Uncle Tony's garage gives a link to a guy explaining lifter failure. It appears when the big 3 stopped using flat tappet cams the aftermarket went to rebuilding lifters..
Personally I think they want to sell a more expensive product.
I thought something was awfully strange. Uncle Tony has a link to a guy that goes into real detail.
Maybe someone can post the link.

 

I watched a video from an engine builder that thinks it’s poor quality imported lifters with poor heat treatment are causing the problem. Sounded like a good theory anyway.

I went with a roller cam, it solves lots of problems.

 

Dont know why someone doesnt step up and make some decent ones they would sell a crap ton. Not everyone wants or needs a roller

Have used some cheapy cams over the yrs (SSI paw, other regrinds) but always used GM lifters when possible. 0 failures.

 

In my flat tappets I run AMSOIL for flat tappets which has a good amount of zinc, not as high as their break in oil (which I also use) but higher than anything else I have found.
Getting ready to change the oil in my survivor LT1 with 46k miles and am sending a sample off for analysis.

 

Lots and lots of us are running flat tappet engines with no issues. Really don't understand this thread.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn1nZFYt6Nw
I love Uncle Tony's channel.

 

I sure understand it. When I bought my '79 in 1999 it was obviously running poorly. The eventual autopsy revealed 3 cam lobes gone. What happened to motor oil between 79 and '99?

 

Yeah I like his style. He has a good video about hood scoops that I watched a couple times before doing mine.

 

I had no issue either but it doesnt explain the massive increase in cam/lifter failure even amongst some shops that have been installing them for decades.
I no longer run a flat tappet but when I did I used new lifters and the recommended springs from lunati as well. The real issue here is there are so many variables that can cause failure. some are self induced but I believe the lifters themselves may also sometimes be the issue.

There is another set of 3 video someone else just linked in another failure thread that goes over the increased failures and possible subpar lifters being thr cause.. Ill see if I can find them.
Here it is

 

Wiped cam lobes are caused by the lifter not rotating, and/or not enough convex on the lifter heel, or improper heat treating. In the late 70's through 1984 or so....wiped small block lobes were pretty common. If you had a 305 G-Body car....it was a question of when.
One of our builders here will only use vintage OEM NOS lifters for flat tappet builds......while I think this is extreme, it gives him an extra piece of insurance to break one in. There was some real **** out there for a while...late 2000's to around 2011.....but a few other manufacturers stepped in. The problems are not nearly as bad now but extra attention to detail and precautions are necessary......
Cam failure is more often than not improper break in and/or assembly.
Here is what I do:
1) Make SURE as all lifters are being installed, that you use oil only on them, and that they spin freely in the bores with your fingers. I cannot stress enough how important this is. The lifters need to spin.....if they have any trouble doing that, thy will not last 3 minutes.
2) Use ONLY Moly paste on the cam lobes....liberally. Somebody should sue Comp Cams for including the red bullshit assembly lube in their kits......on a 100 degree day here in Texas, that **** will drip off the cam within three-four hours.......Moly paste is an excellent buffer in acquainting the two surfaces (lifter and lobe), and washes off harmlessly into 5-6 quarts of oil. Put it on the lobes only...NOT on the lifters!
3) Do NOT soak or "pump up" lifters like your buddies Dads Uncle who was a racer says to do......this is WRONG. A lifter full of oil will hold valves open and make the engine hard to start initially.
4) Know where your timing is. I can put an engine on #1, stab the distributor, mark the rotor position, #1 terminal on the cap position and turn slightly counter clockwise to achieve 10-15 degrees of initial timing. Lock it down and that is set! It WILL start in this position.....knowing where #1 TDC is, is the key......blow your thumb or the engine is on #1 already after a fresh build because you lashed the valves correctly and turned it another 90 degrees to #1 when you were finished.
5) On my personal stuff.........I use mechanical pumps exclusively, on my 72' I have a known good spare pump on the shelf that I installed for the first start of my 406. I KNOW this pump works....I KNOW the fuel is getting to the pump from the supply line as it will via gravity.........which leads me to.....
6) ......the carb.....fill the bowls with a squirt bottle if it is a mechanical pump......if the bowls are full, your ignition is hot, and distributor is in time.....it WILL fire......when you hear it, have a digital timing light on the cowl to record RPM and turn the stop to get 2500 RPM.
7) This is something that after 100+ cam break ins that will just **** you off.......MAKE SURE your rad hoses are tight! You know how many break-ins I have witnessed where the guys coolant hose blew off before the stat could open? At least half a dozen over the years.......and they were not my prep, customer or buddy install.....of course you have to shut down and address it. This may or may not be a problem for the cam but why take a chance.....double check your ****.
8) My friends always **** when the engine fires instantly after I prep it......why wouldn't it? All bases are covered. Being off 180 degrees because your buddies Uncles Stepmom had a son who put the T-Chain in Dot to Dot because "that's how the racers do it!" is one of THE most common things I hear.........probably heard it 50 times......
9) I do not recommend consuming alcohol during any portion of the above instructions!!!! Crack the first beer when it starts! You have 25 minutes to stand around and look stupid, plenty of time to suck down 3 or 4!

Jebby

 

😅 It was a rhetorical question. The obvious answer is the reduction of zddp between those years

 

But no it was not.....the ZDDP was not removed until around 2004......and even then, a broke in cam of say .400 lift on weak *** valve springs is fine with just regular oil......
Anyway..it gave me a chance to finally spell out my feelings on the subject.
I run Diesel Oil of the Week and a half bottle of Lucas ZDDP in my own.......

Jebby

 

Jenny is right. For some reason I can't get the link to post to the video uncle Tony's u tube refers too.
Maybe. Someone can get it to post.
Hydraulic rollers aren't in the clear as people have had issues with them too. Still no cam or lifter is idiot proof

 

If you have experienced flat tappet failure it's because you or your engine builder failed to properly install and break in the valve train components.

 

I've had no failure but there may be some that failed die to rebuilt ligters

 

And, if the lifter has the slightest burr on its circumferential edges, or on anywhere which contacts the block's lifter bore; that will prevent lifter from spinning.

If lifter bore is badly worn, lifter can "****" in bore and Not spin.

Even a boxed lifter which may have hit a production/warehouse floor can have burr(s).

Pay close attention to fine details of both lifter & bore.

while procedure in #10 is sound, certain language seems much like Ellison's in his ~22 minute youtube on how to set hydraulics.

 

7t9.....when paste it in, delete the "s" in https......make it http. Works everytime.

Jebby

 

Stay away from any off shore lifters. The only other concern is if you run high spring pressures, then the oil type is critical. Even rollers have crappy quality off shore. brands. Know where your stuff is coming from.

 

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Really? 😅 I think I would know if the question was rhetorical or not. The motor was factory issued, and factory broken in, with the factory springs. The po parked it in the late '90s because of engine issues. Zddp was being phased out starting in the mid '90s. Therefore the cam was no longer properly lubed, and lobe failure was the result

 

Back then GM was known for "soft" cams, at least that what the old timers said. Independent of that there's no telling what kind of servicing an engine received over 20 years. Without knowing how the vehicle was cared for.....all bets are off. Although I would be inclined to blame poor owner maintenance over poorly manufactured parts, or crappy oil.. We saw a few wiped cams even in the early '70's