who is running MRL (BAM) Lifters without lifter bore sleeves

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Bushing the lifter bores should be done after there straightened out. The bushing should be sized by the machinist and oil feed holes drilled into it. The tubbing of the lifter bores is a restriction designed to regulate the amount of oil to the lifters. Without the restriction, oil just pours out! Horrendously!

I have seen people drill oil feed holes that range from .030 to .070 of an inch. What is right? I do not know.
From what I have read and heard is a 30 to 40 thousand hole
 
Not going to change the oil, I think it will be a waste of money. I think with straight 30 the pressure when cold should be a lot higher. Going in the direction of the oil pump and lifters.
 
I was running MRL lifters for about an hour, Low oil pressure, burned up Hughes rockers on passenger side over hole #2. Everything is a big mess. The shaft on the passenger side is scarred so bad it looks terrible. Mike said these are drop in, no mods needed. Wrong! I really don’t know what to think. All components were purschased from Mike. I assembled it all. I was running a solid roller VooDoo cam and the MRL lifters with Smith Bros. Push rods, and Hughes shafts and 1.6 rockers. Disaster. It is my opinion after doing a lot of reading that the lifter bores should have been bushed: bushings installed. Or at least the galley needed to be tubed and peened. Live and learn, expensive F up.

Pulling engine, going to take it apart. Either I’ll have the lifter bores bushed, or possibly buy a set of Comp 828-16 lifters (no oil belt). But these lifters require grinding the block, should have been done before it went together.
 
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I was running MRL lifters for about an hour, Low oil pressure, burned up Hughes rockers on passenger side over hole #2. Everything is a big mess. The shaft on the passenger side is scarred so bad it looks terrible. Mike said these are drop in, no mods needed. Wrong! I really don’t know what to think. All components were purschased from Mike. I assembled it all. I was running a solid roller VooDoo cam and the MRL lifters with Smith Bros. Push rods, and Hughes shafts and 1.6 rockers. Disaster. It is my opinion after doing a lot of reading that the lifter bores should have been bushed: bushings installed. Or at least the galley needed to be tubed and peened. Live and learn, expensive F up.

Pulling engine, going to take it apart. Either I’ll have the lifter bores bushed, or possibly buy a set of Comp 868-16 lifters (no oil belt). But these lifters require grinding the block, should have been done before it went together.
I am finally taking mine apart this week to inspect. Hopefully everything is ok. I did not run it long. Going to install comps lifters 828 also if i have no other damage
 
I said it before and I will say it again. I will never build another LA short block without tubing it. Solid cam or roller.
 
That's how you are getting by with that low oil pressure at idle. If you were running a rocker without needles it would already be toast.

I am about where Clint is at w/ my oil pressure, except I have more cold and more at higher rpm`s. I have the MRL lifters, hughs 1/6 rockers. I did an oil mod., which I `ve tried to correct w/o pulling the heads to add restrictors to the feed holes, which I`ll do if I ever have it apart, ''hope that don`t happen!"
Yes shimming the spring on a hi volume pump will help the hot low idle, but will raise the cold idle , and upper rpm pressure too, gotta compromise ! My hot is about 18-20 at idle, I`ve checked a few rod bearings , and #4 main , all looked good. And moved all the rods checking side clearance and for any binding every time I`ve had the pan off (about 4 times). The inside looks just like it did when it was new.
Warning: don`t drill the oil feed passages into the main oil gallies for full time oiling , like a member illustrated a year or two ago!! >" big block".
It would be far better to just groove the #4 cam journal about .020-.030 .
THE FULL TIME OILING MOD , OR THE LIFTERS, ONE OR THE OTHER IS WHAT CAUSES MY LOW / HOT OIL PRESSURE < I think. around 18-20- at 1150 idle.
The word is minumim of 10 pounds per 1000 rpm , so Clint and I should be scrapeing by!.
 
I was running MRL lifters for about an hour, Low oil pressure, burned up Hughes rockers on passenger side over hole #2. Everything is a big mess. The shaft on the passenger side is scarred so bad it looks terrible. Mike said these are drop in, no mods needed. Wrong! I really don’t know what to think. All components were purschased from Mike. I assembled it all. I was running a solid roller VooDoo cam and the MRL lifters with Smith Bros. Push rods, and Hughes shafts and 1.6 rockers. Disaster. It is my opinion after doing a lot of reading that the lifter bores should have been bushed: bushings installed. Or at least the galley needed to be tubed and peened. Live and learn, expensive F up.

Pulling engine, going to take it apart. Either I’ll have the lifter bores bushed, or possibly buy a set of Comp 828-16 lifters (no oil belt). But these lifters require grinding the block, should have been done before it went together.

