I'm beginning to wonder if this is the motor from hell. I don't want to write a book so I'll keep the history brief

Bought a 360 long block off the internet and installed a mild cam. It ran great for several years with low mileage because it was the toy truck and not the daily driver.
First problem - Oil pump went out but I believe it got shutdown in time. Replaced pump and ran it for another year or so. Again low miles driven.

Next - Rolled a lobe on cam and bent pushrod. My theory is this problem was happening which caused metal to get in oil pump which caused it's failure.

Installed new Comp cam and lifters. Again, motor is running and sounding great but with not a lot of miles. I started to notice a miss but couldn't find it. Drove it last weekend and started hearing a lifter tap. I pulled the valve cover off and saw one of the was not rockers was not moving like the others. Pulled that lifter and found it was worn on the bottom and had a hole which wouldn't let it stay primed. I suspect the cam is also shot.

Now the question......What the heck is going on???? 2 camshaft problems in less than 5000 miles. I could slide another one in but if there's something else wrong with this engine that's causing the problem I don't want to cause it again. Both issues were on opposite sides of the motor and I think they were directly across from one another.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Gene

 

Improper cam break in .And or the wrong oil , no zinc added . Those would be my first two thoughts .

 

What was your break-in procedure with the new cam? what oil did you use?

 

+1 and did you use assembly lube on cam lobes ?

 

Not sure about the install questions, I had a friend install it so I'm not sure of his procedure. His side job from being a fireman is mechanic work. He installed the breakin oil that I ordered with the cam and lifters. I can't remember the exact break in details but I remember running it for a short time then changed the oil to normal off the shelf brand (Superflo or Haveoline ).

 

New oils do not have the zinc needed to protect these cams . A zinc treatment is needed if using off the shelf standard oil .

 

You also need to prime the oiling system with a drill motor prior to fire up. Just good practice.

 

If it's a single lobe and lifter, the lifter was the problem, not the break-in procedure. Improperly machined lifter faces are a death sentence to a cam lobe. And ditto for a lifter that fails to spin in it's bore as the engine is running. This can be due to the face of the lifter being machined wrong. If that lifter is gone, so is the cam lobe it was riding on. Best way to avoid this is to go with a roller cam. You're not the first to have this problem, only one in a long line of failures in the past 10-15 years. I had two failures myself. Both single lifter/lobe. Neither was due to the lack of zinc in the break-in oil.

 

Agreed.

Was it the same lifter on both failures? If so, check the bore for a burr or some piece of crap that won't allow the lifter to spin.....hell, pull all the lifters and check them as well as the respective bores. You're needing a new cam & lifters now anyway. Don't ferget to check your cam berrins, too!

 

Thanks guys for all the responses.

It was not the same lifter/lobe this time.

After reading the instructions from the cam mfg, I'm not sure if the guy that installed it followed the steps of installation . I used him because he a car guy and I didn't want to do it myself. I also used stock springs and did not install the valve springs that's matched the cam. Could that have caused it?

Mike 68 F100--- Thanks for the post on polishing the grill. I would have never tried it before reading that info from you and Gangstakr. As it has been stated several times....It was ALOT of work and a labor of love but now my 69 Ranger is all shinny in the front.

 

you're welcome Littleg
post some pics !!!

 

No, running the old springs lengthened the time til the destruction happened. The new springs would have brought on the destruction much quicker. Didn't matter if it was a different lobe this time around, I'll bet money that lifter was machined poorly to start with. All the cam failures started about the time when USA production of flat tappet lifters ended and the Chinese took up the slack.

 

Depends on the cam lift/duration...if it was close to stock - 0.500" or less I would agree with baddad 457. You get into higher cam numbers with old valve springs, that's asking for trouble.

Agree on the cheapo lifters we're getting these days. Talk to a machinist/builder you can trust about lifters. You don't have to use the lifters the cam people send, remember, they're mostly salesmen. You can shop on your own for better ones.

I have some Melling ones....#299004 from Scroggin Dickey...hecho en Mexico.
Federal Mogul ..(sealed power) HT900....Argentina made, I believe. Same with Comp Cams...the list goes on.

 

It may not be just the machining of the lifter, the Chinese still think they can heat treat steel in a wok..

 

Good practice after a cam or lifter replacement is to check that the lifters are spinning as the engine is running. If you can't watch the lifters themselves, watching the pushrods spin will be almost as good. The machining on the face of the lifter, and the cam itself, if it isn't right, the lifter won't spin.

I've been through this myself, with the first "hipo" 390 I built. Second time around, got it all right, and it ran for years and many miles with no problems.

The first one, it's hard to tell if it was the cam, the lifters, or the lifter bores in the block. But it all has to be checked. Easiest way is to run it, and watch the pushrods

It's been my experience that the Chinese CAN make high quality iron/steel, AND machine it right - but the states-side company has to give a crap and make them do it right.

No matter what, it sounds like this engine had a problem that could be found up front if you keep the valve covers off and keep an eye on it for an hour...