340 Roller Cam/Lifter Issues.

-
smartken22

smartken22

U.S. Navy Senior Chief
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
887
Reaction score
75
Location
Lemoore, California
Good Evening all.
Just wanted to get some advice on this one. I had to pull my engine due to an oil pump issue and losing pressure to the passenger head. I had lots of knocking and decided to pull the engine. After getting into it, I discovered lots of purple and green paint chips all throughout the engine and in the pickup. Come to find out it came from my cam. I guess that is how COMP CAMS marks their grinds. Anyways, it took out the oil pump and two hydraulic lifters. I am running a Xtreme Energy, XR286HR-10 cam with 8920-16 Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Lifters. When I ordered replacement lifters individually, they said to order 8920-2. I did this, however, there are extreme differences in the appearance and geometry of them. I have voiced this concern with comp and they tell me this is fine. I need a second opinion as this does not look right to me. Advice please, and if you need more info that I forgot, please let me know. Thanks guys.

Ken
Cam shedding Paint.jpg
#2 and #4 Lifter.jpg
New Lifters.jpg
Lifter concerns.jpg
New Lifter Pushrod Geometry.jpg
 
I wouldn't give a darn what Comp said, I don't like that either. I also don't like how that cam lobe looks. No sir, I would want those lifters to be the same. I sure would.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I wouldn't give a darn what Comp said, I don't like that either. I also don't like how that cam lobe looks. No sir, I would want those lifters to be the same. I sure would.
Click to expand...

I agree as well. The lobes are all good with almost no wear at all. The lobe on the left is actually the cam bearing section and the lobe on the right is the no **** lobe. I think it is just a bad angle from that shot. Trust me, I looked that over very closely.
 
smartken22 said:
I agree as well. The lobes are all good with almost no wear at all. The lobe on the left is actually the cam bearing section and the lobe on the right is the no **** lobe. I think it is just a bad angle from that shot. Trust me, I looked that over very closely.
Click to expand...

Ok. Good. I am sure you have a better perspective in person. Sometimes, pictures don't tell the real story. Hope you get this sorted out man. That could have been a very expensive problem. It still ain't gonna be cheap.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Ok. Good. I am sure you have a better perspective in person. Sometimes, pictures don't tell the real story. Hope you get this sorted out man. That could have been a very expensive problem. It still ain't gonna be cheap.
Click to expand...
Thanks buddy, I was afraid of that. I will be on the phone with them again tomorrow for sure!
 
I gotta wonder if plunger depth is the same? If not, then I don't see how they would work. There is no reason you shouldn't be running a full matched set. Even if plunger depth is the same. We all know about the oiling issues if the lifter comes up too high. And on the new ones it almost looks like the push rod makes contact with the lifter? Hard to say for sure from the pics. I wouldn't risk it.

Comes across like Comp trying to cheap out. Their paint wrecked their ****. They should do something more about it. In my mind at least.
 
Lustle said:
I gotta wonder if plunger depth is the same? If not, then I don't see how they would work. There is no reason you shouldn't be running a full matched set. Even if plunger depth is the same. We all know about the oiling issues if the lifter comes up too high. And on the new ones it almost looks like the push rod makes contact with the lifter? Hard to say for sure from the pics. I wouldn't risk it.

Comes across like Comp trying to cheap out. Their paint wrecked their ****. They should do something more about it. In my mind at least.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with everything that you just said. Plunger depth is definitely deeper in the new lifters and the pushrods are not hitting, but too close for my comfort. I am going to pressure them until I get at least a matched set with what is in my motor now. I am not taking the chance. I will be blowing up their phone tomorrow...will keep you all posted.
 
Not just plunger depth, but think of the weight difference. That kinda stuff gets important at 6K RPM.
 
Look at the roller diameter. I bet the new ones have a larger diameter roller too as the body is cut to clear. wouldnt a large roller add duration on the same lobe compared to a smaller roller? Hard to visualize without actually measuring it I suppose. How close does the pushrod get to the edge of the lifter on the base circle? Some cam grinders really drop the base to get big lifts out of a Mopar cam as they all have to eventually fit through the bearing bores....Doesnt look like oil control was compromised.
 
IMHO.... Keep an eye out elsewhere for something that damaged the oil pump. Paint is typically nowhere near hard enough to even touch steel or iron. I'd expect paint bits to go everywhere if it peeled off like that.
 
There is no need to cover the lobe in white grease or any other assembly lube. Just use engine oil. You're putting crap in the oil you don't need.
 
nm9stheham said:
IMHO.... Keep an eye out elsewhere for something that damaged the oil pump. Paint is typically nowhere near hard enough to even touch steel or iron. I'd expect paint bits to go everywhere if it peeled off like that.
Click to expand...
I tore the motor down and inspected all of the rod bearings, and bottle brushed all of the oil ports as an added measure. I got a lot of chips out. Should be close. I am running some cheap oil in there for the first couple hundred miles to flush any additional leftovers out and then I am going to put the good stuff back in.
 