Just to add to this discussion, my current build I wanted to use the new bushed roller lifters from comp cams. These lifters have no needle bearings in the axle wheel and have an edm oil pressure feed hole directly to the bushing and axle assembly. As Pittsburgh racer has said I would never build a roller cam motor without a minimum of tubing the oil galley. Problem for me with these new lifters is they require some oil. With this build I decided to have the lifter bores bushed instead of tubing the block. The lifter bushings have a .030
Feed hole to restrict oil leakage to the lifters. The block will use a high volume pump. I have also eliminated the rocker oiling through the cam bearings and will direct feed right from the main oil galley
With a brake line jumper tube mod from the stroker small block build book. Also one brake line feed over to the driver side lifter galley
To feed the other bank of lifters.
Also these new comp cams sportsman lifters have the link bar located inboard, so no goring of the block and the lifter axles are staked so they have no snap ring clips to fail either.
I am hoping for the best compromise of reliability if the valvetrain
And good oil pressure for the bottom end, and no needle bearing in the oil pump and pan if you loose a lifter.

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Thanks Duane for the info! What is the part number for the Bushed Comp Cams Lifters? Block looks good! Are those magnets JB welded to the screen?

Alex
 
Thanks Duane for the info! What is the part number for the Bushed Comp Cams Lifters? Block looks good! Are those magnets JB welded to the screen?

Alex
Do not have the lifter part number on hand. I can tell you that they are the sportman series. They come with needle bearing or bushed as an option. The magnet kit is moroso small block chev magnet kit,
Somehow it fits on a Chrysler ?? Lol. The magnet kit comes with a very good grade of epoxy. Don,t know what it is but its hard as a rock when cured. The lifters are expensive. The good stuff always is.
 
I was running MRL lifters for about an hour, Low oil pressure, burned up Hughes rockers on passenger side over hole #2. Everything is a big mess. The shaft on the passenger side is scarred so bad it looks terrible. Mike said these are drop in, no mods needed. Wrong! I really don’t know what to think. All components were purschased from Mike. I assembled it all. I was running a solid roller VooDoo cam and the MRL lifters with Smith Bros. Push rods, and Hughes shafts and 1.6 rockers. Disaster. It is my opinion after doing a lot of reading that the lifter bores should have been bushed: bushings installed. Or at least the galley needed to be tubed and peened. Live and learn, expensive F up.

Pulling engine, going to take it apart. Either I’ll have the lifter bores bushed, or possibly buy a set of Comp 828-16 lifters (no oil belt). But these lifters require grinding the block, should have been done before it went together.

Sounds like u did something wrong, I`m running un bushed lifter bores, and mrl solid rollers and it is working fine , other than a little low hot oil pressure at idle Clinteg is too !
 
Just to add to this discussion, my current build I wanted to use the new bushed roller lifters from comp cams. These lifters have no needle bearings in the axle wheel and have an edm oil pressure feed hole directly to the bushing and axle assembly. As Pittsburgh racer has said I would never build a roller cam motor without a minimum of tubing the oil galley. Problem for me with these new lifters is they require some oil. With this build I decided to have the lifter bores bushed instead of tubing the block. The lifter bushings have a .030
Feed hole to restrict oil leakage to the lifters. The block will use a high volume pump. I have also eliminated the rocker oiling through the cam bearings and will direct feed right from the main oil galley
With a brake line jumper tube mod from the stroker small block build book. Also one brake line feed over to the driver side lifter galley
To feed the other bank of lifters.
Also these new comp cams sportsman lifters have the link bar located inboard, so no goring of the block and the lifter axles are staked so they have no snap ring clips to fail either.
I am hoping for the best compromise of reliability if the valvetrain
And good oil pressure for the bottom end, and no needle bearing in the oil pump and pan if you loose a lifter.

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NICE !!
 
Just to add to this discussion, my current build I wanted to use the new bushed roller lifters from comp cams. These lifters have no needle bearings in the axle wheel and have an edm oil pressure feed hole directly to the bushing and axle assembly. As Pittsburgh racer has said I would never build a roller cam motor without a minimum of tubing the oil galley. Problem for me with these new lifters is they require some oil. With this build I decided to have the lifter bores bushed instead of tubing the block. The lifter bushings have a .030
Feed hole to restrict oil leakage to the lifters. The block will use a high volume pump. I have also eliminated the rocker oiling through the cam bearings and will direct feed right from the main oil galley
With a brake line jumper tube mod from the stroker small block build book. Also one brake line feed over to the driver side lifter galley
To feed the other bank of lifters.
Also these new comp cams sportsman lifters have the link bar located inboard, so no goring of the block and the lifter axles are staked so they have no snap ring clips to fail either.
I am hoping for the best compromise of reliability if the valvetrain
And good oil pressure for the bottom end, and no needle bearing in the oil pump and pan if you loose a lifter.
Why the bushing rather than the roller bearing? Which would work better for street application.
Why a roller bushing rather than a bearing? I read somewhere that a bushing is better suited for a street roller cam application?
 
Sounds like u did something wrong, I`m running un bushed lifter bores, and mrl solid rollers and it is working fine , other than a little low hot oil pressure at idle Clinteg is too !

