I heard a while back that its not good to store a cam shaft horizontally because it could potentially warp ever so slightly but enough to cause an issue. it sounds rediculous to me but I though it wouldnt hurt to ask. my cam is in the originaly packaging and has been sitting on a shelf for a while, over a year. is this stupid or could it really end up out of whack?

 

My thought, if you can spin cams past 6000 RPM time and time again, it shouldn't warp.

 

I think your thinking of a crank shaft(could be wrong cams might be that way also) but I have never heard of it. Thats the way they sit when made.. I have sat cranks horizontally for long periods of time, NEVER with a problem of them getting warped...

 

In my opinion, if the cam is stored in the original packaging, you are doing it no harm. I do recommend that it be coated with a moisture barrier (heavy coat of WD40 or better yet LPS #3), wrapped and stored in its supportive OEM box in a horizontal position. This is how shelf cams are stored until sold and installed.

 

i always heard to store them vertically

 

lol...... It's hardened steel. I don't think it's going to warp. I have a plastic tote in my garage to store things just like this so they don't rust. It's filled with about 8 inches deep of used motor oil.

 

Given its length it probably wouldn't bend, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to store it vertically.

At work, we store all of our spare compressor and turbine shafts vertically for this very reason. They are about 10ft long, but have similar L/d ratios. 3,600 to 11,000 RPM.

 

huh...once u install it in the engine its being stored horizontally...with spring pressure on it, if it bends from sitting on the counter, i would hate to see it after pressure is applied.

 

we have turbines at work that vibrate slightly until they are hot. the weight of the turbine and the shaft warps it slightly while it just sits there, but you are talking about a lot of weight - tons - compare to a few pounds....

 

it aint gona warp. if u think its a bad cam give it the "test" and smack it on the ground. if it breaks in half, then it aint no good