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FASTBACK340

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I know I joke alot about how miserable my experience has been building my car, but I wonder if I'm getting a sign or something.....

I pop off the valve covers to install a new set of Crane 1.5 rollers I got a deal on. I start to pull off the rocker shaft and notice a loose valve; cylinder #1 intake. Hmmm.... I pull off the rockers on both sides and start checking lifters with the push rods. All are rock-solid except for #1 intake. I snake a wire down the push rod hole and manage to pop out the lifter, grab it with a pair of long needle-nose pliers & pull it out through the opening in the head. The bottom of the lifter is gone...... worn throught to the oil passage. I see lots of very fine metal particles in the oil on the inside of the head. I slid a small metal tube down to ride on the cam lobe, mark it, and start rotating the motor. It doesn't move......the lobe appears to be gone.

A little back ground on myself . I'm an ASE certified Master Tech. I worked for Porsche-Audi for 10 yrs, spent 10 yrs. with Infiniti, and have spent the last 4 yrs. with Nissan. I know my way around a car. I'm just not familar with all the muscle car goodies I've been throwing at my car. Fuel injection I know, a Holley is a foriegn thing to me.... I know how to adjust valves, break in a motor, and NOT over-adjust a valve at the wrong point on the cam lobe. I'm looking at a major headach here and I have to wonder if this is a sign to forget about this car and move on. I'm into it for my lungs as everything is brand new where it doesn't show. Suspension, brakes, steering, motor, trans, etc..... I think I might cut my losses and sell it. I just spent a few hundred dollars this afternoon only to find out that I have to spend almost another deuce.

Any advice? I don't drink, so rule that suggestion out. I'm too tired to go for a bike ride to burn off the depression. And I'd have to bother a few too many people to find something to stuff in my old bong...... It's that bad. :pale:

Yeah, I'm pissed.
 
That sucks. I think you win the bad luck award for the year.

Not that it makes you feel any better but the problem seems to be that the lifters Mopa Perf. is using dont have enough taper to the bottoms. Ive read lots of problems with their cams latley. The bright side is you know know why the car hasnt been running right.

My advise is take a break and when your ready swap in a CompCams XE273 or XE284.
 
Sorry to hear that John, I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I kept on bending pushrods. I just can not go and sell my car though, it used to be my fathers till he passed away and I have already promised it to my son. So I yanked out the whole motor and replaced it :) Was it a Mopar Performance Purple Shaft ? My buddie had 2 do that to him,He said screw Mopar Performance and went to a Crane I believe. No more problems, my brother also had the same trouble with a MP cam. He also went to a crane. Personally I bought a used MP and lifters, it has worked fine for me in my old 400. Maybe that is the solution, do it as cheap as possible. Don't give up buddie, just put it in the garage and forget about it for awhile . Been there . Dave.
 
i installed a mp cam in a 440 3 months ago, broke it in perfect,now the customer is telling me its ticking and popping out the carb over 3500 rpm.....the typical bad cam.......maybe they have GM making there cam...................i will not use another...................you can always go with a roller cam..............you'll never have to worry about that again........always remember after installing a new cam start the engine and let it run at between 1500 and 2000 rpm steadily (not reving) for at least 15 minutes.that will break in the cam properly 95% of the time......but if its a MP,its a crap shoot............
 
The cam was a MP shaft that came with the short block. The lifters were Comp Cams. I used assembly lube, primed the oil galleires, and fired it up. I varied the RPM between 1,700-2,000 for almost an 1/2 hour. Within a day I had a slight tick that at first I thought it was an exhaust leak. I've adjusted the valves 3 times in less than 50 miles.....

I guess I'm gonna open it up. :scratch:

Watch for my future posts on cam choices :roll:
 
My choices for cam are the fallowing. XE284, XE284 solid or XE284 Roller
 
Ya think I should pull the motor, check bearings, and douche it out, or just do a Pep boys style flush and stuff a new shaft in. :scratch:

I know the right way.... but I'm so frustrated at this point that I just want to make it run and find a new home.
 
I'm a pro too man, and I know what you mean. There are days, you're ready to set it on fire. It seems that much worse when it's your own car.

Cam failure is an epidemic these days. :shock:

Get another cam.

If it's used, make sure you have the old lifters to match. Up until recently I'd go along with the idea of new lifters being ok on an old cam, but not any more.

