Goodbye Crane Flat Tappet. I hardly knew ye.

younggun2.0 said

be very very careful with oil choices guys. even the diesel oils like rotella are taking out the zinc. I use the brad penn oils. they are designed to work specifically with out mech. lifter cams. its $7 a qt at my local speed shop. Knowing an oil company is making an oil that is specifically designed to work with our old school cams why the heck would you use anything else?

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Right. Back in the day, I always used Castrol GTX 20W50. It's what I would run today if my engine was back together, if I didn't think about it. But this makes me wonder...have they eliminated the zinc or neutered it to the point where it would induce cam failure today? (having altered it for today's "modern engines"?) Point is, I don't know. We assume much without knowing. Before I choose an oil I will read the damn label. Thanks for the heads-up on the Brad Penn.
On the cam failure...changing anything (such as rocker ratio) can alter the wear pattern on the lobes and lifters and induce wear. This is why my builder talked me out of re-using my old cam, which appeared perfectly good. New build, new cam. Period.