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Hello to everyone and thanks for reading. I’ve been having issues with my 72 and lifters . Been having a constant chatter and with losing power. Took the valve covers off and intake manifold to discover this. Looks like the lifter was ground down . Just curious if I could be a cam issue and should I at least pull the heads to check them as well. Any advice or guidance would be great appreciated.
Hello to everyone and thanks for reading. I’ve been having issues with my 72 and lifters . Been having a constant chatter and with losing power. Took the valve covers off and intake manifold to discover this. Looks like the lifter was ground down . Just curious if I could be a cam issue and should I at least pull the heads to check them as well. Any advice or guidance would be great appreciated.
Well, your cam is toast, and all that metal is in the bottom of the pan. AT THE VERY LEAST, you have to change the cam and lifters. If it's high millage, I would pull the whole thing.
yup, its cam kit time.
you will be amazed at the new power your car will have.
install with the proper install lube and break in oil. and use zinc oil.....
Another one bites the dust. Another misfortune from lack of knowledge about Zinc. And yet there are some individuals that still deny this happens from store bought shelf oils.
Sorry for your loss. Couldn't have happened in the fall with lots of time to rebuild.
I'd pull the engine. Not worth the chance of metal in the bearings, oil pump, oil passages, etc. I use Mobil 1 10w-30 with a bottle of ZDDP Plus. Also follow proper cam break in procedures.
Its 454 car not sure on what all had be done to it before I got it. I’ve only had it about 8 months. All I do know is that it has Comp Cams rocker arms with 1.72 ratio . As far as anything else I’m still diving into the motor . Sucks that this happened just before summer
Last edited by 82ndABN-C3; Mar 17, 2019 at 05:03 PM.
Reason: Add
I'd pull the engine. Not worth the chance of metal in the bearings, oil pump, oil passages, etc. I use Mobil 1 10w-30 with a bottle of ZDDP Plus. Also follow proper cam break in procedures.
Its already in the bearings, oil pump, etc. It took months for this to happen if not over a year. That's a lot of metal missing assuming all 16 lifters look like that, and likely ran like crap for a year also.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Mar 17, 2019 at 05:49 PM.
Hello to everyone and thanks for reading. I’ve been having issues with my 72 and lifters . Been having a constant chatter and with losing power. Took the valve covers off and intake manifold to discover this. Looks like the lifter was ground down . Just curious if I could be a cam issue and should I at least pull the heads to check them as well. Any advice or guidance would be great appreciated.
Originally Posted by Big2Bird
Well, your cam is toast, and all that metal is in the bottom of the pan. AT THE VERY LEAST, you have to change the cam and lifters. If it's high millage, I would pull the whole thing.
Originally Posted by 82ndABN-C3
Its 454 car not sure on what all had be done to it before I got it. I’ve only had it about 8 months. All I do know is that it has Comp Cams rocker arms with 1.72 ratio . As far as anything else I’m still diving into the motor . Sucks that this happened just before summer
agree what Big2Bird says ... 1.72 essentially stock ratio. Sure it sucks ... but better now than if it puked on vacation cruising at Kitty Hawk.
If the car's a keeper ... and it's budgeted for ... now's the time for a Roller cam-lifter retrofit.
-edit- OP, I don't know anyone at Fayetteville to help. But I do know someone just south at Dillon-Latta who might can. Also, great auto machine shop at Conway SC ... Dennis Jordan Performance.
Its already in the bearings, oil pump, etc. It took months for this to happen if not over a year. That's a lot of metal missing assuming all 16 lifters look like that, and likely ran like crap for a year also.
Nope that is the only one that looks like that which I surprised to find .
Ok, one lifter. Could be a reject from a poor source of auto parts. Could be oil galley that feeds that lifter is plugged.
Before you pull the engine, consider pulling the oil pan, front cover, timing chain set, cam. Remove one or two connecting rod caps and check the bearing surface.
