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Yeah, guy at the machine shop said the lifters and cam looked good but I'd rather roll the dice on a new cam and lifters rather than the mixed up lifters and old cam.
Ditto about replacing cam and lifters. But, with flat lifters/cam make sure to use a zinc additive to help with lubrication. Most of today's oil are more for roller cams. Some use diesel oil. Just for kicks, check the bottom of the lifters to see if they are straight across or a bit concaved.
FYI... Zinc levels have been reduced in most diesel oil now too since the diesel trucks in last 10 years or so have gone to ultra low sulfur fuel, added the catalytic converters, SCR and DPF and DEF injection.
This is what I've been using for mine once I found that out.
For first time start up when you're going to break in cam I'd recommend a specific break in oil that has a high zinc content. Lucas makes some of that.
After initial cam break in, drain oil, check for sparkles and cut oil filter open to look for metal. For the second round of oil I like using a non-detergent straight 30 weight oil, make sure it specifies non-detergent since the detergent oils can dilute the assembly lube very quickly and cause other issues in a fresh rebuild. I usually run the straight 30 weight for the first few hundred miles, then start running whatever oil I plan to use normally.
I've heard varied opinions of the zinc additive and whether or not it works as well as getting a pre formulated high zinc oil.
Regarding cam break in, as soon as you fire up the engine for the first time, get the RPM up to about 2000 rpm so the crank is splashing plenty of oil towards the cam to keep it lubed and cool, vary the RPM between 2000 and 2500 RPM for at least 10 minutes or up to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on water temp and oil pressure. If oil pressure gets low or you're hearing really bad noises shut down immediately. Water temp will climb quickly especially while the piston rings are getting seated in properly, unless the water temp climbs much over 225 I'll keep going. I like to do a couple or three short cycles of about 10 minutes, then shut down for 10 or 15 minutes between each cycle. After breaking in the cam, check initial timing and set idle speed then I like to take it for a drive, stay in low gears get up to higher RPM and let off the accelerator completely to let the vehicle slow down, by doing that the compression braking you are doing helps fully seat the rings. After initial drive, drain the oil, check for sparkles, and let it cool completely. Once cool, retorque intake and carb fasteners, especially if you go with an aluminum intake, check that belts haven't loosened and fire it up to make any tuning adjustments needed. Then drive it like your going to drive it.
If the car Gods are looking out for you that day everything goes smoothly and you can drive your truck with freshly rebuilt engine that purrs like a kitten.
FYI... Zinc levels have been reduced in most diesel oil now too since the diesel trucks in last 10 years or so have gone to ultra low sulfur fuel, added the catalytic converters, SCR and DPF and DEF injection.
This is what I've been using for mine once I found that out.
For first time start up when you're going to break in cam I'd recommend a specific break in oil that has a high zinc content. Lucas makes some of that.
After initial cam break in, drain oil, check for sparkles and cut oil filter open to look for metal. For the second round of oil I like using a non-detergent straight 30 weight oil, make sure it specifies non-detergent since the detergent oils can dilute the assembly lube very quickly and cause other issues in a fresh rebuild. I usually run the straight 30 weight for the first few hundred miles, then start running whatever oil I plan to use normally.
I've heard varied opinions of the zinc additive and whether or not it works as well as getting a pre formulated high zinc oil.
Regarding cam break in, as soon as you fire up the engine for the first time, get the RPM up to about 2000 rpm so the crank is splashing plenty of oil towards the cam to keep it lubed and cool, vary the RPM between 2000 and 2500 RPM for at least 10 minutes or up to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on water temp and oil pressure. If oil pressure gets low or your hearing really bad noises shut down immediately. Water temp will climb quickly especially while the piston rings are getting seated in properly, unless the water temp climbs much over 225 I'll keep going. I like to do a couple or three short cycles of about 10 minutes, then shut down for 10 or 15 minutes between each cycle. After breaking in the cam, check initial timing and set idle speed then I like to take it for a drive, stay in low gears get up to higher RPM and let off the accelerator completely to let the vehicle slow down, by doing that the compression braking you are doing helps fully seat the rings. After initial drive, drain the oil, check for sparkles, and let it cool completely. Once cool, retorque intake and carb fasteners, especially if you go with an aluminum intake, check that belts haven't loosened and fire it up to make any tuning adjustments needed. Then drive it like your going to drive it.
