340 Roller Cam/Lifter Issues.

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I would take a better look at that cam, see all the little pits in it? Thats not what our cams look like,they are perfectly smooth and nicely polished. Those pits are from a cast core not a billet core...yet more proof of COMP being ****. Our cams are ground on billet cores from Racer Brown, if you ask Jim to grind on cast core he will tell you to go call comp for **** like that! Toss that POS and get a real cam....sorry dude, it sucks bad but that cam is junk. I will post a pic tomorrow of a "real" cam. BTW Lunati and most of the "big" guys use cast cores. If Scummit sells it, its probably cast....go with the small guys and you will get a much better profile anyway, all the big guys use antique profiles designed around SB chebbys not Mopar. Call Jim at 410-866-7660 Racer Brown Camshaft Engineering and probably THE best mopar grinder in the US. He doesnt answer phone until at least 1 pm EST.
 
The BEST route isn't always the RIGHT route.

Comp has sucked since they sold out (and has sucked for Mopar folks a lot longer), but the choice is spend a LOT more money after good, or let Comp make it right so that Ken can at least enjoy the car for a while before moving up to better parts ;)

There's no reason Comp shouldn't make it right. Getting ahold of the right CS rep is as important as anything. Being humble and playing 'dumb' while making an airtight case is key. As soon as a customer comes off as pissy, it's all over. On the flip side, as soon as the customer comes off as a fool with money it's also all over. Sound well-read while giving them the benefit of the doubt, and the CS guy has little opening to argue. Never be afraid to ask to talk to someone else, either.

It sounds like they've supplied two replacement lifters. That is acknowledgement that the failure is their fault. Now the problem is that there are two different and incompatible designs in that engine - there is zero good reason to mix lifters, especially when things like cup height are different. The position of the adjuster will change the geometry at the rocker ever so slightly - who builds an engine and shoots for inconsistency? It only makes sense to offer to send them the old ones back "so they have some of the older ones out of circulation" in return for the new design - offering to pay for shipping might be enough to do the trick in some cases. If the rep doesn't budge, hang up and call back and hope for another guy and try again.. At some point you become more trouble than they want to deal with :D
 
magnummopar said:
I would take a better look at that cam, see all the little pits in it? Thats not what our cams look like,they are perfectly smooth and nicely polished. Those pits are from a cast core not a billet core...yet more proof of COMP being ****. Our cams are ground on billet cores from Racer Brown, if you ask Jim to grind on cast core he will tell you to go call comp for **** like that!
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Great points, but for a streeter the cast vs billet is probably moot. That said, billet will definitely be better quality. Cast parts never achieve 100% density, even after high pressure post-processing.

I'd go with anyone other than Comp simply because Comps profiles aren't specific to or beneficial for Mopar engines.

The Comp could always be sold and a new cam installed - but those lifters need to be addressed first and foremost. No reason to run mismatched, and no reason Comp should have send mismatched parts in the first place. If they were willing to send new parts, that's acknowledgement of their responsibility and they should replace the whole set. Even if "it will work OK" with them mixed, doesn't mean it's the way it *should* be. I can run with two different height tires on the rear too, for a while. Doesn't make it a good idea.
 
Remember what scares the piss out of the big guys, social media! Use facebook to your advantage and if they wont budge, ask if they have a facebook account because you want to leave some feedback. Also try other media outlets and remind them of all your friends on all the forums you hang out at. The only thing they give a rats *** about is their bottom line, the same reason they use cast cores, because they are $75 cheaper x 5000 cams....after the buyout, everybody sucks. Look at MSD, they were the best and now they are Chinese crap. $80 wires dont come with dielectric grease anymore, why? Because it costs $.10 x 1000000= big bucks even though it screws U, the customer.
 
magnummopar said:
Remember what scares the piss out of the big guys, social media! Use facebook to your advantage and if they wont budge, ask if they have a facebook account because you want to leave some feedback.
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Bingo. Coming right out and saying "give me free stuff or I'll go to the interwebs" has about a 10% success rate. But hinting at it along the lines of "I'll have to solicit advice from some of the forums to see if my experience is consistent with other's" will often get them to mobilize their efforts to keep bad press from being generated. I've also had luck with "if you're not willing to fix it, there are a few vendors who have offered to replace your parts with theirs so long as I send them the failed ones". That will often make them go bug eyed - they'll hate you, but might be willing to budge at that point. No one likes the competition to have marketing ammunition.

In any case, letting them off the hook helps no one. Not the end user, not any one else, since they'll just continue to put the squeeze on and do even less each time until everyone is just wiling to live with new cams every 100 miles.
 
Are cast cores that have hardened surfaces "good enough" or do we have to go billet and go with a bronze distributor drive? Or have they figured that out. As for the paint, check those lifters if they are hydros, very small trash in check valve will hold them open and cause noise. Seems Comp would keep old "warranty" stock on hand to replace their old design at least until they exhaust the supply chain. Imagine: "We got these super cool rebuildable lifters, last ones youll buy!" and then next year they change the roller diameter and dont keep any old stock to rebuild the thousands they sold. That would be class action lawsuit stuff. Lunati. Maybe Engle because they are very close.
 
Sorry for being Late to the party !!!!!! My 2 cents...I like all to be the same also, so I'm with all Y'all on that part...But.... I look at it 2 ways... 1. If the cams good by inspection, Get a new set of rollers from MRL.... Check the Pushrods / Lenth.... And Run it.....
2. **** can the cam and lifters and pushrods, and start with another MFG.

