Breaking in flat tappet cam

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Big and small don't mean jack squat. It's rate of lift, required spring pressures to control the valve with that rate, speed of oiling at the first start, lifter to bore clearance, and the type of oil you use. Most cams until about 7 years ago didnt lift fast enough to come close to hurting mopar sized cams. Harold at Ultradyne had a few grinds that were similar but those building non roller competition engines back in the 80s used weaker springs to break them in. At least the ones I knew did. The was regardless of manufacturer or rate of lift. If you dont think it's warranted now, then don't do it. Times and techonolgy change, if you dont want to change with it that is your choice.
 
Was told by an engine builder to go buy a specific oil at Wal-Mart, pour it in there and drive it. When I got to Wally's place we found some oil made for older cars, with a label that warns against using it in newer motors. The stuff is SF rated, which to me, means it's loaded with all the goodies, a new break-in needs.
OIL is labaled ACCEL SAE 10w40 and says its for 1988 and older vehicles. $2.16 a quart I think. If I was a bettin' man I'd wager on it being exactly what Penn and Gibbs sell, for a few more dollars.
 
sst3193 said:
Was told by an engine builder to go buy a specific oil at Wal-Mart, pour it in there and drive it. When I got to Wally's place we found some oil made for older cars, with a label that warns against using it in newer motors. The stuff is SF rated, which to me, means it's loaded with all the goodies, a new break-in needs.
OIL is labaled ACCEL SAE 10w40 and says its for 1988 and older vehicles. $2.16 a quart I think. If I was a bettin' man I'd wager on it being exactly what Penn and Gibbs sell, for a few more dollars.
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Was that recently? I haven't seen SF oil in ages. Maybe old stock???
 
It's not legal to sell SF unless it's labeled for off road use only. It's and EPA deal. So either it was old stock which would be allowed (I find some once in a while at Car Quest in 20/50 and 15/40 Fleet grades...) or it's a nice idea but not correct. Oil can't classify as SM with the additives in it. So you'll find some SL as old stock too, which is reduced ZDDP from but not as much as SM.
 
I thought all the hoopla about flat tappets was just manufactures being overly cautious. I built a brand new motor for my torino and I followed all the rules with oil additive and lube on the cam. I fired it for the first time on the dyno, it fired without even turning over 1 time, and it went flat in 5 minutes! The guys at Westech warned me against running the inner spring and I didnt listen since I have done it this way with bigger cams many times before and never had a flat cam. Now I had a new motor full of metal and needed to start over disassembling and cleaning and reassembling. Many hours of work instead of an extra hour of work to put the springs back in after break in. My point is that the manufacturer goes to extremes to make sure your happy with their product, i learned the hard way by being lazy. Do what they recommend and you will be happy or be lazy and run the risk of being slapped and have to do much more work. I was very angry with myself and was out alot of money. Do you ever do something to your car for piece of mind? This is one of them. Good luck.
 
As for me.. I was concerned enough about losing one that I built a running stand to have control over that critical first start, rather than the customer. I'll also add the rise in cam issues has also led to me adjusting my custom lobe choices to milder units. They still make the power, but are safer in a car that has to idle for a while. It's not hype. But like everything else, it's up to the end user if they want to risk it. At this point in time I'd say its a risk. 8 years ago I would have said it wasn't a big risk until you got really aggressive on the lobes.
 
turbodart68 said:
I thought all the hoopla about flat tappets was just manufactures being overly cautious. ... Do you ever do something to your car for piece of mind? This is one of them. Good luck.
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Good info. Thanks for sharing that story. I'm not being lazy...part of it is just curiosity about whether home engine builders are actually following the manufacturers recommendations; part of it is that I have arthritis in my lower back and dread the though of bending over the fenders for a few hours to install the inner springs. As the responses seem to go, the guys building engines for other people, tend to take the safest approach and remove the inner springs.

moper said:
As for me.. I was concerned enough about losing one that I built a running stand to have control over that critical first start, rather than the customer. ....
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I wondered if any builders did that. That seems most prudent.

Thanks guys.
 
They make a very handy on the car compressor that will let you pop them in in about 25 minutes a side with an air hold chuck. Mines fromComp but there are cheaper ones, or if you're handy you can make one from an old rocker shaft and scrap metal.
 
fishy68 said:
Was that recently? I haven't seen SF oil in ages. Maybe old stock???
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I just picked up the stuff this past Friday, 'cause we're painting the daughter's bedroom and she wants HDTV to top it off. Mr Engine Man told me about the oil about 3 weeks ago, when we dropped an engine off, for rebuild. I didn't expect to find any of the slippery stuff left, but there was about 8 quarts, so I bought 5 and I may go back, to buy all I can find.
 
sst3193 said:
I just picked up the stuff this past Friday, 'cause we're painting the daughter's bedroom and she wants HDTV to top it off. Mr Engine Man told me about the oil about 3 weeks ago, when we dropped an engine off, for rebuild. I didn't expect to find any of the slippery stuff left, but there was about 8 quarts, so I bought 5 and I may go back, to buy all I can find.
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I would if I were you. Next time I go I'm gonna look but I bet yours is an isolated indecent of finding some old stock.
 
skybolt said:
Where do you get this do GTXperience? Here is a site you and others may be interested in. Coated rod, main and cam bearings, lifters, piston skirts, etc.
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skybolt, I had CompCams nitride-coat the cam but all of my other components (pistons, rods, bearings, crankshaft, etc.) were coated locally at Performance Coatings.
 
I didnt mean to infer that you were lazy, I meant that i was lazy and didnt heed the warnings and it bit me big time! I was hoping to let you know that these warnings seem to be more serious than before. I too paid for Comp to nitride a cam for me but in all reality when you ad everything up its only a few hundred more to go roller, and to me it sounds like a better idea. I am through with flat tappets and I dont think I will ever go flat tappet again. Sorry if I offended you in any way. Good luck.
 
turbodart68 said:
I didnt mean to infer that you were lazy, I meant that i was lazy and didnt heed the warnings and it bit me big time! I was hoping to let you know that these warnings seem to be more serious than before. I too paid for Comp to nitride a cam for me but in all reality when you ad everything up its only a few hundred more to go roller, and to me it sounds like a better idea. I am through with flat tappets and I dont think I will ever go flat tappet again. Sorry if I offended you in any way. Good luck.
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Far from it! I'm glad you posted in...when I ask for comments on topics like this I always wonder how many people have made mistakes and just don't want to tell anybody about it.

I've gone back and forth about using a roller cam until I'm tired of thinking about it...I'd like to but, money, as always, is an object. I didn't know until I started this build that roller lifters were so high!
 
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