cam lobe wear question w/ pics

[downer]

i'm changing valve cover gaskets since they were filling the plug galleys with oil. i'm by no means a guru of engine internals. these are pics of the passenger side. i'm curious if the wear on the exhaust lobe on the forward most cam lobes is anything to worry about or investigate further. the other lobes look great so i figured i'd better ask before i put it back together.
03 ls v8 87k miles

 

[RigsLS]

1 & 2 do look scorched a bit more than the others. You're getting in deeper if you are thinking about replacing the exhaust cam or the 1st lobe.
Perhaps pull the torque specs on the lobes and see if the are right tightened down. Worst case you button it all back together with the fresh gasket, new coils and plugs and discover cam rattle.

I "personally" wouldn't lay awake at night over it .. it's an 03 with 87k on it. it's bound to have some impact valve seat wear characteristics.

Perhaps run 0W20 Mobile1 Synthetic in it. Bottle of Lucas might not be a bad idea either.

 

[oddball]

It is a little odd, but trying to do anything about it gets involved quickly. I would assume that either that area isn't getting oiled (possible), the cam followers are bad (kinda likely) or the cam was manufactured poorly (unlikely).
To repair it would require replacing the cam followers, the cam, and resetting the lash on all the valves.
I wouldn't think that worthwhile unless you want another 100k miles out of the engine.

I don't think any of the parts are commonly available, but a local machine shop that rebuilds late model engines may be able to help out.

 

[Ranchero50]

Your pick shows the base circle, how does the lobe look compared to any other lobe? The lobe is what does the work and where you'll see / feel wear.

 

[downer]

Thanks for the replies.
As for the lobe, i didn't take time to look. Eventually i'll pull it apart to see if it has worsened. I put it back together with new plugs, coils and valve cover gaskets. Will pick up some Lucas.
That was the only lobe to show noticable wear. Others looked great.