And don't use those brass intermediate shafts. Ask me how I know...
Lifter failure
- Thread starter Craig Burriss
- Start date
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Just did my 440 for my wagon. I was worried about lifters. I bought the ones for 300.00. They are the ones that have the little hole in the bottom to oil the cam. Not saying that I may have a problem it the future but at this time, I have some piece of mind that cam/lifters will be ok.
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Grumpy Old Man
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In my shop I try NOT to build anything flat tappet. But when I do, I have a tobin-arp tappet grinder and I reface EVERY lifter that gets installed. I also save all the flat tappets I pull from core engines. The surface finish and radius is terrible on a bunch of the new ones right out of the box
For being a lifter, it sure does have me down.
These were Elgin lifters made in Mexico during the “pandemic”. The 15 other ones look fine to the naked eye.
These were Elgin lifters made in Mexico during the “pandemic”. The 15 other ones look fine to the naked eye.
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Grumpy Old Man
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NONE of those look "fine" from here...
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See the one I have circled? Notice the pattern is off to the side? I see this often when I re-face brand new lifters. The lifter was held crooked when the spherical radius was ground on the face.
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After draining the oil I was optimistic about not having to rebuild the whole engine again. But then I cut the oil filter open…
The material in the filter isn’t magnetic so it must be bearing chunks. I’m sick
The material in the filter isn’t magnetic so it must be bearing chunks. I’m sick
Cam lobe in question
Yeah it's done alright. That's sad. What machine shop do you use?
Dartswinger70
Well-Known Member
So, I shouldn't throw away the very low run time used lifters i bought 30 years ago then...? only ever used to run an engine on the stand never went down the road...?
I used Scott’s Machine in Fayetteville Ga for this engine and the one in my Duster. I’m not blaming this on them though. They’ve always done good work. I haven’t been to any local shops around me but I’ve heard there’s a good guy in Sylvania.
I just bought a low mileage Winnebago 440 that I was going to use in my D100 but I guess I’ll just throw it in this truck instead.
No I wasn't going there. I just wanted to know, because machine shops have dried up around here. I've talked to Scott's before. Sounds like good people. Are you familiar with Howell's in Cochran?
Dartfreak75
Restore it, Dont part it!
Dang this sucks! sorry to hear this happened to you. Ive been nervous about my 360 since the break in so far its going on 4 years and still running fine. This thread makes me want to pop off my valve covers and check for rotation again!
If it's been runnin 4 years, it's fine.
lemondana
BlackDart
Anyone have any insight on what years the lifters started going to hell? I have several older NOS cam and lifter packages, and thinking they would be alright. From the 90's I would guess by the old boxes. What year did the first Mopar Direct Connection program change the name to Mopar Performance?
lemondana
BlackDart
I have a good friend-Ford guy. He's got a real nice 66 Galaxie with a 390. His brother rebuilt the engine a lot of years ago-I thought he knew what he was doing. Anyhow the builder brother told him just to use regular oil in it. Last year at 18,000 miles it was running bad and lifters clattering. Cam and lifters bad. He pulls engine out, cleans it up, I don't know how good. He installed a new Comp Cam and lifters and drove the car around a little bit. Started clattering again at about 300 miles. I don't know his break-in procedure. So I don't know.
I'm pretty sure you're OK with '90s stuff.
Is any of it for sale?
I'm not turning this into a sale thread Mike, I swear!
I *think* the first Mopar Performance catalog was in 1989. Direct Connection ran well into the '80s for sure.
Dartswinger70
Well-Known Member
I installed a flat tappet cam in a 5.0 Ford in 2017 no issues...
For my 440, I bought a comp cams FT cam (recently made, not old gold), but I bought a set of Johnson Cam Saver lifters from Crower.
I used Comp break in oil, and have since been running Brad Penn zinc oil, 10W40 (bearings were a little looser than i expected when i plasti gaged).
Break in went great, and this is second year running strong fingers crossed.
No idea what of the above saved my cam, my guess is the cam saver lifters. Partially because of the channel machined into them for more oil, and because I think Johnson are pretty good quality made in the USA lifters
I used Comp break in oil, and have since been running Brad Penn zinc oil, 10W40 (bearings were a little looser than i expected when i plasti gaged).
Break in went great, and this is second year running strong fingers crossed.
No idea what of the above saved my cam, my guess is the cam saver lifters. Partially because of the channel machined into them for more oil, and because I think Johnson are pretty good quality made in the USA lifters
New FT lifters are a 'crap shoot' as my American friends say. If you are not into crap shooting, get some 30 yr old lifters re-faced.
The Crower Cam saver lifters with a groove down the side. I have been doing the same for 30 yrs with a Dremel. No need to pay extra for it, you can do it with any lifter.
Do I thinkit helps? Not really, a gimmick, but I sleep better...
The Crower Cam saver lifters with a groove down the side. I have been doing the same for 30 yrs with a Dremel. No need to pay extra for it, you can do it with any lifter.
Do I thinkit helps? Not really, a gimmick, but I sleep better...
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