Lifter noise

[Rapid]

I have 150 daily driver miles on a fresh 289. I broke the cam and lifters in with Valvolene VR1 and Comp Cams additive for 30 mins at 2000-2500 rpm then changed to fresh oil and filter. One lifter taps for about 10 secs unless I spin the engine some before setting the choke. All per-loaded 3/4 turn adjusted by the instructions. Any way to fix w/o starting over?

 

[TOM B]

A 289 has pressed in studs, the one thats tapping might have pulled out a little.
Take the rocker off and measure the height then readjust the rocker, if it taps again, measure again as it probably pulled out some more.

 

[Rapid]

Thanks,

Screw ins with roller rockers.

The only thing other than a bad lifter that I can think of is to back down on oil weight. I am running stright 40 now in mild temps. I'll try a multi viscosity.

I appreciate the reply.

 

[D.Hearne]

If that one lifter persists after reajusting repeatedly, it's a good bet, it's wiping the cam lobe.

 

[mrmustangman357]

readjust the lifter and see. if it persists then you will need to pull the intake and pull the lifters to inspect

 

[woodsnake]

I have a bad feeling about this......

I'm going with 'wiped lobe'.(s)

Lets hope I'm wrong!

 

[Rapid]

Will do,

If I did I will definiatly go back with a roller.

 

[TOM B]

If it is wiped you can thank the EPA

 

[D.Hearne]

EPA rules weren't the only ones to blame. Cheap lifters with incorrectly machined faces were to blame as well as the missing zinc. In the two failures I had, the lifters were to blame, the lack of zinc had nothing to do with it.

 

[TOM B]

Agree, more forien junk

 

[Rapid]

I was aware of all of the oil problems and used the Comp Cams break in stuff. Changed the oil and filter after break in and am using Valvolene VR1 which is supposed to have more of the necessary additive. IT is also a Comp Cam with their lifters. Is their stuff bad?

 

[mrmustangman357]

pull the stuff and check before any damage propagates into the motor

 

[D.Hearne]

One of my cams was a Crane, the other a Comp Cams.

 

[Rapid]

One of each fialed? I had no idea there was that much cam failure.

Is the Comp Cam retro roller OK since it is newer technology? I am think solid this time as well. I don't mind adjusting.

 

[D.Hearne]

The failures were limited to flat tappet cams. Ain't heard of any roller failures. The two failures I had were really due to the lifter not getting rotated by the cam lobe. That was due to one of these two scenarios: poorly machined lifter face (the proper lobe face on the lifter bottom is slightly convex) Too much or too slick or thick of a lube between the lobe and lifter, thereby not allowing the lobe to get enough traction to spin the lifter in it's bore Tthe Crane failure was at initial startup in low 30*F weather. With the Comp cam failure, I litterally slathered the cam and lifters with moly lube. With both replacements, I only applied a thin film of lube on the lobe and lifter bottom to protect each at startup. I used motor oil only on the lifter sides and bores. I also verified the lifters spun freely in their bores when each was dropped in place. Both these failures happened in the first 20 minutes of run time. A retrofit roller is expensive, but then again, so are cam failures. Just me, but with a SBF, I just start with a roller block and avoid the extra expense

 

[Rapid]

So,

If I pull the intake, measure the lift on the suspected cylinders at the pushrod to insure they are the same, ensure that the lifters are rotating, and replace, say ,the four on the noisy end, I should be OK?.

If I don't get the same lift I'll know I've wiped a lobe and will proceed to either go with the roler conversion or buy a new short block.

 

[woodsnake]

Do you mean with a dial indicator on the rocker arm?
How will you measure 'at the push rod'?

The only reason you should have to change any lifters is if they are wiped, and if the lifters are wiped, so are the lobes on the camshaft....

 

[mrmustangman357]

you will be able to tell if its wiped by looking at the lifter

 

[Rapid]

Yes,

I tried to put a dial indicator on the rocker arm but at about .350 the lifter started to bleed down so I could not measre the total lift. I had just released pressure on the lifers to re-adjust so they had not been run. So, my thought was to take the rocker arm off and use the pushrod to measre the movement.

 

[woodsnake]

If you are going to pull the lifters out any way, or try and ajust them again, I'd just look on the bottom of them. It will be easy to see if they have failed or not...