The downside to the flat tappet cam is running the risk of cam lobe/lifter failure on break-in . And then having to do it all over again. Been there-done this twice. That's gone with a roller cam. To me it's a no brainer.

 

More education. I learn that there is a deliberate procedure for breaking in a flat tappet cam. Seems pretty straight forward though. On the other hand, it also seems straight forward that you need not be a bettin' man to go with a more "fool proof" roller cam by comparison. After reading the break in procedure by cam manufacturers, I believe I would have very good odds for success. Number one being that my engine should start and run well from the git go. Seems achieving immediate start up would normally be the hardest part of the process. I have already tested things like fuel pressure and exhaust flow. I have never been one to throw the instructions away.

While looking up the Crane cam, I see they have a very comprehensive catalog with an extensive cam selection section. That's where I'm at today.

Also, I have located a possible doner for roller hardware and heads. An ad posted locally for a part out of a 1996 5.0L F150 4x4. The poster has told me he damaged the block (broke it) while trying to reinstall the transmission. He is open to selling me only the heads, dog bones, lifters and spider. He believes the engine is original to the truck so I expect to see E7TE CA cast on the heads. I think these would be fine for the project. He indicates that he believes no one has been inside this engine yet. I need to decide what I should pay for them. Don't mind paying what is fair market value. Calling the local salvage yards has yielded no clue other than all three are contracted to sell all their engine cores to rebuilding enterprises.

Bad and Ski, I see you two are always available here and I appreciate that.

 

Even the best engine builders have experienced wiped cam lobes and lifters in the past twenty years since flat tappet lifter production went off shore, out of this country. It's a crap shoot no matter what you do and how carefully you prep for it. Both episodes I had were either due to poorly machined lifter bottoms or due to lubrication issues from using oil that was too cold in one instance (the temps were in the 30's using straight 30W oil) the other could have been the moly lube I slathered on both the sides and bottoms of the lifters preventing that lifter from being set into rotation at fireup. Flat tappet lifters rotate in service and are done so by how the lifter bottoms and cam lobes are profiled. Too much lube on the sides could have prevented the rotation, as well as too much on the bottom face could have prevented the cam lobe from getting traction on the lifter bottom to set it in motion. If you're going to use flat tappet lifters, be sure to inspect the lifter bottoms before using them to insure their faces are convex (slightly domed) and machined uniformly.

 

I'm still on the fence bout which way to go on the cam, roller vs flat tappet. Question: Regarding a distributor drive gear for roller option, what's the difference between a $20 gear and a $125 gear, besides the price? There must be quite a difference.Which gear would be most appropriate for my application?

 

You'd need a steel distributor gear for a roller cam. What you pay for it is up to you. If you have a roller block, by all means convert to a roller cam using the stock roller hardware (lifters, spyder, bolts, dogbones and pushrods)

 

Are you folks possibly confusing the E6TE heads with the E6SE heads, found on 1986 Mustang HO motors et al.?

I tried to find images of the E6TE combustion chambers on the interweb, but it seems lots of people are mixing them up, as evidenced by their claiming that the heads were found on 1986 Mustangs.

Incidentally, a friend installed a 1986 HO engine with a 1985 4V stock intake manifold and carb into his Tbird some years ago, and we were most impressed with the increase in power over the stock 302. I recall that the power was the same or very close to the surrounding years, so the heads couldn't be that bad.

And I like the grey cat - I had one also until very recently.

 

AFAIK there is no E6TE SBF head, the motors found in trucks the large cars used the same E6SE head that was originally developed for the '86 Stang and any mention of the "TE" version found on the web is a mistake. If it turns out I am mistaken then I doubt there is enough difference in the SE/TE version to matter.

 

Well, the title of this thread is "E6TE heads".

 

I've never seen an E6TE head either. The 86 Stang motor turned in the quickest E.T's of those cars, up on torque but down on HP in the upper rpms.

 

what about sourcing a decent low mile roller long block , explorer for instance, and drop that in.

 

I finally got around to pulling the engine from my 1986 5.0 EFI. Turns out that the October of 1985 built truck has E5TE heads on a E6 block.

I understand that no one here cares much for the E5s. The rockers on the E5s are in bad shape. My machine shop guy suggested finding better ones. Today I picked up a set of E7TE heads for cheap. $25. A quick look at the heads when I got them home shows the same wear pattern in the rockers but not quite as bad. The two valves I pulled fit very snugly in their guides. Much better than the E5s I have. I believe these E7s I just picked up have been gone through once before. Worn rockers but very clean. The valves look to my untrained eye like they have been ground once.

I guess I'll get the E7s checked and try to use them instead of the E5s.

Which brings me back to the rockers that I still need. When looking at used stock rockers, should there be no apparent ridge on the wear surface that matches the oil groove on the pivot?

 

According to Bryan, my machine shop guy, there should be no ridge, the ridge is an obstruction that limits or prevents oil flow.

Bryan blessed the E7TE heads for use. He told me to take them back home and clean up the exhaust ports. I did and also chased all the bolt and spark plug holes.

 

If you have to replace the rocker arms, you might consider buying a set of the "Cobra" roller rocker arms, new or used.

 

X 2 on this. The O.E Cobra rockers are getting on in age, but they don't seem to wear out. I bought a 100,000 mile set 20 years ago, used them in a couple 5.0 builds in my 89 Ranger, now they've been doing the deed on the roller 5.8 in my 96 Conversion van with an additional 60,000 on them. They've got close to 200K total on them now. Crane sells them as their Energizer line.

 

E5 and E7 heads are pretty much identical except for the chamber volume.. E5's have a nominal 69cc chamber while E7s have 64cc chambers. This translates into a higher static CR which helps torque output.