93 Lightning needs a cam

[Cobrakid]

Hi guys, new to board, & it looks excellent.

My 93 Lightning cam is on it's way out.....

I was considering the Crane Cam kit.

Then another Lightning owner indicated it slowed him down
and wouldn't recommend it.

Any ideas, since I am going to all of the trouble, I figured on
putting something just a little bit better than stock in.

thanks ...

Chuck in DE

 

[HotRodK]

Im very pleased with the CompCam #35-255-5. Ive gotten the truck down to the LOW 13s on the motor and Im looking for the 12.9s within the month. It is Speed Density friendly and idles like a stocker. With my 1.72 roller rockers it has a bit over .500 lift int./exh. The intake duration at .050 is .210. I ordered mine through Summit and it was a backordered item, of course. I think this is a better cam than the Crane/Lightning unit and the price difference is neglegible. For a bolt in cam, its hard to beat. Good Luck.

 

[Cobrakid]

So if my Lightning has the 1.7s & good valve springs (new 30k ago)
then the Comp is a bolt in, no problems clearance etc????


thanks.

 

[HotRodK]

Yep thats right. No clearance issues at all. I run the T/W heads with 2.02 valves and still have no issues. For an off the shelf cam that works with Speed Density, you cant beat it.

 

[fordfreak95]

That cam that you have in your L Rod is a torque master cam right? The L cam is a higher reving cam I thought. I will be putting the L cam,trick flow heads,1.7rollers,etc... on my L in about a month. In your opinion the 35-255-5 cam is a better profile than the L cam(compucam/powermax). My L already has full bassani,level 10 shift kit,electric fans,etc... It is going to see more street time than track time.
Later! Matt

 

[HotRodK]

Well you know the old saying, "Its all in the combo." BUT, in my opinion, the CompCam is better than the Crane/Lightning unit. It only shows slightly bigger numbers on the spec card, but it makes better power all over the power range. We discussed this in depth on the NLOC page when I installed the cam, and it looks like an overall better camshaft. And as far as strip numbers go, I dont know of any trucks running the Crane/Lightning cam putting up 13.20s at almost 102. That goes back to the combo, but I like the CompCam piece better. :burnout:

 

[Cobrakid]

What all is done to your Lightning, that it runs so quick
besides the TW heads & rockers.



thanks,:burnout:

 

[ezernut9mm]

i bought my 93 about four months ago with 76xxx miles on it. do these trucks have a problem with cams going bad or is this just a case of hard work/play?-chris

 

[94BOLT]

I installed the crane cam and cobra rockers over christmas and it made a noticeable diff. in performance, especially in the mid. and top end range. If you really want to speed things up install the level 10 trans and billet converter. I had to do that too, can you say tire roaster? HEHE. Good luck!

 

[sohowcome]

Originally posted by ezernut9mm
i bought my 93 about four months ago with 76xxx miles on it. do these trucks have a problem with cams going bad or is this just a case of hard work/play?-chris

mostly a really beat on engine............ never heard of any problems or recalls........ mine was fine.........

 

[SVT X 2]

HOW do you tell if your cam is or is going bad??
WHAT makes you think yours is going bad??

 

[sohowcome]

Originally posted by SVT X 2
HOW do you tell if your cam is or is going bad??
WHAT makes you think yours is going bad??

maybe he tore it all apart and looked :read: :-D

 

[SVT X 2]

Well THAT's what I'm asking...

 

[Cobrakid]

I had a strong ticking coming from the valve covers.

My friend & I took a look and saw the back passenger side
rockers were slightly loose.

We removed the shims and the noise was alot better for
about 2 weeks.

then the noise got worse & worse.

now there is popping & all kinds of noises.

I also noticed the performance has been getting worse.

The truck has been beat on, but I change the oil every 4k miles.

I am just used to roller set-ups and with over 100k miles of
racing etc, it just needs a new cam.

If it wasn't such an ordeal, I would switch it over to roller,
but 93s didn't have the roller blocks.

I am pretty sure I am going to go with the CompCam.

later,,,,,

 

[SVT X 2]

Yeah you're right about the blocks... I didn't find that out 'till after I bought mine.
Didn't they start in '94?
Thanks for the info...

 

[Cobrakid]

Yes,

they started the roller blocks in 94.

It's a bitch that Ford put rollers in crown vics, t-birds, lincolns
etc, but couldn't swing it for these tough trucks.

It would have given them about 20 more horsepower too.

oh well, I am going with the Comp Cams kit.

later...

 

[ezernut9mm]

OK, i'm not an expert on this kind of stuff, but i do recall reading somewhere that the later production '93,s were also set up for rollers. i'm not sure of the code but it's something like f4t? go over to nloc and post about this and i know someone will chime in on the correct code.-chris

 

[SVT X 2]

Hmmmm... I don't remember hearing of this...?

 

[Mondo1]

Cobrakidd-- That sounds more like a bad lifter to me . Especially after the noise deminished when you pulled out the shims. Yea..weak lifter. Also if you haven't done so already, yank out the stock springs. They absolutley suck!!:-?

 

[Cobrakid]

The springs & valve seals only have about 20k miles on them.

The reason the noise lessened after we pulled the shims was
because it tightened up everything a little, but then it wore
back down.

I already ordered the Crane Cam & Lifter kit, and I will just
slap that in until I rebuild the motor in a another year or so.

thanks for the advice, I should atleast get the truck back
down to 14.20s or so. Previous best 14.52@95mph.:cuss: