Roller cam maintenance?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 245
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From: Jersey shore NJ
Roller cam maintenance?
I am thinking of putting a roller cam in my L 82 or buy a crate motor with a roller cam and have seen a few qoutes from people saying you have to deal with the maintenance issues? Do you have to adjust the rockers more often with a roller setup then a flat tappet?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,353
Likes: 72
From: Graceland in a Not Correctly Restored Stingray
If you go solid roller, key to lash staying put after run in is a good interface between high quality screw-in rocker studs and the adjusters (such as ARP's & Posi-Lock's). Then, unless something starts going wrong you really shouldn't have to crack the valve covers open all that often except to monitor things periodically.
DO NOT restrict top end oiling on the street and make sure to use lifters that sufficiently oil the roller bearing (such as CompCams' Endure-X w/pressurized EDM oiling). Just so it doesn't go unsaid, you'll need a button since roller grinds have no taper to check cam walk and, as with any engine, be certain to get the cam/dizzy gear combo right.
Hope that helps.
DO NOT restrict top end oiling on the street and make sure to use lifters that sufficiently oil the roller bearing (such as CompCams' Endure-X w/pressurized EDM oiling). Just so it doesn't go unsaid, you'll need a button since roller grinds have no taper to check cam walk and, as with any engine, be certain to get the cam/dizzy gear combo right.
Hope that helps.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,911
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From: gold coast queensland
all skunk works info is good and thats all the main points to consider. i run crane roller cam with hydraulic lifters. set your posi loc pressures down when u install the cam and forget about it for years.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2002
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From: Sulphur LA
St. Jude Donor '05-'06,'11,'13-'14,'16,'18,'19,'24, '25
I am running a Lunati solid roller right now, the only issue I see is the bronze gears do not last long with high spring tension. There is another option out there but I don't remember the name of the gear. As has been stated before, once the lifters are adjusted they should stay there for a long while.
Neal
Neal
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A lot has to do with how crazy the lobe is. *Street* solid rollers will run a long time with no issues. Small blocks do better than big blocks due to valve/pushrod angles and pressures required for the heavier valves.
As mentioned a good valvetrain is essential. Mine needs very little maintenance/checking. I do it before I go racing..but otherwise I don't worry about it much. But you DO have to listen for any new noises indicating a lifter is dying. They don't heal themselves and if you catch them quick, no big damage is done.
Always spend the $50 for the pressed on iron dist gear so you can run stock gears and not have to mess with bronze or fancy stuff.
Make sure to use a bronze tip pushrod for fuel pump if applicable.
DON'T use the austempered iron cam cores..get a real billet one.
And as mentioned, no oil restrictors and get good lifters.
JIM
As mentioned a good valvetrain is essential. Mine needs very little maintenance/checking. I do it before I go racing..but otherwise I don't worry about it much. But you DO have to listen for any new noises indicating a lifter is dying. They don't heal themselves and if you catch them quick, no big damage is done.
Always spend the $50 for the pressed on iron dist gear so you can run stock gears and not have to mess with bronze or fancy stuff.
Make sure to use a bronze tip pushrod for fuel pump if applicable.
DON'T use the austempered iron cam cores..get a real billet one.
And as mentioned, no oil restrictors and get good lifters.
JIM
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,412
Likes: 792
From: Redondo Beach, California
Last month's Hot Rod magazine had one of a series of articles about a BB 540 build up. The had their engine running on hydraulic rollers with about 200 (?) lb of valve spring tension. Next they ran the engine with a solid roller cam. Because of the high rpm potential of the solid roller, they went to 500 lb of valve spring tension.
So, I think the consideration here is, in addition to the question of durability of a roller cam - hydraulic versus solid, is what is your valve spring pressure? A solid roller with 200 lb springs is, say, not going to have any longevity issues, but if you install 500 lb springs, the cam's livetime can probably be expected to significantly diminish.
So, I think the consideration here is, in addition to the question of durability of a roller cam - hydraulic versus solid, is what is your valve spring pressure? A solid roller with 200 lb springs is, say, not going to have any longevity issues, but if you install 500 lb springs, the cam's livetime can probably be expected to significantly diminish.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: State of Confusion
I've never run a roller-lifter cam of any-type, and I have a question that I don't believe I've ever seen asked or answered:
what is the expected life-span of the roller-lifter itself.....
do the bearings fail, and if-so, how-long can you realistically expect them to last?
Thanks-in-advance!
what is the expected life-span of the roller-lifter itself.....
do the bearings fail, and if-so, how-long can you realistically expect them to last?
Thanks-in-advance!
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
I've never run a roller-lifter cam of any-type, and I have a question that I don't believe I've ever seen asked or answered:
what is the expected life-span of the roller-lifter itself.....
do the bearings fail, and if-so, how-long can you realistically expect them to last?
Thanks-in-advance!
what is the expected life-span of the roller-lifter itself.....
do the bearings fail, and if-so, how-long can you realistically expect them to last?
Thanks-in-advance!
I can't tell you the overall length, but I have seen a GM roller 350 with near 300K miles and everything was stock original. Same for my Mopar roller engines...the lifters all seem to be just fine.
I think how they are treated and maintained and how aggressive the engine is built has a lot more to do with the life of the roller lifter than just miles or time.
