Here's a can I used to lube the door hinges, but wondering what you think if I used them on the cams when I reinstall them after I do the cam seals/plugs/tensioner gaskets and caps/etc. The Blauparts valve cover gasket kit instructions call for assembly grease or lube when replacing the cams.

 

Stick with assembly lube unless you like changing cams.

 

You can do the tensioner gaskets without pulling the cams. You must pull the timing equipment to the seals at the ends of the cams. These seals come in the Blauparts kit, but I don't plan to do them unless they start leaking. Perhaps next time I do the timing belt.

When you pull the valve cover you can compress the tensioner and then unbolt it. It will afford enough clearance to get the old gasket and half moon seal out and clean and then reinstalled. There isn't much room to work with (especially on the passenger side), but it's way better than pulling the cams. If you need a little more room, you can put the car in 5th and roll it backward a bit, which will bring some of the chain slack to the top.

 

Thanks...Good advice. Might as well do it right or pay for it later.

 

you need to use the proper kind of assembly lube so it can mix with the engine oil properly and provide enough protection for initial start up while the cams are waiting for oil pressure.

 

The white lithium grease in the spraycan is better than nothing. Even regular motor oil will do in a pinch. I like to use Lubriplate assembly grease on cams and bearings for motor assembly. I know of a Chevy 350 V8 that was assembled with Lubriplate, and they forgot to fill it with oil and drove it for a short while before remembering they forgot the oil (solid lifters, so there was no tell-tale lifter clatter from dry hydraulic lifters, they also did not connect the oil pressure sensor so the warning light never come on). They tore the engine down again and the cam and bearings were not harmed.

But in a nutshell, yes, proper assembly lube is definitely the recommended way to go.