The downside to roller cams

[TurboBob]

I installed a mild 206 roller (Comp billet) about 2 years ago. It's been fine until a week or so ago. All of a sudden a TON of clatter and other bad noises.

The lifter tiebar broke and the lifter turned. The result can be seen in the pics.

this sux.............. My Dodge is now my favorite car.....

 

[TurboBob]

More pics

 

[TurboBob]

Let the various "expert" opinions commence....

Actually I would assume this is a rare occurance given the vast number of roller lifters out driving around.

It's just been my year for crap happening.

Anyone else have one do this? Scott (mechanic friend) said the bottom of the lifter was mushroomed a little and may have scored the lifter bore some.

Also, I wonder where the metal went.....?

I'm going to stuff it back together with a new set of lifters and cam and go from there......

The lifter was a SpeedPro, as seen in the pic.

B

 

[turbo2nr]

That's a bit of bad luck, for sure. Those little braces look micky mouse on some lifters. Seems like trouble waiting to happen, but it is rare, right? I have a new Comp Cam roller set-up in the box. Do those have a good rap? I wanted to avoid the common cam wipe out.

 

[BoostKillsStres]

Thats stinks Bob, the peen points on those roller shafts looks less than quality too. I'm hoping your filter setup has the bypass plugged....good luck with it.
P.S. that upcoming MAFT-PRO looks like a very cool piece from the flier I picked up at the NATS...keep up the good work.

 

[azgn]

don't think it is that unusual...happened on my car as well...comp lifters are crap (and apparently some other brands also....)

you'll find out where all the metal went sooner or later

 

[Super6]

scary

Man, that doesn't look good at all......i bought some 853 comp cam roller lifters a while back and didn't like what the cross bar look like (very cheap)....what roller lifters are better so this doesn't happen?.............................thanks Bob

 

[disco stu]

Happened to me. But the lifters were converted to solid.

 

[750H.P.V6]

Not another cam failure thread!

Bob,

Sorry to hear about your lifter link bar failure. Unfortunately it is a weakness of the design of aftermarket roller lifters. What we really need is for someone like Jason Cramer (wink, wink) to make a guide plate assembly that will bolt into the lifter valley of a 109 block and allow the use of OEM type roller lifters. For those that haven't seen them most OEM lifters have flats on the sides at the top of the lifter itself and a guide assy to keep them straight in the block. Just an idea.

Neal

 

[TurboBob]

That's a great idea...... I will drop him a line.

I imagine OEM flavored lifters would be less expensive, thus offsetting the cost of the guide plate some. The OEM lifter would have to be a shielded foot design I would think.... perhaps LT1 lifters?

Bob

 

[Mike Licht]

All the retrofit hyd rolllers come from the same place. In fact comp cams units sometimes says sealed power on the tie bar. The pro magnum comp is different but I just pulled one and the tie bar is exacltly the same. If I remember correctly the lifer bore is much taller in the SBC OEM roller block compared to the non-roller block so that may pose an oiling problem with the OE stlye block and a spider.
Mike

 

[Russ Merritt]

How many failures in thousands of roller lifter installs? I personally haven't heard of too many. I think it was more of being that one lifter set than more of a wide spread problem. Hope you have better luck in the future.

 

[trading t/a]

How about bushing the lifter bores, with a bronze bushing that is ground flat on each side instead of using a spider tray and retaining bar setup.

You could even offset the lifter bushings to posistion the lifter directly on the lobe and use offset lifters to correct the geometry, but that is going way beyond practical.

 

[MSDGN]

You said you installed it 2 years ago...so how many miles/runs on it?

 

[azgn]

I like Neal's idea!

 

[TurboBob]

Originally posted by MSDGN
You said you installed it 2 years ago...so how many miles/runs on it?

about 10K, I drove it to BG last year as well. 25 psi daily on pump gas and alky. PT6152, ported irons, and a 17 row stretch intercooler.

B

 

[DonnieShort]

Bob those are some ugly pictures I hope you get it all worked out. It was nice to meet you at the Nats.

OE roller lifters would not work without some serious modifications to the block ( lifter bores ). OE's are taller than the retros. But wouldn't it be nice if someone could find a feasable way to use OE's?

 

[750H.P.V6]

Guy's,

The idea of running an OEM roller lifter may or may not be feasible. I'll see if I can borrow a few different OEM lifters from my machinist and compare them to the Comp Cams lifters I already have on hand. If I find something that looks promissing I'll let you know.

Neal

 

[Dusty Bradford]

Too bad Crower or Isky doesn't make a quality lifter for these motor's. The cheapo lifter's like the comp and speed pro can last but need replacing often. I have steered completely away from anything with comp on it for my latest project. I have had way too many bad experiences with comp lifters and springs.

 

[turbo buicks]

Originally posted by TurboBob
That's a great idea...... I will drop him a line.

I imagine OEM flavored lifters would be less expensive, thus offsetting the cost of the guide plate some. The OEM lifter would have to be a shielded foot design I would think.... perhaps LT1 lifters?

Bob

lt1 lifters? hmm i seem to recall suggesting that a while back on here. i was promptly harassed for being "cheap". i guess its not a bad idea now. btw, i was told lt1 lifters have the same lifter bore size as gn lifter bores. all it would take would be a lifter to be put in and visually see if it would work. u could probably take a lt1 lifter girdle and make it work too