If it's a new one, use cam specific lube, a bottle of gm eos oil supplement in the crank case when you fire it, an run it at 3K for 20 minutes, nothing less.

That's the advice I got from a cam manufacturer when One of thier cam's wiped on me.

Rest assured, once you have it running again, you won't want to sell it. You may choose to anyway, but You will be sad to see it go. :salut:
 
dave571 said:
Rest assured, once you have it running again, you won't want to sell it. You may choose to anyway, but You will be sad to see it go. :salut:
Click to expand...

It's very hard to swallow right now. I'm soooo pissed that I'm not even mad. Think I should try and drain it out the best I can, or should I pull the sunofabitch back out? I KNOW which answer I DON'T wanna hear..... :?

To quote Elvis Costello:

I used to be disgusted....
but now I find myself amused.
 
If a customer brought me the same thing, I'd recommend...

Pull the pan, and scrape out the big chunks.

Pull the oil pump, Take the cover off, and clean it out

Prime the pump ect, prior to starting it. Cross your fingers.

If the pressure stays up, you're fine.
If it starts to drop off, once you got it going, it'll have to come out.


If you're really keen, pull a brg cap while your under it. Real fun when it's dripping on you...LOL

Once you've run the cam in again, flush it twice to get all the crap out.

If you were closer, I'd give you a used cam and lifters I have for a sb. I think it's an old comp. 272 duration(advertised) 450 I and 455 x.

For that matter, paypal me 35 bucks and I'll ship it to you tomorrow. You should have it in 10 business days.
 
Damn that sucks John. It's like your engine almost won a round of Russian Roulette. Unfortunately the bullet fired, it just didn't kill it yet. If you have wiped a whole cam lobe and the lower part of a lifter, just how much metal is that? I feel your pain, but you need to tear that engine down, flush it thoroughly and replace the bearings at a minimum.

I have heard great things about Scott Brown cams from Straightline Performance. Give them a call and see what they recommend.
http://www.straightline-perf.com/
 
Sorry for your frustration John. Don't give up. Step back and let this simmer over and regain your focus. It's obvioulsy frustrating, but hang in there.
 
John, So sorry to hear your frustrations. There is nothing you can do about parts failure. Thats not your fault. Unfortunately its gonna cost you time. I agree with the others take a step back and cool down. You have all winter to correct it. I have a comp cam but hear great things about Scott Brown cams. Don't give up on it. You'll be sorry in the long run if you do.
Your at the 1600' mark keep your foot in it. :salut:
 
onehellofadart said:
Your at the 1600' mark keep your foot in it. :salut:
Click to expand...

That's exactly the way I feel. I'm at the 1,600' mark, but the race was over back at 1320..... I should be in the wall by now.

My wife sez to let the sucker sit `til spring...... We'll see.
 
i would not use any of the engine cleaner you put in the oil.i woul just pull the cam and pull the plug and flush it with some diesel to get all the chips out of the pan,i wouldnt run the diesel through the oiling system since that will wipe the oil from the bearings.
 
OK.... here's the deal. I have a hoist coming over Sunday morning. I should have the engine back on the stand by late afternoon, might possibly start tearing it down Sunday night.

The amount of metal that's shaved off the lifter tells me there's a ton of metal IN my oil, and quite possibly my bearings. No sense in playing with the longevity of this lump. I want to see the crank, cylinder walls, etc. This way if I get disgusted by some carnage, at least it's OUT and in the garage. The car will get wrapped up and stored in the yard this year. My buddy's Nova get's evicted this Saturday.

BTW: Sorry about crossing the line in my post this morning and using the "F" word. Brain not meshing with hands early in the morning. :eek:ops:

It's been edited
 
Personally, I think you're smart pulling the engine to check it out. It makes it so much easier to work on when it's out of the car. At minimum pull the pan and main bearing caps for a look see.

What kind of oil filter were you using? Have you cut it open to see how much metal it caught? Hopefully it did not get totally clogged and allow unfiltered oil to circulate. This is a good reason to use a magnetic drain plug too.
 
ProStreetDuster said:
.....I'd have to agree with some of the other posts and say give Scott Brown a call.
Click to expand...

I think I will use Scott.... competive prices and from what I've heard, quality stuff.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm gonna pull my head out of the oven now.... :drunken:
 
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