When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Well guys, think I finally found the problem. I am im the middle of a heads cam swap. I pulled the passenger head and I can see cam damage on what i think is the number 7 cam lobe for the drivers side head. Hard to see in the pics but i can feel a definite edge with my finger and the tip of a screwdriver. Whats weird is this car is a 2000, but it already has the revised style lifters. Some one would have had to changed them at some point right? Didnt think these came along until later.
Hey there. Got an email about this thread. Forgot all about it lol. Are you talking about lobe you can see through the hole in the block? If so then yes the cam is ruined and yes that lifter would be your problem. Some call it metal fatigue or whatever but cam pitting/scalloping is what you’re looking at. Basically the metal loses its hardness/heat treatment(I Think that’s correct) by more heat from more friction or a seized up lifted wheel. Both of which are basically the same thing. Dragging a tire across the road instead of rolling it lol. Crazy to think all those shavings fall right on the bottom end
I can’t tell how wide the “wipe” pattern is on that bad lobe but if it’s noticably wider than the others cross your fingers on being able to pull it up out of the bore without having to force it. I couldn’t which is why I had to fish mine through the motor. Once again I STRONGLY advise against ls7 style lifters and spring for something better. If you recall 20k miles and ls7 lifter nearly cost me my entire motor and that was smallish cam only with single springs. Ls7s are okay they just can’t handle very much seat pressure from springs nor high rpm for very long. I’ve read a lot of bad stories. Lol although My buddy put them in his car and they lasted for a year shifting a tad over 6k. Always got noisy after a pass. He swapped to link bars when he got ported heads and freshened his top end. GL if you need help on anything try visiting ls1howto (dot) com and click on f body heads and cam swap. Also do not forget on checking the pushrod length regardless of what lifter you use. If uncomfortable with it find someone local to assist you as it is very important.
Last edited by Lt1slowerbird; Nov 18, 2018 at 12:06 PM.
What lifters would be a better option to the ls7 style? I really dont want to spend 500 on a set of lifters but if the ls7's are a known trouble point i may have to upgrade. Already have new ls7 lifters and ls2 trays sitting on the shelf...
Personally I’d say the johnsons are the bees knees lol. But morel makes a good drop in lifter. Although their preload specs are ENTIRELY different than what you have now and you’d have to measure. If I recall I think they call for .030-.050 preload? I was the devil and ran em at .045-.060 as suggested by tickperformance and Texas speed. Don’t let me spend your money but I seriously doubt you’ll slide a stock cam back in there. And about every cam that is worth even swapping will require better springs. If staying 100% stock then the ls7s would probably be just fine and some people have ran the dog nuts off them. I’m biased because they sh*t the bed on me and almost took several grand with them. If you had them and couldn’t exchange then it is up to you. But imo I wish I spent the extra coin and got better than my morel lifters. The amount of labor just to get to them is enough for me lol. But lifters are the one place not to skimp on as they are really important and can be really deadly if they outright fail lol.
Last edited by Lt1slowerbird; Nov 18, 2018 at 12:37 PM.
I already have a sns stage 2 v2 on the shelf to go in lol. Honestly i think what happened is one of the original lifters went bad and someone swapped in these ls7 lifters not realizing the cam damage. You can only see it with the cam in the perfect spot. The lifter I pulled out rolled and seems fine other than a little scoring from the cam.
That’s very odd. I expected to see a destroyed lifter by the sight of that cam lobe lol. When you replaced the bent pushrods were any of them on that lifter?? And the sns 2 was actually the cam I was considering vs the sns 3.
Its a 231/235 .625/.605 on a 111+2 lsa. I will be tuning it myself using hptuners and some 42lb injectors. Should be pretty rowdy haha. I hate seeing it it pieces in the mean time though.
Damn that’s not too far off from my cam. Haha. What injectors you go with? I was remote tuned by a reputable tuner. If you’d like a good base to start with I can shoot you my hpt file. I went with FIC 42 pounders
That would be awesome if you could do that. I have the 42lb injectors that came in the gtp and asa corvettes. I already have the info for the injectors entered in a tune file but id love to compare the other maps.
Yea I can do that for you. You may have to tweak a few things. I have a DBC throttle body and iac. Unsure if you are drive by wire. I think all vetts were
That’s odd. Were any of the lifters hard to roll?? Weird that several lobes look a little scuffed. This was a stock cam car right? Depending on how bad those pushrods that were bent the lifters could have been “lofting” at the Bottom of the lobe only to be smacked back onto the ramp side of the lobe Know what I mean? Which the wheel and cam would surely be at different speeds making the lifter wheel skid? Idk. I’m spitballing here. Lol Either way glad you got her ripped apart haha. now is the time to give the old girl some “while you’re in there” sprucing up lol. Also I think my cam was a 235/243 .630/.610
Last edited by Lt1slowerbird; Nov 23, 2018 at 10:02 AM.
All the lifters rolled nice and smooth. The bent pushrods were not on the damaged lobes surprisingly. And yes this was a bone stock engine with 108k miles on it. Im waiting on an oil pump and cam thrust plate to show up and it will be going back together. Definitely cant wait!
Ah crap I edited my post while you were posting lol. But if all wheels were fine I would think that you had some sort of heat or friction that broke down the lobe or roller wheel. The lofting sort of thing made some sense to me. Lol but stock car shouldn’t have these issues. Who knows. That’s a nice cam you picked though. Bet it’s great for cruising. Keep us updated and let me know if you want my map table and or tune file. Although I’ll probably be Adding a touch more fuel than you’ll need it’s a good start
Sorta seems like the prev owner ran the crap out of it...…
My 2000 was warmed up by the prev owner before I test drove it. What a surprise when I fired it up cold the first time. It was a slapper.
So WTF, I hot rodded it. That was at 78k miles. Now it's at 98k miles, several hundred 1/4 mile passes, and it sounds like a diesel in the mornings. It's honestly embarrassing. Still runs bottom 11's though.
It's getting a cathedral port 6.2 this winter. And will not be getting LS7 lifters...….
Sorta seems like the prev owner ran the crap out of it...…
My 2000 was warmed up by the prev owner before I test drove it. What a surprise when I fired it up cold the first time. It was a slapper.
So WTF, I hot rodded it. That was at 78k miles. Now it's at 98k miles, several hundred 1/4 mile passes, and it sounds like a diesel in the mornings. It's honestly embarrassing. Still runs bottom 11's though.
It's getting a cathedral port 6.2 this winter. And will not be getting LS7 lifters...….
Ron
Yeah im with you, mine was warmed up also. Honestly the car seems well cared for and the guy before me was honest and told me it ticked cold when I bought it. The guy before him warmed it up and didnt tell him about it. Im just going to pony up and buy the 2110 johnsons. I really dont want to do this all over again and I dont trust a $6 lifter with aggressive cam and springs.
Interesting discovery/found problem
