Olds engine guys

[-83MONTESS-]

I would pull those restrictors out, they are only very useful in drag racing applications anyway and in an olds engine that was plagued with oil issues enough on its own they are a bad idea. Street use with them really isnt going to help you out in any way

The restrictors are designed to keep oil in certain areas that wouldn't normally get enough oil. The builder recommended them and him being a BOP guy my dad trusted him.

DoubleV thanks for the info. I will have to give my dad his number.

 

[Alerch]

Like double v said. Give smitty a call, I do all my oldsmobile business with him. Excellent guy to deal with.

 

[foxtrot]

What type of valve spring pressure is he running?

 

[83hurstguy]

I would pull those restrictors out, they are only very useful in drag racing applications anyway and in an olds engine that was plagued with oil issues enough on its own they are a bad idea. Street use with them really isnt going to help you out in any way

Statements like this crack me up. "Plagued with oil issues?" How many Olds engines have you seen with oiling issues? Note that overly tight clearances or improper machining are totally separate issues that no oiling system can resolve. Much of the info thrown out there slamming the Olds oil system is old school tech and misinformation with no validation, hence why people put restrictors in their street engines without considering the fact that maybe the cam bearings need oil too.

There's no way you should have gone through 3 cams in the same engine. Were the cams broken in properly (no dual valve springs, break in oil, ~2500 rpm for 30-40 minutes, varying the rpm slightly a few times)? When checking the cam failure, make sure the lifters are able to rotate in the bore, there are no ridges or grooves from previous breakage that are now inducing a repeated failure mode. Ensure the lifters are getting proper oiling by priming the system with a drill with the intake off. Make sure valve guide clearance is adequate... some shops set Olds guides too tight, especially on the exhaust side. You'll typically see those valves get stuck open first though and exhibit other symptoms. Check preload on lifters... milled heads, different cam base circle or decked block will mean stock pushrods may not be the right length. Not sure what else it could be... as a previous poster mentioned, checking valve spring tension is another good idea. I have seen the wrong retainers used on a head that bottomed out on the guide before full cam lift. That cam was trashed, along with an other large pile of parts. :shock:

I've have ran or have helped people install Comp, Bullet, Edelbrock (whoever grinds their generic 214/224) and Engle hydraulic flat tappet cams, and have yet to see one go flat... I run Brad Penn 10W-30 in mine and add a small splash of zddp additive.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

What type of valve spring pressure is he running?

They are the stock springs that came with the Edelbrock heads. The spring pressures on the spec card are 5 pounds lighter than what the cam card calls for.

DoubleV I tried to contact Smitty but his number is no longer working. I have tried finding a different number but havent had any luck. Anyone know of any other Olds engine guys besides the obvious like Mondello, Dick Miller, or Rocket?

 

[Alerch]

I got smitty's number if you need it. Pm if you do.

 

[L92 OLDS]

What type of valve spring pressure is he running?

They are the stock springs that came with the Edelbrock heads. The spring pressures on the spec card are 5 pounds lighter than what the cam card calls for.

DoubleV I tried to contact Smitty but his number is no longer working. I have tried finding a different number but havent had any luck. Anyone know of any other Olds engine guys besides the obvious like Mondello, Dick Miller, or Rocket?

Dont forget Bill Travato. He recently wrote a book on building high performance Oldsmobile engines. Bill is respected in the Oldsmobile community

http://btrperformance.com/

 

[-83MONTESS-]

I think I may have figured this out. I looked up the wrong Edelbrock part number when I got the numbers for the valve spring pressures. After my dad found the spec sheet from his set of heads it turns out that the spring pressure with these Edelbrock heads are almost 20 pounds more than what the cam card calls for. On top of that the oil he used was a full synthetic from Lucas but didnt have the ZDDP additive.

Here is the oil
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/luc-10050-1/overview/

With these things now known do you think we found the issue? With a rather mild flat tappet do you think a full synthetic is even needed or would he be better off with a regular oil enhanced with ZDDP?

 

[Fox80]

I don't know if I am on board with that being all of your problem, Lucas oil is crap IMO for street use, works great in race motor apps with a roller cam, it has very good heat recovery, but race motors are roller motors and you change the oil every time you run it. I still say on street driven friction cam motors Rotella diesel oil is great, and cheap. But if the oil or spring pressures were to blame you would have to think you would have just a gradual wear out of the cam lobes. The guy who owned my car from new before me swore by Pennzoil full syn, and it wiped all the lobes off a bone stock motor with less than 40k on it. 20# to high spring pressure isn't much to worry about either, hell cheap springs can vary that much.

 

[hurst1979olds]

I have an Engle Flat Tappet hydraulic cam from Mondello. Edelbrock heads with the springs that come on them. I use a name brand 10w-30 Full Synthetic and a ZDDP additive.

No Issues,