If its bad, you know what you have to do next.
However, if its unscathed, you could pour / flush a couple of Qts of cheap oil over the valvespring area, all through the lifter valley, with the oil pan reattached with a few bolts. Then remove the pan again and clean really well. That should remove 90% of any metal. Figure in a new oil-pump & screen pickup for certain. Add a oil pan magnet on the outside.
But its up to you. Only you know your budget and how far you want to go with this. Your bearings will determine your fate. Hopefully the old oil filter has been catching the metal all along.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Mar 17, 2019 at 08:11 PM.
For what it's worth. The damage is done but if it is only one lifter I would roll the dice. I've had this happen 3 times on 3 different engines before I figured it out. Google ZDDP + flat cam. Crack open a cold one and do lots of reading. Now back to what I was saying. Compression check the engine. If good get a new flat tappet cam and kit to match old cam lift so your springs and piston to valve clearance will be ok. (I don't deny roller is better but bear with me). Clean pan and timing cover and wipe down everything you can to clean out metal. Get a new oil bypass filter adapter. Change cam and timing set. Can be done with engine in car. Get a good cam core not an offshore one. Put together with lots of break in lube break-in oil with high zinc oil. If engine has dual springs remove inner valve spring for breakin. Break in new cam at 2500 rpm for 25 minutes. Do not shut off or idle during breakin. Immediately change oil again. More high zinc oil. It may buy you a year or more with current engine and get you to next year or allow for an engine build while driving the car this season. You really don't have much to lose except cost of cam and kit if you can do the work yourself and you may get lucky. Just my 2 cents worth. Good Luck
As long as that's been eating that one lifter, I'd suspect it's not the ONLY one, and there is going to be metal everywhere. I'd bet the filter didn't catch all of it. I did my 69 BB a year ago- but I went the long way around, Found a good used 4 bolt block and built a 496 with all forged lower end and a big stack of new parts. Not to mention a big pile of toad pelts that went away getting said parts.
If you are taking a shot at it you could do the stuff previously mentioned then put a few quarts of oil in the pan and run a priming tool to circulate oil through the passages.maybe even put some magnets in the pan and different places to catch some shavings. I've never done that before but it may be worth a try.
For what it's worth. The damage is done but if it is only one lifter I would roll the dice. I've had this happen 3 times on 3 different engines before I figured it out. Google ZDDP + flat cam. Crack open a cold one and do lots of reading. Now back to what I was saying. Compression check the engine. If good get a new flat tappet cam and kit to match old cam lift so your springs and piston to valve clearance will be ok. (I don't deny roller is better but bear with me). Clean pan and timing cover and wipe down everything you can to clean out metal. Get a new oil bypass filter adapter. Change cam and timing set. Can be done with engine in car. Get a good cam core not an offshore one. Put together with lots of break in lube break-in oil with high zinc oil. If engine has dual springs remove inner valve spring for breakin. Break in new cam at 2500 rpm for 25 minutes. Do not shut off or idle during breakin. Immediately change oil again. More high zinc oil. It may buy you a year or more with current engine and get you to next year or allow for an engine build while driving the car this season. You really don't have much to lose except cost of cam and kit if you can do the work yourself and you may get lucky. Just my 2 cents worth. Good Luck
I've pretty much done this with 2 cars now. Engines ran flawlessly for years afterward. You can always rebuild the engine later if needed but you probably won't need to.
priming tool. run priming tool with the bad lifter removed. shine light down lifter hole. see if you have oil flow. but you do. that oil filter is there for a reason. new cam and lifters. can you say roller lifters? oil pump and pick up.
If you don't tear it all the way down to clean out EVERYTHING....like pull cam bearings, flush all passages etc....at least block off the oil pump bypass so all oil goes through the filter.
Ground down lifters help!!
I've pretty much done this with 2 cars now. Engines ran flawlessly for years afterward. You can always rebuild the engine later if needed but you probably won't need to.
