Comp Cam

[Thunder]

Hello
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with comp cams?
I've got an 84cj7 with 95k on the engine and recently ran into some trouble.
I cold started it -30 wthout having it plugged in, let her warm up but when I took off I moved about 6 feet and she died on me. Turns out the distributor gear was stripped out so I dropped in a new one. Lasted for about 10 minutes before it happend again. Guess the cam gear was missing a few teeth. So, I've ordered a kit from comp cams, cam shaft, lifters, timing gears and valve springs.
My jeep is stuck up in elkford so I'm getting the local shop up there to do the work.
Here are my questions/concerns...
The shop up there wont be putting the valve springs on because they dont want to mess wth the head at all... Will this cause any serious problems?
What kind of life pan can I expect from the cam?
Its not a crazy performance cam... baically going to give me a little more torque/fuel economy...
What would cause the cam to take a dump in the first place?
Ive never really had to deal with anything like this before so any comments or help would be appreciated. Thanks

[hps4evr]

well, if you have the 258 then i believe you have to remove the head to change the cam anyways. so swapping valve springs shouldnt be that difficult. and going to a bigger cam the springs become very important. cam break in is important too. look for engine break in oil to help. some say its not necessary, but for an extra few bucks and some time why not.

[JENSSEN]

Got specs on the cam ? Lift? Duration? Cam card? Model number?

[stroker sahara]

well, if you have the 258 then i believe you have to remove the head to change the cam anyways. so swapping valve springs shouldnt be that difficult. and going to a bigger cam the springs become very important. cam break in is important too. look for engine break in oil to help. some say its not necessary, but for an extra few bucks and some time why not.

You should be able to swap the cam without removing the head, as long as you can get the lifters out through the head. I did mine in my stroker this spring, but I don't know if the head is similar between the 258 and 4.0L. (that is if you have a 6). I was also told to run an oil additive from GM, but the name escapes me right now. This was to help with cam break-in. Depending on the cam specs and how heavy a spring they recommend, it may be wise to break the cam in with the old springs and then swap them. Puts less load on the lobes.

[The Machinist]

What head are you using on your stroker?  All the stock 4.0 liter heads have small holes that provide just enough clearance for the push rods.  No way to get the lifters out without pulling the head.  I would definitely make sure you put the right springs in the head, you can expect bent push rods, pre-mature cam wear, valve float, coil-bind, broken valve springs, etc..  If I were you I would haul it to Calgary so that if you need warranty work done you do not have to haul your jeep some where.  Some engines have thrust plates on the front of the cam, maybe yours came loose, cam walked forward, stripped the teeth off the gear.  Depends what engine you have.