Catastrophic Cam/Lifter Failure Caught As It Happens - Chevy Rat Eats It's Valvetrain During Breakin

Our buds at DD Speed shop are the latest victims of the widespread cam and lifter failure epidemic, but Dan was lucky enough to cut the engine off at the precise moment one of the lifters began to disintegrate. The witness marks on this lifter point to the exact cause of the problem on this engine.
#badcam #badlifter #wipedcam #compcams #classiccar #engines #musclecar
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[hoss]

I read an article about cam/lifter failures, it stated that some American name brand companies were having lifters made by Chinese companies who were not properly heat treating lifters to the proper hardness. A soft lifter will fail. When you buy parts beware of Chinese Junk. The American companies who are doing this should be held accountable for selling inferior parts.

[DDSpeedShop]

Sucks when it happens and I sure learned alot thought the process. UTG was super helpful and talked me off the ledge a couple of times haha. Hopefully these videos can same some people from the heart ache.

[junkorbust]

Thanks for the explanation of what happened to Dan’s engine.

I’ve been running stock engines all my life, On the farm, in tractors and trucks and I have many classic cars and trucks. In almost 40 years I’ve never had trouble with a camshaft or lifters. Every type of flathead, small block V8’s, you name it, never a single problem.

It seems absurd that something that has been manufactured successfully for a century can suddenly no longer be counted on for reliable service.

[chilee]

Thanks for explaining the math on the camshaft and lifter program... I did not know any of this before you said it.. it helps me understand the issues that Dan is going through the frustration and the time & $ .. cheer from Canada

[ziggassedup]

1.5 deg radius was ground into the base of the lifters where I worked in the early 80's...

[eddiel]

Tony, your exactly right. The quality of the grinds along with the heat treatment that goes into the manufacturing process has become a problem. Even if you check the individual lifters as well as the taper on each lobe, you'll never be certain that the heat temper and the hardness of the components is there. I have personally built motors and checked all parameters, used moly on all lobes and lifter faces, primed the engine with zinc break-in oil. Fired the motor up and ran it the way you have told everyone in your videos. Guess what, out of twenty nine engines I have built in the past five years, two didn't pass the break in process.
Roller Cams from now on. Spend the extra money, I tell everyone. Less heat, less resistance, free up some HP. Peace of mind, you can't put a price on less stress and reliability.

[mschrar]

I reused 35 year old roller lifters on my last 5.0 Ho 302 build. They still don't bleed down.

[brocluno]

So my neighbor and I are about to break in probably the last flat tappet we'll ever build. A serious BB Chevy with a pretty serious cam in the 280 duration range. As with all of my flat tappet motors, as soon as that engine lights, I'll lift the valve covers and make sure the push rods are spinning. If any of them are stalling, we'll shut it down and find out why ... I am not going to shrapnel load an $8K short block. It ain't worth even the possibility 🙃
And just a note (I have no affiliation), we are using Rhodes lifters. Partly because this is a jet boat with wet exhaust and we are trying to stop water reversion at low engine speed, but also because all Rhodes lifters are still made in the USA by Johnson Controls with properly heat treated USA steel. Ain't cheap ($250+), but a scattered motor is more expensive. The other choices are Howards Direct Lube and Crower Cam Saver. Howards and Crower do not have the designed bleed down to reduce duration at lower engine speed, but they are the same lifter body metal.

[jamesblair]

Good catch, you understood what you were seeing.

[lgude]

An early sign of civilisational failure documented by Dan and Tony. 😢

[fireballxl-]

Hey UT....I watch your channel for three reasons and I'm not much beyond the very basics but I also watch for entertainment (1) besides knowledge (2). In this video, when you showed the witness mark on the lifter the first thing you asked is what does that witness mark mean? And immediately I knew the lifter was not rotating OF YOU AND YOU TEACHING ME time ago. It was exciting for this senior citizen to get it right and right the first time. And that great feeling produced is the third reason I watch UTG. Thank you!

[lewhanna]

I had cam failure from that company in the early 90's, two of the lifters we pulled out showed no lobe taper. Haven't used that brand since, also haven't had a failure since.

[williesweetjr]

9:29, a telling statement, "we never worried about it." In my past builds, I've mixed original lifters on original cams, replaced a couple of bad lifters with new ones, the last build of an SBC with a Melling cam and lifters done in the late 90"s is still intact. Current build of a race prep SBF will be with the Blue Racer 514 lift and NOS set of Rhoades lifters bought in the 80's because we are weary of the current state of production. And my wife ask me all the time why I haven't gotten rid of these old internal engine parts! Words to the wise from you and DD, "Check everything!"

[jameypelland]

Two cam failer with in month for me.
First cam and lifter where summit racing brand.

Second cam and lifter were comp cam.

[ILIKEHP]

Never knew cams had tapper so lifters rotate learn something new everyday Thanks Tony

[RustyShackleford]

I ran my new cam in mine for 6k+ miles, and mine started ticking. I thought maybe Rocker Cam loose, but the lock nut was tight, so I pulled a lifter and wasn't gouging but was dished the lifter.

[jasonconaway]

Just had a Howard’s cam failure. Went roller this time. Seems to be a very common issue now days with poor material quality.

[gcaprice]

100% agree with your “bad lifters after the year 2000” assertion. Saw it as it was happening at the parts store I worked at as a kid. I always just assumed the lifter failures were caused by moron customers… but it just kept happening even to the smart guys, and I started to catch on.

[ModelA]

The fact that Comp gave Dan a hassle warranty wise and Summit sent a replacement right away speaks volumes to the knowledge of the issue and who is willing to challenge the poor quality. A run around to the consumer but Summit’s size means they have the clout to address the issue.

[geraldscott]

I just watched Dans video a few seconds before coming here. The problems are obvious. The question is, why are parts being made this way? Dan used a Comp cam. I think he bought the lifters at the same time, both from Summit Racing. Didn't you have a Comp cam where the journals were machined oversized, and wouldn't even fit in the block? I believe it was for the hemi in that '67 GTX.