I’m putting my engine back together from putting new piston rings on and just doing head work ( new seals etc )
my inlet is a BD14 and when the Cam caps are only finger tight the cam is hard to turn compared to the standard exhaust
move not got and tappets in st moment so should be free with no resistance
mot will turn but not easy and this doesn’t feel right

 

So there is no pressure applied from the valve train?

 

Have you got the caps on the right way round?

 

Try putting your exhaust cam in the inlet side to see if it’s any better, maybe your head has a cap or two fitted from another head due to damage and this is just you realising.

 

Hi all
yes caps on right
no hydraulic lifters in so no drag
swapped cams and problem moves so confirmation a fault with the cam
head and cam are at an engineering shop now so I’ll let you know what they find
cheers

 

its not clear from your post if the BD14 cam is new or used.

However, if the head has been overheated at some point it might have warped and when that happens the cam journals wear down (not the ally caps for some reason).

it may be that an old (worn) cam still turns fine in the head but a new one which is the correct and slightly bigger diameter won't.

the cams have a machined circle on them which is not used by the engine but is a reference to the 4 journal diameters when the cam is new.

measure this with a vernier/micrometer then measure the journals to check that they are not worn on one of the cams, this might give you some idea of what the problem is.

another check for a warped head (or one that was once warped and caused cam wear but the warp was apparently fixed by facing off the head afterwards) is to lie a dead straight edge across the lower bearings and see if it rocks (when they warp the middle 2 rise up slightly)