Cam galling - k20a3 - 104k
During the process of getting my JRSC rebuilt I was going to pull the valve cover to freshen it up a bit but figured why not just do the valve adjustment now, I'm close enough to 110k.
After removing the valve cover at first glance, I was relieved because it looked like I had no unordinary wear on the cam lobes on either cam.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4336/...a38df2fd_z.jpg
The inside of the valve cover at 104k with nothing but Mobil 1 Synthetic 5-20 and Mobil 1 oil filter:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...8fd5eac3_z.jpg
Till I started to turn the motor over and then I discovered this wear on the exhaust cam cyl 1:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4421/...bbcfaf7a_z.jpg[/url]
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/...45a83a6a_z.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4423/...cc7c4838_z.jpg
Rust spots on intake cam cyl 3:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/...3de906b4_z.jpg
More wear on the lobe of the intake cam on cyl 1:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4367/...199f62ec_z.jpg
Every other lobe looks to be fine but the exhaust cam lobe when you run your finger over it you can feel a slight flat spot. I purchased this car 7 years ago with around 50k on it, now at 104k, and it has had Mobil 1 5-20 synthetic with a Mobil 1 filter changed on it since I purchased it.
I am not entirely sure on the best way to proceed. Others with similar or worse cams have been told to just run them if they do not cause issues, others far worse than mine, on multiple lobes are advised to replace the cams. The cams OEM are around 360 each and I fear that they will ultimately just end up worn out again due to whatever caused this cam galling issue in the first place.
I looked into aftermarket cams but they all require use of an aftermarket ECU like Kpro alongside additional tuning which is not an option currently.
I had read that the K24a1 has the same cam profile but again, difficult to source used without wear like what I already have and very expensive and the possibility of this issue coming around in another 50k.
Has anyone experienced the above when inspecting their valve train and what did you do about it aside from swap the motor or the entire valve train for a new one? I've researched swapping out the cams, it doesn't look terribly complicated, just time consuming and ensuring the chain stays where it is when you swap one cam at a time, but finding cams that don't cost upwards of 700 for a pair is a problem.
