away, the under-metal
is very soft and goes quickly.
Of course, that wasn't my problem. The cam broke, and
I have evidenced cast breaking before- it is usually
very clean. The inertia of the cam, plus the bit of
friction between the two halves, probably caused the
backfiring. i doubt it twisted at all- cast is very
brittle, strong in compression, but weak in shear or
torsion. In that regard, it seems like a poor choice
for a cam- steel w/b better.
I'm sticking to my plan- getting a new cam (as close a
grind to stock as possible, sorry D^2!) and a new oil
pump, and get it home.
I've been conflicted about this whole experience. My
Imperial is a fairly rare car, and I feel some sort of
obligation to keep it running. Then again, its my
money, and the car does belong to me. Of course, I
could sell it, and "entrust" its care to someone else,
someone who may do a better or worse job of keeping
the car up than I have. I also look at all the side
effects that a year and a half of Imperial ownership
have wrought- several new aquaintances, a LOT of
learning, the ability to share some of my own
experiences and knowledge, and to share in others'.
Well, we'll see...
=====
--Mike Pittinaro
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
--Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"
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