• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

I cant believe it's not butter

HEMIB

Well-Known Member
Local time
12:22 AM
Joined
Oct 9, 2022
Messages
242
Reaction score
953
Location
Australia
Mellings lifters on a crow cam plenty of chrome moly lube (driven) run in oil started first kick straight to 2,000 rpm noticed 2 pushrods not turning 13 good 2 really bad looks like soft lifters

IMG_1764.JPG
 
Were the bores broached? Spinning cam checked for lifter rotation before final assembly? Thats definately bad news you have there if they are brand new soft lifters
 
Looks like they weren't rotating at all, for whatever reason(s)...
 
Were the bores broached? Spinning cam checked for lifter rotation before final assembly? Thats definately bad news you have there if they are brand new soft lifters
lifter bores all broached & Honed other 13 look fine engine machinist said he has been seeing a lot of soft lifters his hardness checking machine was down when he done mine
 
Yep, "soft metal" or not those lifters weren't spinning. Looks like rotation wasn't checked with or without spring pressure before firing. Could also be caused by improper (or no) taper on the cam lobes as well....either way a major bummer.
 
I think i see the problem all the good lifters are off to 1 side of the lobe the damaged 0nes are in the centre of the lobe see with roller same with flat tappet Kent Ritter strikes again Roller will be OK just a lot more work to do

IMG_1783.JPG


IMG_1782.JPG
 
Im confoosed as heck now.... im seeing roller lifters, and plain lifters.... special off set rollers you might have. Looks the cam is really for a different block. Im sure the real motor builders here will understand.
 
Im confoosed as heck now.... im seeing roller lifters, and plain lifters.... special off set rollers you might have. Looks the cam is really for a different block. Im sure the real motor builders here will understand.
I took the damaged lifters out & put the rollers in just to check the centre of the cam lobe defininetly the right cam he made a few different blocks roller cam ,340 cam etc .The roller lifter are not offset that is the lifter bore centre lines are different.
 
Mellings lifters on a crow cam plenty of chrome moly lube (driven) run in oil started first kick straight to 2,000 rpm noticed 2 pushrods not turning 13 good 2 really bad looks like soft lifters

View attachment 1736022
Having built will more than 100 engines from stock to full race back in the 60s to mid 90s never had I a wear problem in the valve train. (It won't sound right to other folks on here but I always broke them in with 140w GL6 gear lube.) That said, the few engine I have done recently do not have the oil passage in the big end of the rod. That passageway is to lube the cam, it is on the top side of the rod facing the cam. It's purpose is to slash oil up to the cam as the rod rotates. The last set of rod brgs I got did not have the V notch in it therefor blocking off the passageway. I had to file a V in the insert to open it up. Motor broke in fine with over 18000 miles on it now. HOWEVER, if everything is right when installing the valve train and you get wear like that in no time, what you have is JUNK PARTS. End of statement.
 
I would have expected the wear pattern to be off to one side of the lifter if it wasn't spinning. That was my first thought without reading the rest of the posts, which have confirmed my suspicions.

My first thoughts were that the camshaft wasn't correctly installed. i.e. it's too far back or too far forward and placed the lobes dead center on the lifters but your temporary installation of roller tappets shows that you have a bigger problem. The lobes are everywhere over the lots. Are you sure this is the right cam for this block? Maybe it's for a Chevy :-(
 
If the lifter bores aren't where they are supposed to be, that could definitely play havoc with a flat tappet lifter. Thetaper on the lobe and curve at the bottom of the lifter might not engage properly.
I agree: looks like the easiest fix is to go back to a roller cam.
 
Nothing wrong with a roller. Been using one in my hemi- powered hot rod since 1965.

I drive it from north eastern Mass to Louisville KY and back every summer and that’s just over 2000 miles at Interstate highway speeds.
 
Putting rollers on a flat tappet cam will not tell you anything about alignment. Roller cam lobes (no taper) are made for the roller to align in the middle of the lobe. Flat tappet lifters align off to one side of the lobe (tapered). The taper has 3 functions. 1. Keeps the cam from walking around. 8 lobes are tapered to back of block and 8 are tapered to the front. Think about it. 2. Helps lifter rotate. 3. Keeps timing chain in alignment. The most important is # 1.
That is why roller cams must have retaining plates or buttons.
So putting rollers on that cam won't tell you anything.
Now, going back to my 1st post, a point I was hoping to make is that if you take a 40-60 year old block, that never had valve train issues, and rebuild it with correct specs.,lifter bores, crowns,size and with the right lube etc and you fry lifters that quick you have 1 of 2 problems or both.
1. Lack of oiling. Which give the parts a blue discoloration, which I don't see in photos.
2. JUNK PARTS.
They can talk about improper break in all day long but junk parts are junk parts. A soft cam is a soft cam. A lifter that doesn't bleed down right is a lifter that doesn't bleed down right and so on.
So, if it were I, I would put a roller in it. They go a long time even with a some what of a soft cam. Less friction & heat on lobe/roller.
Hope this helps.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top