The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello all you perkins P6 experts. I have a curly one for you. The P6 I am rebuilding has a shot cam. The cam gallery was full of water and about 4 of the lobes now have craters that make the moon look smoother than a billiard ball. I have since purchased a replacement that is supposed to be a perkins part 0140013 which is the replacement for 0140002 but I am not sure if the correct cam was supplied. It has the integral hub as it is supposed to but the bearing jounals have no lubrication grooves like the original perkins part 0140002.

The top cam in the picture is the original and the bottom is supposedly part number 0140013. The new cam actually fits, but I am worried that the bearings will run dry without the grooves as the cam bearings are not pressure fed on the P6TA. Should I be worried? This has brought my engine rebuild to a complete stop and I would love to get it running before October.

Thanks in advance, Frank.

Hi Frank, No problem with using the new type cam, your right they are different to look at but they are interchangable. The new cam uses only 3 setscrews to hold the sprocket onto the cam hub too, the sprockets are interchangable but the setscrews are different. I am currently building a TA engine and am having to put a new type cam in it for a similar reason to you. Good Luck

Hi,

That is great news. It is strange that you say that the new cam only uses 3 screws for the sprocket. Mine has 6 holes on the flange and I know from the parts list that the bolts are supposed to be different. Since the bearings are not a problem I will have to do some further investigation about the bolts. Maybe this cam is far stranger than I thought, integral flange but with early bolt pattern and threads. I will let you know what I find.

Regards Frank.

Frank,

I have been thinking about this all day (too wet to do anything else). Maybe, the bearings need to be grooved for an oil track. Are you able to have a look at the bearing on the engine the new Cam came from or was it NOS. I'll see if I can find anything in a later Parts Book.

Hi Barry,

Sorry I am not able to see what the engine the cam came out of was like as this cam is a used part that has been in storage for many years. I realy wanted to know if the 0140013 replacement cam had the oil grooves or not, as I am not convinced about this cam's origins.

It does seem that Perkins dropped the oil groove on the later parts so maybe it was not essential. However I am starting to think that I should cut the groove in by hand to make sure that I have no problems. I definately do not want to pull this engine apart ever again in my lifetime.

Regards, Frank.

Hi Frank, I have checked a couple of engine blocks I have here that I have stripped the new type cams I have as spares out of, they do not have any grooves in the cam journal bearings. Since the P6 cam effectively runs in oil I am sure oil starvation will not be an issue. The newer type cam with the integral hub has 6 setscrew holes as standard, but you will note when offering the sprocket up that only 3 will align at any one time with the holes in the sprocket. Be careful trusting the stamped timing marks on the sprocket, cam hub and timing case as these will have been stamped for the old cam. At TDC firing no 1 set the cam to have equal valve lift on inlet/exhaust on no 6, using this method the cam timing will be correct to within 1.5 deg crank and within spec set for Inlet opening before TDC ....11 to 16.5 deg crank.

Frank,

I went through all my early and late P6 Parts Books, as well as the 6.305 Parts Book, and it only shows a change of numbers. I also went through the P6 Service Letters and Camshaft does not get a mention. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Perkoil32 wrote:Be careful trusting the stamped timing marks on the sprocket, cam hub and timing case as these will have been stamped for the old cam. At TDC firing no 1 set the cam to have equal valve lift on inlet/exhaust on no 6, using this method the cam timing will be correct to within 1.5 deg crank and within spec set for Inlet opening before TDC ....11 to 16.5 deg crank.

Thanks for the tip on the timing marks and just a quick update on the install. I initially just fitted the sprocket with the timing marks pointed in the same direction as the original cam and when I checked the inlet opening angle it was around 22 deg before TDC. Would have been great if I wanted it to rev to 4000 rpm with no low pulling power. In the end I rotated the sprocket around one step at a time and checked it each time. The position that worked had the gear 180 deg around from the original position and the valve opening angle measured up at exactly 13.005 deg. Close enough to 13 deg in my book so problem solved.

Thanks for all the help and support from everyone.

Regards, Frank.