I ran my comp cam and lifters for not too long last year, then had to pull it apart for a piston failure. I had the lifters all set to go back on the same lobe, but my son threw them all into a bucket of solvent to clean them. Am I going to have issues if I put them on whatever lobe they end up on?
Used lifters on a used cam
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You will have issues. I wouldn't reuse either the cam or lifters. SOme guys may use new lifters on a used cam. Not me. Lifter failures are all too common without making it happen on purpose.
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You could be lucky. And you could be unlucky.
Rusty hasn't been here since January.
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ckessel
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Do the job once or do it twice. Choices to be made. You may get lucky and you may not.
I assume this is NOT a roller cam. With a roller cam, it does not matter.
A flat tappet cam has the lobes angled a little bit. In turn, the bottom of the lifter is dished. This makes the lifter constantly turn as the engine runs, which is needed. (By the way, this is why you need to pay special attention as the lifters go in your engine. Any burrs in the lifter bore may cause a lifter to not spin, fail, and then the person blames the "crappy" cam when it is really installation error.)
There are those who say each cam lobe is slightly different so the lifters get "imprinted" for each one. I have heard others say that is an old wives tale and it doesn't matter. I can't honestly tell you which is true. With a used cam, I have put in new lifters (which is fine).
So my suggestion is to buy new lifters for your used cam to be safe. On the other hand:
If you feel lucky, then you can reuse the lifters and see what happens - you might be fine but I just don't know
A flat tappet cam has the lobes angled a little bit. In turn, the bottom of the lifter is dished. This makes the lifter constantly turn as the engine runs, which is needed. (By the way, this is why you need to pay special attention as the lifters go in your engine. Any burrs in the lifter bore may cause a lifter to not spin, fail, and then the person blames the "crappy" cam when it is really installation error.)
There are those who say each cam lobe is slightly different so the lifters get "imprinted" for each one. I have heard others say that is an old wives tale and it doesn't matter. I can't honestly tell you which is true. With a used cam, I have put in new lifters (which is fine).
So my suggestion is to buy new lifters for your used cam to be safe. On the other hand:
If you feel lucky, then you can reuse the lifters and see what happens - you might be fine but I just don't know
I guess I'm a risk taker.
I would inspect them closely and give it a try.
Make sure they rotate in the bore when the cam spins.
I would inspect them closely and give it a try.
Make sure they rotate in the bore when the cam spins.
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I had an LA 360 in my 77 fury that I took the intake off and cleaned.
I put a new timing chain on it.
I disassembled and cleaned up the lifters replacing 4 of them.
Put it back together in no particular order and it ran for 90,000 miles with no issue.
I put a new timing chain on it.
I disassembled and cleaned up the lifters replacing 4 of them.
Put it back together in no particular order and it ran for 90,000 miles with no issue.
RustyRatRod
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It's a free country. But I wouldn't risk it. Comp has had terrible issues with metallurgy for a while now. There have been lots of camshaft and lifter failures with brand new Comp products. I had one myself. First time ever and I've been building engines and working on them for a little more than forty years. Can you post some GOOD pictures of the camshaft? That'll help determine if it's worth a new set of lifters and giving it a try. My second issue was a set of Crower CamSaver lifters in a Ford 400 engine. But they did not fail on the lifter faces. They broke in fine. The problem was, they bled off so much oil to the lobes (they are direct oiling lifters) that they would tick when hot. I removed them in favor of the cheapest Melling lifter Summit sold. I think they were $4.99 each. lol Come to find out, Melling is a very high quality lifter still today. They are made in USA. So I guess use your own judgement. Some people have had luck just slinging one back together, lifters anywhere. With all the current flat tappet problems, plus hiw inexpensive cams and lifters are in the general scheme of things, I wouldn't chance it.
Could have lifters refinished. Oregon Cam and Lifters refurbish them. Post from @dart4forte on 11/11/2021. Title of thread "Lifters".
Check the lifters to make sure they are crowned and run them. If any are flat or cupped, get new lifters and use old cam.
RustyRatRod
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They do and they do great work, but I've always wondered how do they "refurbish" the lifter guts?
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That is a great idea. If it works, it would be a great thing to go to junkyards and pull lifters from wrecks to have OEM quality stuff that is reliable and sturdy.
OneWheelPeel
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I was talking to a friend earlier today about refacing lifters and what’s involved. Like could it be DIY with a lathe or what? There is probably a vid about it on YouTube somewhere.
Manfred
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I'd trust a pile of used OE lifters over what is being sold as "new". I've put a number of engines together with used lifters and cams and had success. These are just driver engines, not HiPo. Its a bit of a gamble, but so is installing "new" stuff.
jdsgtx
Member
Yes you will! How long since rebuild? If not long, better with new
451Mopar
Well-Known Member
As mentioned, inspect lifters are still crowned.
Make sure lifter bores are round. The Hughes Engines burnishing ball is good to use to get them back into round.
If the bores are not smooth, lightly hit them with a brake cylinder hone. Flat tappet lifters have to rotate to survive.
HUG 8319: https://www.hughesengines.com/Index...TGlmdGVyIEJ1cm5pc2hpbmcgQmFsbA==&partid=11372
Make sure lifter bores are round. The Hughes Engines burnishing ball is good to use to get them back into round.
If the bores are not smooth, lightly hit them with a brake cylinder hone. Flat tappet lifters have to rotate to survive.
HUG 8319: https://www.hughesengines.com/Index...TGlmdGVyIEJ1cm5pc2hpbmcgQmFsbA==&partid=11372
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