I read somewhere that buying a used hydraulic non-roller cam is a waist of money because the cam is likely to go flat quickly if installed in a different block. Is this true?
How about used roller (solid or hydraulic) cam and lifters, can they be swapped into a different block without problems? Does each lifter need to stay with it's previously run on cam lobe? Are there wear patterns on roller cams and roller lifters?
Roller cams and their req.'d parts are expensive new and I see a lot of used roller stuff for sale, WHAT'S THE DEAL?
Thanks!
It's always a good idea to keep the lifters in the same order on any cam, but flat tappet cams, both hyd. and solid must have the lifters stay on the same lobes. If you mix them up after the cam is broken in, there's a good chance the cam will go flat. Dosen't matter if you swap them from engine to engine, just keep the lifters in order. On roller cams it really dosen't matter.
Steel, for the cost of lifters is he better off using the old lifter's or buying a new set a breaking them in if he is not sure of the lobe/lifter pairing?
Sleeper CP
Big Inch Ford Lover
Hyd flat tappet No No
New cam old lifters.
Old cam, old lifters, moved around
Old or new cam, Roller lifters
Hyd flat tappet OK
Old cam, new lifters
Old cam old lifters in EXACT bore.
Roller cam No No
Hyd flat lifters
Roller cam OK
Old cam, old lifters (any position)
Old cam, new lifters (any position)
New cam, old lifters (any position)
New cam , new lifters (any position)
Solid rollers on Hyd grind - OK
Hyd rollers on solid grind - OK
************
If you have an unknown hyd flat tappet / cam / lifter bore combo, throw away the lifters. Buy some new ones and break it in like you do for any first break in. Many of us with roller cams swap out the lifters anytime we tear it down more as an insurance policy rather than a true need. I know I do.
Steel, for the cost of lifters is he better off using the old lifter's or buying a new set a breaking them in if he is not sure of the lobe/lifter pairing?
Sleeper CP
Big Inch Ford Lover
you can put any cam in any block as along as its made for it,if not for sure on the lifters buy new ones for flat tappet cams,if they are marked correctly go for it.rollers hell they are rollers reuse anytime you feel the need,
Speedy, you're saying it is OK to use and old hyd cam with NEW flat tappet lifters?...How many times have you done this?.....99 times out of a 100 this will cause lobe failure, usually within 50 miles......Any flat tappet cam/lifter combo with any miles on it at all must be re mated to the original position. If the original position is lost, throw it all away and start over, new cam, new lifters. Putting a new, very flat bottomed lifter on a worn, rounded lobe is a grinding wheel that will make it's own compound very quickly and polute the rest of the engine before you can read this post. You stated you change roller lifters every teardown? Yet you would install mismatched flat tappet stuff?.......I ran the same roller lifters for 15 plus racing years, same roller rockers, same camshaft, and same SPARKPLUGS. Never had a valvetrain failure of any type.......Quality roller stuff lasts alot longer than flat tappet stuff.....How many engines have you assembled with mix and match aged flat tappet componants?............MP
I had a nice Herbert flat hydraulic blower cam that I really liked. Jetmech737 told me that he has had bad luck with used cams in a reblocked engine. I didn't want to listen, I was very careful to keep the lifters all in order, etc. I used the right lube and I broke the cam in again like it was new.
I ran it about 5 hours and wiped out a lobe.
It really isn't worth the trouble to try and use a used flat tappet cam. You can't afford (time & $) to save money with a used cam.
Roller cams are the way to go. I wish I had used one when I first built my motor. I have one now.
MP is right. No new stuff on an old flat tappet cam. Matched lifters only.
Speedy, you're saying it is OK to use and old hyd cam with NEW flat tappet lifters?...How many times have you done this?.....99 times out of a 100 this will cause lobe failure, usually within 50 miles......Any flat tappet cam/lifter combo with any miles on it at all must be re mated to the original position. If the original position is lost, throw it all away and start over, new cam, new lifters. Putting a new, very flat bottomed lifter on a worn, rounded lobe is a grinding wheel that will make it's own compound very quickly and polute the rest of the engine before you can read this post. You stated you change roller lifters every teardown? Yet you would install mismatched flat tappet stuff?.......I ran the same roller lifters for 15 plus racing years, same roller rockers, same camshaft, and same SPARKPLUGS. Never had a valvetrain failure of any type.......Quality roller stuff lasts alot longer than flat tappet stuff.....How many engines have you assembled with mix and match aged flat tappet componants?............MP
I have put new flat tappet lifters on old cams many many times (to many to count, the van alone has had 3 sets of hyd flat tappet lifters on the current cam - the originals, Crane high intensity, and rhodes - changed for performance reasons not because anything was "wrong"), I have never had a lobe go flat on me in my 20+ years of building and racing. Of course - I build Mopars which have lots of oil to the exposed cam and a huge lifter diameter - maybe a factor. The van 440 has 275K miles on it now. My friend on the other hand has a 454 that eats cam lobes no matter what he tries. He is on his 5th or 6th cam. Maybe it's a Chevy thing.
The lifter is the female - it wants to mate for life.
The cam is male - it will mate with anything new and exciting.
On the roller lifters - tons more liability at 8500 RPM with 800 lbs of spring pressure and huge valves than a little hyd cam with 200 lbs reving at 5500. I have broken my generous share of valvetrain components, and destroyed enough motors to be very seasoned. What is another $200 in rollers when you have $600 in the oil pump alone (let alone the rest of the engine). I have broken enough rollers to know to change every time at rebuild. If you truly have never broken parts, you aren't trying hard enough :-) I have learned the most through failure. I used to have a website called the galleria of breakage.
With the amount of nitrous oxide I run, I like a good spark. Other peoples good plugs are spare parts for the tow rig to me.
I am down on engines at the moment - I only have a Mopar 5.9, 2x Mopar 4.7, Mopar 383, Mopar 400, Mopar 440, Mopar 452, Olds 455, and a Keith black (Mopar) 528 at the moment. These are personal engines all built by myself (except the olds, the 5.9 and the 383). All run hard. Built many more for friends and others. Used to swap cams all the time between friends - we all just bought new lifters.
I pretty much run rollers exclusively now, with the Zinc and other nessasary additives gone from the oil, flat tappet cams are going the way of the dodo bird.
How about yourself - how many times have you personally tried new lifters on an old cam and had it fail?
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