If the car Gods are looking out for you that day everything goes smoothly and you can drive your truck with freshly rebuilt engine that purrs like a kitten.
If I get a RV Cam, I understand that if its not above .500 lift then the stock valve springs are fine, but do I need different length pushrods?
If I get a RV Cam, I understand that if its not above .500 lift then the stock valve springs are fine, but do I need different length pushrods?
Stock springs should be okay, but I would get new ones if you're putting in a new cam. You "shouldn't" need different length pushrods, but that would depend a lot on what, if any head work is done. It sounds like your block is good to go and won't need to be decked so that variable to taken out of the equation. If the heads are surfaced, depending how much material is removed will be the biggest factor regarding pushrod length. You do have a little wiggle room using a hydraulic lifter versus solid lifters.
Okay, so, I'm probably going with a RV Cam, probably from compcams or something, but anyway, would I be shooting myself in the foot if I just went with a stock replacement timing set?
Here's another option to consider, it comes with timing chain, springs, retainers, keepers, cam and lifters. People can say what they will about Comp Cams, but they spend a lot of money on R&D and have studied what works together. Their K-Kits take a lot of guess work out of it and if we are being honest, are more convenient and usually less expensive than buying all components separately.
That is where you use a degree wheel bolted to the crank shaft, with a pointer, and a dial indicator to confirm the measurements on the cam spec sheet match the physical measurements when it is installed. This confirms you got the proper cam and determines if it is installed advanced, retarded or straight up. The timing of the cam events in relation to crankshaft position changes power output and the overall power curve. Here's a video explaining the process.
Just know none of the flat tappet lifters on the market anymore are good. Johnson made the better ones and when they sold out even that line isn't much anymore. flat tappets are basically obsolete and there are only a couple companies making them so no matter what brand you buy they'll be one or the other.
you have a few options,
get new lifters from Howards or one of better companies to run on your old cam. yes, you can do that .
Get a new cam and lifters and hope for the best. good luck.
Get a roller cam and retrofit lifters and forget about all the drama and troubles. yes it'll cost a little extra.
roll the dice or go with a roller that's your choice.
Just know none of the flat tappet lifters on the market anymore are good. Johnson made the better ones and when they sold out even that line isn't much anymore. flat tappets are basically obsolete and there are only a couple companies making them so no matter what brand you buy they'll be one or the other.
you have a few options,
get new lifters from Howards or one of better companies to run on your old cam. yes, you can do that .
Get a new cam and lifters and hope for the best. good luck.
Get a roller cam and retrofit lifters and forget about all the drama and troubles. yes it'll cost a little extra.
roll the dice or go with a roller that's your choice.
Might be worth buying a notched lifter from johnson or crower etc to get that little bit of extra oil to cam lobes & piece of mind....Ill be a test dummy for my crower notched lifters on my 460 soon i hope.
It might help , but can it make up for the poor steel in the lifter that's the question.
I've seen and heard of an unusually high number of cam failures in the last year or two. it's not the cam, we have great high zinc oil, it's the poor quality lifters. the best engine builder in my part of the state say he won't warranty cam failure on flat tappets anymore because it's beyond his control. roller cams are the fix and if the customer doesn't want to spend a little extra he can't be responsible.
Obviously stock valve springs with stock cams have a much better survival rate. but it's still a risk.
Look at a howards cam. They were the only people offering a break-in warranty when I was looking earlier this year.
For high zinc oil or any oil in General I prefer Valvoline. ZR1 is their high zinc content. Just another brand to keep in mind that even walmart keeps in stock at some locations.
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