Jeep Strokers

'98 TJ with a Golen 4.6L. This is one of the earlier Golen strokers with the largest Comp Cam they make and the stiffer springs, and I've got 1.6 roller rockers for what it's worth. I think they have since gone to a smaller cam and lighter springs. Anywho, this will be the 4th cam I've had in my jeep over the years. 1 stock and 2 crane cams in the 4.0 (cam lobes one the first two, chewed a dizzy/cam on the last one), then this Comp Cams one turds out in the stroker. This one has a taste for distributor gears. 3 time it's chewed up a dizzy, and this last time it took the cam out with it. I've been running either redline 0w-40 or valvoline VR1 since start up, and it's got the high volume (or high pressure?) oil pump Golen puts in them. I'm trying to figure out the best cam to put in it. I know there are a zillion threads on this already so I apologize. I'm not sure on all the specs of the Golen motor as far as headgasket, pistons, etc, so I'm having a little trouble figuring out what to get via the cam FAQ thread.

Stock ECU with SAFC II and a wide band 02 to tune with. Mostly a daily driver, some trail driving, and some mud. No rock crawling. I don't mind (hell, I like) a really lumpy idle but I know I'm limited by the stock ECU. It only gets 93 octane. It's not a drag racing machine obviously, but I like as much power as possible. It does smoke the occasional ricer. Stock head though so no point in getting a cam that like living at 4500+ rpm. What would you guys reccomend?

I'll get pics up of the damage when I get a chance, but my dad is having all of this done at a shop back in the states (I'm in Japan) so I'm just ordering parts and having them sent, so I'm at the mercy of his schedule to get some pics.

Planning on running crower camsaver lifters BTW. Are these the right ones for my application?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRO-66031X3-12/

Also, I'm pretty sure this.... http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam- ... id=11&sb=2 is the cam that was in it.

Sorry, one more question. Since the head will be off anyways, would it be worth my while to switch to some lighter springs? What would you guys recommend?

Those lifters are right. I'm running them right now and plan to use them in another engine soon. The spring pressure needs to match the cam for everything to work right, so that needs to be your guide. Some people don't change the cam gear when they change a cam,if it "looks good" .
I don't and won't. new cam - new gear . I made a mistake once, put a new dist (came with a new gear) in and 'cause I was in a big hurry, didn't keep my old gear.....I don't think i got even 1,000 mi and the cam was TOAST the gears wear a pattern into each other, and if you change one, then they wear again,but the old one gets thinner then the new one instead of them wearing equally. I know the brass ones are supposed to be easier on the cam,but if the cam has some wear already............
You said "lighter" springs and i assumed you meant pressure. If you meant weight then that's a good idea,but might get pricey. I don't know what they weigh, but theres a thread on here about beehive springs (can't remember where exactly) those are light.

Hope that's some help anyway.

I was talking about less spring pressure, not the weight of the springs. Just an attempt to keep from eating cam lobes. The distributor is gear is trashed so it'll be getting replaced for sure.

Kinda eyeballing the Comp Cams 68-231-4 or the 68-235-4 right now..............

**Hey Dino, I noticed you don't list Crane Cams specs on your cam spec sheet. Is that because of the history you have had with them? Just curious.

Crane isn't in business anymore.

4.whoa wrote:Crane isn't in business anymore.

Update your facts. They are open again. http://cranecams.com/?show=crane-ss

my bad

They may be 'open' but they aren't producing any cams and won't be for some time.

Hmm, weird, didn't know that. I've been out of the loop on jeep motors for a little while.

I got pretty blitzed last night and thought a bit more about what I want out of my jeep. I think I'm going to err more on the side of low end grunt with this cam. I don't think it would be more than a 10hp difference in peak hp anyways, and I'll have more power where I spend most of my time. I'm making a little shopping list right now on summit with lifters, break in lube, headgasket, and the cam will be added shortly. Any advice on the cams (or anything else I should order) would be appreciated.

SkylinesSuck wrote:**Hey Dino, I noticed you don't list Crane Cams specs on your cam spec sheet. Is that because of the history you have had with them? Just curious.

No, it's because Crane went out of business a while ago and though they've started trading again, they haven't resumed manufacturing cams yet.
Finding a hydraulic flat tappet cam that's going to last with today's low ZDDP oils is quite a headache. Your chances are obviously improved if you run a mildish cam and lighter valve springs. The Crower cam saver lifters are also worth a try. As for the oil, make sure it's SL rated.

Like I mentioned in the first post, I've run nothing but Valvoline VR1 and Redline synthetic, both of which have well over 1500ppm ZDDP. This cam hasn't eaten any lobes, it's spitting out dizzy's. I'm just looking for advice on what cam grinds you guy recommend. I'm leaning towards the Comp Cams 68-231-4 at the moment. Look good for decent low end but still good mid/top end? What springs would be best for that one? Lunati's mildest offering also looks kind of appealing with similar specs.

Okay, I went ahead and ordered the cam saver lifters and the comp cams 68-231-4. I still need to order a head gasket. Does the .030 over bore motor use the same gasket as stock? I figured it would be a different gasket (bore diameter). Also, since I'm running a smaller cam and valve/piston clearance shouldn't be an issue, should I try to get a thinner gasket to bump of the compression a tick? Golen told me to use the "Fel-Pro 9076tt1" but I think they meant 9076Pt1 which is for a stock bore. That's got a compressed thickness of like .053, right? My max lift on the cam went from .0512 to .0485, so I should be able to get away with something that crushes in the .045'ish range no problem, right? Any other considerations besides piston valve clearance? Like I said before, this motor will only get 93 octane.

SkylinesSuck wrote:Okay, I went ahead and ordered the cam saver lifters and the comp cams 68-231-4. I still need to order a head gasket. Does the .030 over bore motor use the same gasket as stock?

Same as stock.

Also, since I'm running a smaller cam and valve/piston clearance shouldn't be an issue, should I try to get a thinner gasket to bump of the compression a tick?

No problem with that and it will decrease your quench. There are head gasket part numbers in the FAQ section

Any other considerations besides piston valve clearance?

I haven't heard of anyone actually having piston to valve clearance issues on the I6.

Thanks. Just ordered the Fel-Pro 26211PT for $55 from AutoZone. If my math is correct, that should take me from 9.0:1 to 9.2:1 SCR I think? Somewhere around there anyways. Thanks for the help guys.