So I had very long conversations with three Comp Cam reps today and they all pretty much told me the same thing. Two years ago they did a major re-design on these lifters and beefed them up due to failures. The said that the plunger depth is deeper than the old design and may require a longer pushrod to fix the geometry issue. I sent them all of the pictures and they told me as long as the pushrod is not touching the lifter wall I am good. Even though it is close, it is not touching. I would say I have a fingernails worth of clearance. The also told me that they do not paint their cams. I told them this was the third cam that I have bought from them that had paint identifiers in between the lobes and they pretty much told me I was full of ****. I even sent them a picture from their website that shows cams with these paint markings and they still told me to pack sand. Pretty horrible customer service if you ask me. So I brought a couple of friends over tonight and showed them my dilemma. The lash and pre-load was out, so we re set everything and nothing rubs. The told me they would be comfortable running the motor and to set my rev limiter at 6000 to prevent valve float. We hand turned the engine and everything is clearing. The new lifters are not pumped up yet, but should help clearance a little as well once they pump up. Thoughts?
 
So let's get this right. On two lobes of a cam. You're going to run a completely different lifter/pushrod setup vs the rest of the valve train. In a performance engine. That will see up to 6000 rpm. And you're taking this advice from the same company that just called you a liar?

It's your engine man.
 
Lustle said:
So let's get this right. On two lobes of a cam. You're going to run a completely different lifter/pushrod setup vs the rest of the valve train. In a performance engine. That will see up to 6000 rpm. And you're taking this advice from the same company that just called you a liar?

It's your engine man.
Click to expand...
I am running the same pushrods right now and they are working, however, tight tolerance compared to the other 12 on the old lifters. Two sets of lifters had to be replaced with the newly redesigned ones and of course you can not just buy one as they are linked together. They told me to fix that tolerance, that I needed to buy longer ones. The only other option is to buy a whole new set of lifters at $700 plus another set of custom pushrods at $298. This is retarded because they decided to redesign some ****.
 
smartken22 said:
I am running the same pushrods right now and they are working, however, tight tolerance compared to the other 12 on the old lifters. Two sets of lifters had to be replaced with the newly redesigned ones and of course you can not just buy one as they are linked together. They told me to fix that tolerance, that I needed to buy longer ones. The only other option is to buy a whole new set of lifters at $700 plus another set of custom pushrods at $298. This is retarded because they decided to redesign some ****.
Click to expand...
One of my buddies told me to call Lunati or another reputable company other than Comp and change the cam setup again.
 
Still though, even all new lifters and pushrods are less than the cost of an entire engine.

I know what I would do if it was mine.

Then, I would never use anything Comp again.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Still though, even all new lifters and pushrods are less than the cost of an entire engine.

I know what I would do if it was mine.

Then, I would never use anything Comp again.
Click to expand...
I know, I was thinking the same thing. Looks like I am going to be doing some research on a lunati setup. I think that I am going to go away from the roller setup though, unless they have a better product.
 
I'm a comp fan myself. But I'm seriously looking at going lunati solid roller in the winter.

I'd stick with roller. You'll appreciate the ease of use and power you get with them.
 
smartken22 said:
I know, I was thinking the same thing. Looks like I am going to be doing some research on a lunati setup. I think that I am going to go away from the roller setup though, unless they have a better product.
Click to expand...

...and I know it sucks dead, dried up diseased camel balls, but it's the right thing to do ultimately, I believe.

I tell you what though, this drives the last nail in the coffin for me with Comp. I know for one, I appreciate you sharing that experience. Not that that helps your situation.
 
RustyRatRod said:
...and I know it sucks dead, dried up diseased camel balls, but it's the right thing to do ultimately, I believe.

I tell you what though, this drives the last nail in the coffin for me with Comp. I know for one, I appreciate you sharing that experience. Not that that helps your situation.
Click to expand...
Thanks brother, any suggestions on a good cam setup for my engine combo? Definitely staying away from Comp now from here on out. I will post the engine specs here shortly...
 
smartken22 said:
Thanks brother, any suggestions on a good cam setup for my engine combo? Definitely staying away from Comp now from here on out. I will post the engine specs here shortly...
Click to expand...

Do you plan to stay roller? I think I would. Of course that's up to you and your wallet.
 
Well, if the cam is still good, which you say it is, and it ran good, I would stick with it. That will also be the least expensive way out.

Unless you just want to change brands. At any rate, post up your specs and we can go from there. It sounds like it was a good match to me though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top