As far as I remember Chris Douglas was one of the big marketing Dudes up at Comp? Not 100% sure he is still there? Ron Coleman was CEO? I would call and give them a last ditch effort to send you out a full set up, Including Cam, Lube, Rollers, and Push Rod's, just in case you need to remake them. Or ask them for a full refund for all the valvetrain above. We know you have all the invoices to send them...
If they dont stand up.. Word of mouth can go a long way.... Sorry Bud..

Your friend Down South
Bob
 
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racerhog said:
As far as I remember Chris Douglas was one of the big marketing Dudes up at Comp? Not 100% sure he is still there? Ron Coleman was CEO? I would call and give them a last ditch effort to send you out a full set up,
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Dont expect much these days, ever since all the big guys have been sucked into the void, it will be tough to find somebody who gives a rats ***. In the last few years pretty much everybody has been bought up by Holley but I believe it goes farther than that. Customer service and product quality are now a thing of the past....
 
I would like more info on the oil pump failure? are the roller wheels a different diameter? how many thousands of those lifters out not had a problem?
 
pishta said:
Are cast cores that have hardened surfaces "good enough" or do we have to go billet and go with a bronze distributor drive? Or have they figured that out. As for the paint, check those lifters if they are hydros, very small trash in check valve will hold them open and cause noise. Seems Comp would keep old "warranty" stock on hand to replace their old design at least until they exhaust the supply chain. Imagine: "We got these super cool rebuildable lifters, last ones youll buy!" and then next year they change the roller diameter and dont keep any old stock to rebuild the thousands they sold. That would be class action lawsuit stuff. Lunati. Maybe Engle because they are very close.
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Plenty of fast cars have run cast cores. So long as they're polished right and hardened well, they're more than good enough, but there's always variability with castings. Billet leaves less room for variability. Forged cores would be a good compromise, but I have no idea if anyone's gone that route.
 
Marcohotrod said:
I would like more info on the oil pump failure? are the roller wheels a different diameter? how many thousands of those lifters out not had a problem?
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Enough thousands that they changed the design, admittedly because of failures.
R&D ain't cheap, they didn't redesign them because they had nothing better to do.
Judging by the pictures, the height difference and roller diameter are substantially greater. Looks like near .100" or more for both. With such a large difference, it seems unwise to mix them with the 'old' style.
 
Phreakish said:
Enough thousands that they changed the design, admittedly because of failures.
R&D ain't cheap, they didn't redesign them because they had nothing better to do.
Judging by the pictures, the height difference and roller diameter are substantially greater. Looks like near .100" or more for both. With such a large difference, it seems unwise to mix them with the 'old' style.
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OK fellas, sorry for the long silence. I have been doing my homework and building a case for Comp. I am going to do a typed letter to the company with all of the supporting documentation as phreakish recommended and see what happens from there. In the meantime I have been working with Hughes Engines and they are going to take care of me. Their customer support is something else. Here are the differences between the two lifters that Comp has sent me and it makes sense on why the pushrods are so close with the new re-designed ones. Enjoy these pics fellas!

Seating Area old and new.jpg


Old Style Measurements.jpg


New Style Measurements.jpg
 
Here is another set of pics with clarifying info. The circled tolerances are the differences between the old and newly re-designed lifters. Seating area, or plunger depth looks to be the same.

Old Style Measurements.jpg


New Style Measurements.jpg
 
Good data... thanks for taking the time! IIRC, you migth want to search tht threads on this matter some more. Seems like some of these lifters even besides the Comp ones can occasionally have the oil band peeking out above the chamfers.
 
Any update on this Hot Mess? Has Comp made good on anything, or still full denial? I am interested for sure as I will be starting my 340 project soon and stroke/no stroke, roller cam or not, will be among my many decisions. Also of course, which vendors to use or avoid.
 
RogerRamRod said:
Any update on this Hot Mess? Has Comp made good on anything, or still full denial? I am interested for sure as I will be starting my 340 project soon and stroke/no stroke, roller cam or not, will be among my many decisions. Also of course, which vendors to use or avoid.
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Yes, I ended up ordering lifters and different pushrods from Hughes Engines and got the engine put back together. The valvetrain is quieter then it has ever been. My whole roller setup now is all Hughes with the exception of the cam which is still to roller one from Comp. I wrote a long letter to Comp with all of the supporting details, but of course have not heard anything. The customer support over at Hughes Engines has been awesome from start to finish.
 
Unfortunately, your letter is at the bottom of some douches round file. Apply more pressure before they forget. Get times and dates along with names of who you talk to. If you push hard enough, you will get results. The deal is they dont care what their customers think or even their vendors. What they do understand is getting slammed on forums and their bottom line dipping into the red. That can only be done if they feel that more than a few people believe your story. Tell them you are going to post your experience on the web and see what it does. Also, always ask for manager and first thing, ask for name, company ID if they dont give out last names. Remind them you will quote them on several forums you are a member of. If that doesnt work, tell them you are going to SEMA with their parts to get a second opinion.
 
Or, you could write a song and post it on YouTube like this guy did when United Airlines broke his guitar and he fought with them for over a year. After the song came out, they did something about it, and actually now use his video as part of their employee training.
 
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