Hopefully this ends up being nothing major, you have had more than your share of issues with your car and drivetrain.
Cam lobe mystery......
- Thread starter -83MONTESS-
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Update: Got all the lifters pulled out and inspected and I can't really find anything too bad atleast that I see. All the lifters came out very easily, they all rotated freely in their bores, none of them were collapsed, bores looked and felt good, and I didn't see an obviously worn cam lobe.
BUT:
I did find a lot of shavings in the lifter grooves were the oil channels in the block are. Not on all of them but a few
A few of my rockers were damn near locked up on the rocker stud side, valve tips and rollers look great
4 pushrods had no oil drip out. Lifters were still pumped up. Keep in mind this engine hasnt run since October. This normal for some pushrods to drain?
90% of the shavings were found on the top of the head along the valve cover rail.
And every spring retainer has wear rings on the top like they are hitting the rocker arms when they spin. Hoping this is the cause. Now for some pics...
Almost all the lifters look exactly like this....
But a few had light rings in them like this. No texture to them at all. No deep spots or shavings.
The light really caught this one.....notice the different diameter of the ring....
The oil found along the valve cover rail and spring pockets.
And the wear rings found along the top of every spring retainer. Im thinking this is my issue or atleast what started it if you guys think the lifters are toast. Before you ask I have no idea what rockers they are. Like I mentioned before I built this engine working part time so the rockers were sold to me used. I know im a dumbass but new ones will be going in before I fire it up again. Let me know what ya think....
BUT:
I did find a lot of shavings in the lifter grooves were the oil channels in the block are. Not on all of them but a few
A few of my rockers were damn near locked up on the rocker stud side, valve tips and rollers look great
4 pushrods had no oil drip out. Lifters were still pumped up. Keep in mind this engine hasnt run since October. This normal for some pushrods to drain?
90% of the shavings were found on the top of the head along the valve cover rail.
And every spring retainer has wear rings on the top like they are hitting the rocker arms when they spin. Hoping this is the cause. Now for some pics...
Almost all the lifters look exactly like this....
But a few had light rings in them like this. No texture to them at all. No deep spots or shavings.
The light really caught this one.....notice the different diameter of the ring....
The oil found along the valve cover rail and spring pockets.
And the wear rings found along the top of every spring retainer. Im thinking this is my issue or atleast what started it if you guys think the lifters are toast. Before you ask I have no idea what rockers they are. Like I mentioned before I built this engine working part time so the rockers were sold to me used. I know im a dumbass but new ones will be going in before I fire it up again. Let me know what ya think....
Using used lifters is a really bad idea.
The last one in the pictures is already.beginning to shell out. The particles may be like you mentioned, from the bottom of the rocker arms. You may have to go with cups on the valve stems if that's the problem, to offer some space under the rockers.
A call to Comp Cams might be a good idea at this point.
New lifters may not break in to the cam either, hard to say, but I don't believe so...
If the oil filter has the particles, you should pull some rod & main caps for a look......
The last one in the pictures is already.beginning to shell out. The particles may be like you mentioned, from the bottom of the rocker arms. You may have to go with cups on the valve stems if that's the problem, to offer some space under the rockers.
A call to Comp Cams might be a good idea at this point.
New lifters may not break in to the cam either, hard to say, but I don't believe so...
If the oil filter has the particles, you should pull some rod & main caps for a look......
Last edited:
The particles aren't really surrounding certain lifters or areas. But most of them are along the top of the head along the valve cover rail. Mostly on the driver's side of the engine also which I forgot to mention before. There was a few tiny chunks of black metal along with the shavings. The spring retainers are the only black or atleast dark metal there really is. The rocker arms hitting the retainers sound like my issue???
The lifters aren't used, not sure where you got that lol....the rocker arms were. They seemed fine when I got them but like I said I will be ordering new ones.
I edited that post.......
For some reason, my PC has a hard time on this site, and takes a long time (??)
For some reason, my PC has a hard time on this site, and takes a long time (??)
Hope you get it under control. Sorry I mis-read about the lifters !!
Bill
Bill
I consider setting set up the valvetrain one of the most important steps building an engine from degreeing the cam to getting my exact pushrod length dialed in and I always check all the clearances through range of motion and I have had to notch rocker arms before to clear large springs and retainers.
Most aftermarket name brand rockers are notched for a min. of a 1.625 dia. spring.
Also I always use lash caps on top of the valves it adds .080 of height to the valve and saves wear and tear on the valve stem along with giving a larger footprint for the rocker roller to ride on, most locks already have a recess for lash caps but you would have to verify.
If you could post a picture of a rocker arm upside down.
After verifying the issue if it is rocker arm to retainer clearance then I am sorry to say as you are well aware of that with metal shavings a complete tear down is going next step.
Most aftermarket name brand rockers are notched for a min. of a 1.625 dia. spring.
Also I always use lash caps on top of the valves it adds .080 of height to the valve and saves wear and tear on the valve stem along with giving a larger footprint for the rocker roller to ride on, most locks already have a recess for lash caps but you would have to verify.
If you could post a picture of a rocker arm upside down.
After verifying the issue if it is rocker arm to retainer clearance then I am sorry to say as you are well aware of that with metal shavings a complete tear down is going next step.
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