RNELLIOTT

I just completed installing a hydraulic roller camshaft and lifters in my 454. It runs very strong, doesn't seem to missfire on any cylinder but it has a lifter noise starting at 1500 RPM. The noise is different than the noise a loose rocker arm makes-it's definitely more internal and not coming from the top end of the engine. I believe it's the number 6 or 8 cylinder and is noisy with the engine hot or cold. I've adjusted the lifters a couple of times; with the engine cold and hot. The cam is a Comp Cam xr282 with their matching lifters.

My gut feeling is that one of lifters is bleeding down once more of a load is placed on it. I contacted Comp Cam's technical support team and they weren't has technical as I thought they would be or could be.


Anyone else have an experience with a noisy hydraulic roller lifter(s)?

midyearvette

could be a bad lifter or a worn valve guide providing all the other elementary issues are ok....good luck i know it's frustrating...was it noisy before the up grade??

Avispa

I've used three different Comp Cams flat tappet hydraulics in my big block. NEVER, NEVER again!!! Your lifter noise is probably one bad lifter that leaks down too fast. What they don't tell you in the catalogs and on the tech line is that big block valves are just too heavy to run with hydraulic lifters and get any kind of capabililty to run over 5500 RPM. The last one, a XE274H ran ok, but at 5500 at full throttle, it was like someone shut the key off. Stopped cold. No load revving in the driveway it sputtered to get to 6000. Even their anti-pump up lifters did this, and they were really noisy once the motor got warmed up.

In my last rebuild I went to a Crane solid. It screams right through 6300 RPM without a sputter.

Throw that hydraulic thing in the trash.

RNELLIOTT

Thanks for the feedback, Midyearvette and Avispa. The whole ordeal is more than frustrating! The reason I went with a roller cam is due to my Comp Cam Exrteme Energy 268 flat hydraulic cam going bad after two years of cruising and less than 600 miles. The number 6 exhaust lifter went flat and wiped out the cam.

I don't think I had the noise during the initial start up on this cam which leads me to think that I might have a bad lifter or two.

I'm almost at a point where I'm thinking of going back to a small block. My 65 coup is a clone car and didn't originally come with a big block. I love the look and sound of the big block but I'm about to call it quits with this clone attempt. All of my small block problems combined don't come close to what I am experiencing with the big block.

Not much cruising this year in my coupe.

midyearvette

i dont know what kind of problems you have encountered but a bb mill is the most straight forward approach to brute power and with the right tune they are just as docile and street friendly as any small block...maybe you are gong through some growing pains or a stout learning curve but you will appreciate it when it's done and to do it correctly is just no big deal providing your internals are not too radical....hell my 110 lb. wife drives mine to the pool sometimes and i can get in it and boil the tires or run a parade in 100 heat for an hour with no problems..as far as valve float with a hydraulic roller, it's all about the cam and springs and believe it or not the oil you choose.....i run a stock chevy roller hydraulic with comp cams beehive springs and royal purple 20-50 street oil ....shift at 6200 with a 454 and that's all the cam has to offer......that's also all i need!!...good luck and stick with the bb, after all you have come this far with all the accessory parts you had to buy and with some proper engine building and tuning you would have to spend a hell of a lot more money on a small block to reach what the bb will do and be dependable with longevity......good luck..jmho

78Vette-SA

I don't know how true this so consider it nothing more than rumour but I'm hearing many of the roller lifters (and flat tappets) are being made in china and the metal is cheap cheap cheap and they are having some problems. Whereby the Chevy/GM stuff was still being made in America.

Anyone else have any insight on this? I dropped my BB Shortblock off to the machine shop this weekend and I'm looking at aluminum top-end kits and hydraulic rollers for it. I want to do it once.

Rnelliot, I would try back to Comp Cams because I have spoken to them recently on another project and like anything else it depends on who you get on the phone. Some of their techs are very good. I haven't called them on my cam choice yet but plan to this week. But I'd give it another shot if I were you.

RNELLIOTT

Midyear and 78 Vette, thanks for the encouraging words and pep-talk! I like the idea of a different oil grade; I think I'l give that a try before going into the engine and examining the lifters and cam lobes.
I really want to stay with the big block. I had a '67 big block many years ago and have waited all these years to replace it with this clone car I'm building. I am not nearly as concerned with the power of the larger cubed motor as I am with the looks and sound of a rat motor. Heck, I'm much older now and don't need any more power than a stout small block can deliver.
I've come this far so I guess I should go all-in and stick with the conversion. I'm so close to being where I want to be on this project it's driving me to drink (more?).
Thanks for the feedback!

robert miller

HAD ONE IN A 540 CU HAD TO CHG OUT 2 TIMES BEFOR GETTING IT FIXED.