I would tend to agree. I built a 401 for a friends Jeep last year, and we used Delo 400 for break in. After the first 1,000 miles we switched to Mobil 1, and now have 5,000 miles on it with 0 problems. I rebuilt my sons Y-block several years ago, and did the same thing, broke it in with Delo 400, then switched to Mobil 1.

I did have a problem with a set of lifters last year that came from NAPA. 2 of them where ground off in less than 100 miles.

 

Did you notice any metal when you changed the break-in oil?

 

So what are you saying no assembly lube on that lobe?

 

no what i am saying is this motor was broke in properly and 4000 mi.later i put maxlife 10/40 in and 3000 mi. after that it wiped the cam.

 

Did you personally build the motor? Did you buy the truck recently, with that motor in it? I understand your concern with the oil issue, but if that was the case, there should be damage to other parts of the cam, and other parts of the engine, and so far, there isn't. You say one push rod got bent, and the lobe in that cylinder went flat. What you should of noticed, was a fair amount of lope at idle, and it would act like it wakes up a bit in the higher RPM range. I seriously doubt the oil is the cause. It should also have two different length push rods, if I remember correctly. If so, then they could of been installed incorrectly at assembly. Have you pulled the heads yet? You need to, and I would be willing to bet that there is a bad valve guid in that head now. It sounds to me like the push rods were flip flopped. Then, the adjustable rockers were adjusted down. The one that's flat, was too tight, and wiped the lobe out. The bent rod, was probably cause by a bouncing around of the rod, and it got caught and bound up and bent, or it opened the valve too far and it hit the piston. I would use caution, and would highly recommend completely disassembling the engine. You may find that there are more problems than what you are seeing there.

 

read my thread starter. this engine was built by a guy just like jim. and is still in biz. of coars everything was properly prelubed. thats not my complaint. it is that everything that was in my control was done and the oil failed to do its job. google zddp. check it out. you will see.

 

if the valves were improperly adjusted the motor would not have lasted to the 4000.mi. mark. and no max life does not have zddp its been reformulated.

 

and no in a 460 u use all the same push rods lifters rocker arms. go look at a spec book.READ THE THREAD STARTER. READ JIMS POSTS. HE KNOWS WAY MORE THAN ANYONE IVE TALKED TO SO FAR.

 

What was the warranty on this motor?, or was there one?.......I agree with Joe, time to completely disassemble.........Bound to be all kinds of interesting finds in there, damn shame it had to happen at all. Really feel for ya.

 

ya its torn a part only thing damaged was the cam and lifter and one push rod caus it fell out.

 

In reality it could have been much worse with all the metal particles falling on the connecting rods on there way down into the oil pan

 

Have you dropped the pan yet?, couldn't tell from the pics....With that much metal flying around I would really want to be certain it hadnt corrupted the rest of the motor......Do you have another rig for a daily driver or is this keeping you from getting around?.

 

ya the pan was clean i forgot to take pics of that sorry. but the firs thing i did was wipe the pan in several spots with my finger and looked under the light. No sparkles or metal flakes. not eaven any grit. i think the oil filter did a good job. i though for sure id find debre.

 

Do you have any recourse or support from the guy you said built this motor?, I would really like to think he might have some answers here to help you out. I hate to see you having to sink more$$ and time into it, if he might be able to give you some assistance first.

 

Why dont you try taking this up the forum to the, big block 385 series engines. Lots of smart people up there, you may get some insight there.....I would also wait for more input from Fabman and wmjoe, those 2 probably close to 75 years of experience between them on motors...........IMO, If it was my motor, I would nail the builder for everything I could get him to do, If no help, I would start new and completely tear down and rebuild as needed......Like I said before, damn shame, you should not have to be doing this.