Broken cam in ka24e?

[SkidMark240sx]

Last weekend I bought a whole ka24e motor and transmission for $50. The previous owner said it was running on only 2 cylinders. He says it has about 160k miles. Today I took the whole engine apart and found the problem. As the took the head apart, I saw the cam was broken in 2 pieces. That must of been the problem for running on 2 cylinders. My question is what can cause the cam to break?

[dareo]

Two guesses that kindof relate. #1, that exact cam wasnt made too well, with some underlying defects nobody caught on to till now. #2 the timing chain became worn, the timing got messed up, and the unthinkable happened. SMACK valve to piston and somethings breaking, in your case, the camshaft.

What part of the cam was broken? Or where did it break i should ask

[:: orion ::]

More than likely bad oiling to the cam journals caused it to seize...and then it broke

Or the guy snapped it during removal/install b/c he doesn't know how to properly torque things in sequence...

- Brian

[SkidMark240sx]

Two guesses that kindof relate. #1, that exact cam wasnt made too well, with some underlying defects nobody caught on to till now. #2 the timing chain became worn, the timing got messed up, and the unthinkable happened. SMACK valve to piston and somethings breaking, in your case, the camshaft.

What part of the cam was broken? Or where did it break i should ask

It broke right before cylinder 3

[Asleep Altima]

the exact same thing happened to my uncles hardbody. his had a whole sequence of things that happened and im not sure in what order. broken items were, cam, timing chain and guide, and a nice hole thru the housing where the chain rubbed thru.