Higher octane question from the noob section
Grumpy goat
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3,058
Likes: 594
Yes, flat tappets and today's motor oil is a big problem. When most normal engines were center camshaft, flat tappet, pushrod engines, oil manufacturers put a lot of zinc in the oil. Don't ask me the science. I don't know of a vehicle made today that has flat tappets, or tappets at all. So, off the shelf oils don't have a lot zinc now. And you can wipe a camshaft quick without it. Luckily there are plenty of oils and additives for our old caveman vehicles. I run Lucas Hotrod. Odds are if you pulled your camshaft, you'd find rounded lobes and concave lifters. Hell, I just replaced mine and it wasn't a year old. It had one lobe and lifter already showing signs, but I attribute that to just a being a crappy camshaft. When my old 351M failed, I autopsied it. Every lobe was rounded, every lifter concave. It wasn't drastic, but obviously I was getting a lot less valve lift than I should have.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 197
Likes: 3
Yes, flat tappets and today's motor oil is a big problem. When most normal engines were center camshaft, flat tappet, pushrod engines, oil manufacturers put a lot of zinc in the oil. Don't ask me the science. I don't know of a vehicle made today that has flat tappets, or tappets at all. So, off the shelf oils don't have a lot zinc now. And you can wipe a camshaft quick without it. Luckily there are plenty of oils and additives for our old caveman vehicles. I run Lucas Hotrod. Odds are if you pulled your camshaft, you'd find rounded lobes and concave lifters. Hell, I just replaced mine and it wasn't a year old. It had one lobe and lifter already showing signs, but I attribute that to just a being a crappy camshaft. When my old 351M failed, I autopsied it. Every lobe was rounded, every lifter concave. It wasn't drastic, but obviously I was getting a lot less valve lift than I should have.
Grumpy goat
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3,058
Likes: 594
You ain't kidding. As much as I hate working under the hood of my newer vehicles, they're more reliable than our old beasts were when new. Tolerances are much tighter, innovation better, because of computer assisted design, new casting processes, better metals & polymers, and CNC machining. Some new vehicles are now using 0 weight oil, and for unbelievable amount of miles because their bearing clearances are so tight. But when something goes wrong with my new Jeeps, trucks, ATV's, tractors, I'm limited on what I can do to fix them.
Don't knock (no pun) hydraulic flat tappet camshafts. Yeah they're dated, but they work very well and will last if you run the right oil and change it and filter often.
Don't knock (no pun) hydraulic flat tappet camshafts. Yeah they're dated, but they work very well and will last if you run the right oil and change it and filter often.
More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 710
Likes: 3
From: Oregon
Yes, flat tappets and today's motor oil is a big problem. When most normal engines were center camshaft, flat tappet, pushrod engines, oil manufacturers put a lot of zinc in the oil. Don't ask me the science. I don't know of a vehicle made today that has flat tappets, or tappets at all. So, off the shelf oils don't have a lot zinc now. And you can wipe a camshaft quick without it. Luckily there are plenty of oils and additives for our old caveman vehicles. I run Lucas Hotrod. Odds are if you pulled your camshaft, you'd find rounded lobes and concave lifters. Hell, I just replaced mine and it wasn't a year old. It had one lobe and lifter already showing signs, but I attribute that to just a being a crappy camshaft. When my old 351M failed, I autopsied it. Every lobe was rounded, every lifter concave. It wasn't drastic, but obviously I was getting a lot less valve lift than I should have.
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