Ahhhhh, with all due respect, I did nothing wrong. The Kit came complete from Mike, I assembled it, yes the cam bearings are in correctly. I have put many engines together over the years, I am 60 years old...not 17. It fired right up and ran great...for an hour. If I did something wrong...it was me not doing any oil mods, but I was told by Mike that it wasn't necessary.
 
Why a roller bushing rather than a bearing? I read somewhere that a bushing is better suited for a street roller cam application?
Roller bearings have needle bearings. My car is drag only.
.705 lift cam. There is always the potential for a valve train failure.
The magnets and screening are to try to contain the parts in the valley area and out of the pan. Those small needle bearings in roller bearing lifters are very hard to contain. Current theory is that with high lift cams and the necessary high pressure valve springs overload the small surface area of those needle bearings and that is why they are prone to failure. Using a bushing and direct pressure oiling should
Increase durability, more surface area. I would say the jury is out on that though.
Those needle bearings almost always end up in the oil pan and sometimes they get sucked into the oil pump and lock it up ruining your bottom end bearings in the process.
 
Just to add to this discussion, my current build I wanted to use the new bushed roller lifters from comp cams. These lifters have no needle bearings in the axle wheel and have an edm oil pressure feed hole directly to the bushing and axle assembly. As Pittsburgh racer has said I would never build a roller cam motor without a minimum of tubing the oil galley. Problem for me with these new lifters is they require some oil. With this build I decided to have the lifter bores bushed instead of tubing the block. The lifter bushings have a .030
Feed hole to restrict oil leakage to the lifters. The block will use a high volume pump. I have also eliminated the rocker oiling through the cam bearings and will direct feed right from the main oil galley
With a brake line jumper tube mod from the stroker small block build book. Also one brake line feed over to the driver side lifter galley
To feed the other bank of lifters.
Also these new comp cams sportsman lifters have the link bar located inboard, so no goring of the block and the lifter axles are staked so they have no snap ring clips to fail either.
I am hoping for the best compromise of reliability if the valvetrain
And good oil pressure for the bottom end, and no needle bearing in the oil pump and pan if you loose a lifter.

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If you feel like it, can you explain what the crossover lines do? I say they do nothing. I know you have your ideas on the oiling issue and I'd love to hear them. What you are doing is just moving oil around in a giant circle (that's what it looks like to me) and I can't for the life of me see how that will get oil to the rod bearings at the correct time.

Also, externally oiling the shafts does very little. You still are getting the oil from the system.

I'd love to hear what you think is happening with the oil you've moved.
 
Sounds like u did something wrong, I`m running un bushed lifter bores, and mrl solid rollers and it is working fine , other than a little low hot oil pressure at idle Clinteg is too !
You're not bushed with MRL(BAM) lifters is why you have low oil pressure at idle I beat. I have the same issue. I am being tear down this weekend. I talked to Ryan at shady dell, he has see this with these lifters. He told me pull the intake and distributor, prime the motor and turn it over at the same time and watch the lifters specially the rear ones on the bottom side. He said he has see the oils just poor out there. If this is true just go with the Comp 828 solid body. I will report back.
 
I have a set of the Comp 828-16 lifters arriving tomorrow from Summit. Everything is coming out of my car and taken apart. Whatever grinding for clearancing the 828's will get done with the block apart. Probably going to have the lifter bores bushed.
 
If you feel like it, can you explain what the crossover lines do? I say they do nothing. I know you have your ideas on the oiling issue and I'd love to hear them. What you are doing is just moving oil around in a giant circle (that's what it looks like to me) and I can't for the life of me see how that will get oil to the rod bearings at the correct time.

Also, externally oiling the shafts does very little. You still are getting the oil from the system.

I'd love to hear what you think is happening with the oil you've moved.
Sure I don,t mind to explain.
Let me start by saying that both line have nothing to do with oiling the bottom end. At least not directly.
The "S" shaped brake line is tapped into the passenger side main oil galley. You cannot see it when the line is installed but that passage of the block the line is threaded into, intersects with the feed passage up to the rockers on both banks. In other words both banks of the engine are fed direct oil pressure full time from the main galley.
There is an .080 hole drilled inside the main galley that is feeding
The passenger side rockers and the brake line routes to the rockers
On the drivers side.
The other mod to go along with this is you must modify the 2&4 cam bearings. Those bearings have been rotated in the bore so the supply to the rockers is cut off. New 1/8 supply hole were added so the cam bearing still gets its supply from the crank. all five cam bearings have had the feed hole from the crank reduced to 1/8.
But the 2&4 cam bearings no longer feed anything else which will oil the crank better.
The other brake line is just there to get a supply of oil over to the drivers side oil galley to oil the lifters without using number 1 main to do it, Nothing more. The drivers side galley is not reverse flowed or anything and is plugged at both ends.
The bushed roller lifters require a constant supply of oil pressure so I could not run the drivers side dry. This was the primary reason I had my block bushed instead of tubed.
I hope I explained that so you can understand it.
 
good explanation duane
I have done the standard in the book crossover but the rocker feed is new to me
thanks
The rod feed issue is one of YR's special interests- and needed
 
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