Steve's Ride

[Yadkin]

Thanks Dave. I set the preset in accordance with Crane's recommendations. With cleaned lifters, make contact (feel that by twisting the push rod as you tighten) then advance 3/4 to 1 full turn more. That's probably the same as your .030 - .040. Then I primed the engine.

As I recall, I did it twice. The first time at 3/4 turn and had tapping, then again at 1 turn.

[Yadkin]

Another thing on my list is new front springs.

28 years ago when I started this projects I purchased new front and rear springs from a shop in Syracuse, NY. When I ordered the fronts the guy asked me if I wanted "heavy duty" springs. Knowing that I would eventually install heavy duty sway bars I said yes.

At that point in the project I was working out of a garage space near a flat that I rented. I installed the springs then towed the car to a second garage at a house that I rented. Then I took the engine out to clean it and paint the engine bay. Then I re-installed the engine, and a year later moved the car to a barn at my first purchased house.

To make a long story short, it was about two years between the time that I bought the springs and then could evaluate them with the car road worthy. They were "topped out". And I could not return them. So I cut a coil off and the set-up worked. It even created a nice rake, which I liked.

Now, however, I find that I only have 4" ground clearance to my oil pan, and my wife complained that the car rides rough.

Macs notified me yesterday of a 2 day no shipping cost deal so I just ordered new ones.

[simplyconnected]

Thanks Dave. I set the preset in accordance with Crane's recommendations. With cleaned lifters, make contact (feel that by twisting the push rod as you tighten) then advance 3/4 to 1 full turn more. That's probably the same as your .030 - .040. Then I primed the engine.

As I recall, I did it twice. The first time at 3/4 turn and had tapping, then again at 1 turn.

I guarantee if you follow these directions, you will bend pushrods.

Lifter preload measurements MUST start when the plunger is on the circlip at the top. There is a very light spring inside your lifters that naturally push the plungers up when they are dry. If you have a very light touch, you can feel this stop by gently pushing down and letting up on the pushrod.

As I explained, preload starts at the circlip and descends .030". Starting anywhere else is a recipe for disaster, but hey, do what you want. - Dave

[Yadkin]

It turned out to be a bad lifter, #1 exhaust. Now I have the simple task of removing the intake manifold, heavy and glued on. I think I'll design a lever and block to break it free, and save from renting a crane and removing the hood.

[jopizz]

It's interesting that the shop manual says you can replace a lifter without removing the intake. I guess it's possible but I never tried it. Sounds like if you have the right tool you can pull it out and somehow slide it out from one of the openings.

John

[simplyconnected]

...He says that roller lifters should be adjusted while the oil pump is being primed. He offered to come over and show me how to do it, so I've prepped the engine for this...

John, his hydraulic roller lifters either have links or dog bones to keep the rollers square with the cam. Either way, it's not a simple job of pulling one lifter out. Steve must remove his intake manifold.

Having said that, the lifters are identical to flat. The plunger, check valve, spring, all that is precision steel, hardened and ground. They can be serviced unless the machining was flawed. If it was, the engine builder should have recognized it right away. If a piece of metal got in there from an improperly washed block after machining. It can be cleared.

This business of engine building is highly precision and painstakingly clean. Yes, engines get dirty inside from use, but that is carbon, a natural lubricant (like graphite). The culprit here is, metal chips.

Steve, I'm glad you tracked the problem down to a faulty lifter. That's why I run ~5 gal of fuel through my engines on a test stand with plenty of heat/cool cycles, before dropping it in an engine bay. If anything is wrong, it's easier to fix while out in the open or put the engine back on a stand. The factory does the same but they monitor with sensors all over the engine, running it cold (no plugs or fuel), then hot. If a 'bad' engine is installed in a vehicle, the assembly plant charges the engine plant 3X the labor cost to pull and return. - Dave

[Yadkin]

Yeah, the rollers are paired together, intake and exhaust.

Kevin Bush built the short block, timing set and heads in his shop- very clean. I took over from there in my garage, installing the lifters, valve train, and intake. It would have been nice to test run it, but with open headers in a residential neighborhood I don't need to have the Sheriff visit me. We're on good terms and I'd like to keep it that way.

I installed the engine in an auto shop that I'm associated with and still waited until I got the exhaust installed before I fired it up, so it sat, primed, for several months during this process.

[Yadkin]

Back together an running well. I drove to Mocksville this morning, transmission downshifting correctly, Four barrels kicking in, 50 to 70 in no time. Some smoke on hard runs, I assume the rings need to seat a bit.

Rebuilt the rear end and got rid of some nasty looking wheel bearings. The internals all look great.

Installing new front springs and ruined two compressors in the process. I have a specialist coming tomorrow to install them.

[Yadkin]

Looks like another lifter went bad.

[simplyconnected]

Ford uses the dog bone style lifters in their SBF engines. They work great.
The 'link' style made by Morel are good too. Ever since Morel, there are a lot of 'knock-offs' that you must steer clear of because they are cheap and they fail. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

Steve, what preload did you use?
This is important because the major cause for lifter failure is metal chips or dirt. Chips can cause the lifter's internal piston to stop working (seize) or it can disable the check valve.

Did you measure your piston-to-valve clearance? If your preset is too deep, the lifter can pump all the way up and drive a valve too deep.

I would disassemble the 'bad' lifters on a clean paper towel and carefully inspect whatever is in there. Too many machine shops are not careful about washing all the parts. Sometimes they leave brush bristles in oil galleries. FE engines are not easy to overhaul successfully. - Dave

[Yadkin]

I have a new set coming in from COMP. The set I had was from 2012, and Kevin got them to admit, not in exact words of course, that they had a quality issue then.

[Yadkin]

Dave, Kevin Bush is clean freak, and so am I. He cleaned that block and parts many times. He has a restaurant type sink in his assembly room. This is not some fly by night operation. The lifters failed because of a manufacturing defect. COMP basically admitted that.

[simplyconnected]

...I would disassemble the 'bad' lifters on a clean paper towel and carefully inspect whatever is in there...

I don't know any of the parties involved. Whatever people say (or don't say) means little to me. Let the evidence speak for itself THEN you can talk about who is to blame.

Whether it's bad paint or bad lifters, if the company put them out for retail sales, they should be made responsible to the customer.

Evidently these lifters worked just fine, and then they didn't.

We have used hydraulic lifters for fifty years with no issues. My 1990 Mustang came w/hyd roller cam/lifters. I ran them for sixteen years and so did hundreds of thousands of Mustangs.

The real question is... if these people knew their quality was bad WHY are you buying from them? Close business associates and friends would steer you away from bad parts. I know I would caution you. Removing & reinstalling your intake manifold a few times costs a lot of time and money. - Dave

[Yadkin]

You think Comp knew their product was bad when they sold it to me?