ATR Billet Roller Camshaft Setup Help
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Buick Mark
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Spooling, your cam set-up looks the same as mine from Precision Turbo years ago. I had the groove in my cam spray welded closed tho.
Mark - mine is an old ATR Camshaft that I purchased from, and also had the nose of the camshaft modified by a gentleman named Kip Asplund - to accept his rollerized bearing retaining device - which worked quite well BTW.
Buick Mark
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Mine has the Torrington bearing also, never had any problems, set the endplay and go.
Buick Mark
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mtocrs, those lifters are junk.
jpwalt1987
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Lifters will always have some scuffing "look" to them. If you can't feel any scars or grooves and they measure the same OD as the non shiny parts RUN EM!!! The more aggressive the cam the faster and worse the scuffing will appear. Its hard to see if that is pitting on the roller or not. If you decide you don't want to run them I have a new in the box set of Morel lifters for sale. $275 shipped.
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That is an excellent answer!
Most of our cam installations are straight up, or just couple degrees advanced.
In most all cam installs you are checking the relationship to assure the cam lobes are ground in sync with the cam keyway or gear mounting bolt holes. In a street build, a few degrees either way will not even be noticeable.
At the track, or in competition, cam setting becomes more important as the build and combination must be designed and matched to perform as expected.
It is very rare that a cam is ground off more than a couple degrees. Since a cam is degreed using no. 1 cylinder, it is "assumed" that all the other lobes follow exactly. Not often, but we have found some lobes to vary 1-3 degrees between each other?
Also, it is possible to have variation between timing gear sets, especially with different manufacturers, end even numbering on the gears can be off?
This thread is also about roller cams/lifters, and many guys have stated in other posts that lubrication is not as critical as flat tappet, and even go so far as recommending synthetic oil with roller lifters?
With much higher spring pressures, smaller contact area and very small roller bearings, having the right oil AND the right EP additives in it is still extremely important.
mtocrs1: Can you post a close-up photo of the roller on the left?
I've worked for three different companies that produce cam followers, and I've examined more of these than I can count. Circumferential lines going around the O.D. of the roller are "normal", as long as they have no appreciable depth. Polishing of the roller O.D. is also "normal" in the area where the roller is making contact with the cam lobe. You should see similar polishing on each cam lobe - it will be relatively thin on the base circle and increase in width on the flanks/nose. What is not "normal" is spalling (a.k.a. "flaking"). This is when small chunks of material are removed from the surface due to rolling contact fatigue. The resulting pits are usually about .005 to .020" deep. Once a few spalls form, they will propagate, as the pits act as stress risers that cause more pits. I can't tell from the photo if the roller on the left has these spalls, or if it's just a camera trick (might be lint on the roller?).
The most common failure for these types cam followers (any cam follower with needle bearings) is spalling of the center axle. Once it begins to spall, it will wear rapidly as the needles continue to dig into it. It's easy to check. Roll each of the rollers with your finger and make sure there is no roughness in the rolling motion. More importantly, the total radial play (up and down) of the roller should be very small - under .002". If the radial play in the bearing is more than that (especially if you can feel the play in the bearing with your finger), it's likely that the axle has spalled and worn. If that happens, it will die quickly if allowed to keep running. I've seen multiple cases where the needles wore into the axle so far that the roller sank far enough into the lifter body that the cam lobe started making contact with the body of the lifter as the flank came around. The cam lobe will have obvious damage if that happens.
Note that it's likely that none of the above bad stuff actually happened to your cam and lifters. That above failures usually only happen if the bearings/cam are not designed properly, if there was some problem like lack of lubrication or a lot of debris going through the engine, or if the parts have mega-miles on them. The above are just common sense things to check before installing into your engine.
Regards,
The top picture is concerning, but it's out of focus, so I can't tell for sure. Is the surface rough or smooth? It almost looks like most of the surface of the roller is spalled, but again, might be a camera trick. If you can take the same picture, but with it in focus, that would help. Your home camera probably has a "macro" (close-up) mode - try using that.
Are the two pictures of the same roller?
Yes both pics are of the same roller. The first pic is what it looks. Like in real life. I think it has the spalling you speak of. I will get a better pic when I get home tonight. I might just replace it to be safe. They are speed pro lifters. Anyone know the part number? Are these the same as the retrofit small block Chevy roller lifters?
From what I can find the lifters are Sealed Power part number HT-5000-RA. I can get them shipped for $55.00 from advanced auto. I think I will replace the one in question. My guess is that they are made by the same company that makes the comps or the comps are rebranded sealed power.
Well I got my new lifter today and its not correct.
Completly wrong actually. Anyone know the correct speed pro lifter part number?
By the way, speed pro box contained a lifter that has comp cams stamp on it. So speed pro and comp are one in the same.
Completly wrong actually. Anyone know the correct speed pro lifter part number?
By the way, speed pro box contained a lifter that has comp cams stamp on it. So speed pro and comp are one in the same.
fastblackracing
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HT-2207-RA was the part# of the first speed pro hydraulic roller lifters I used back around 1996 0r so. HTH
