Thread: 454 Towing/ Farm truck

Tweet

JDS, welcome to the forum. Hope that you get some good advice from some of the experienced engine guys that hang around here, and that you enjoy a long stay.

I'm not an engine expert and won't try to blow smoke by giving you advice on your cam choice other than to offer that today's reformulated oils don't work well with flat tappet cams. There are several reasons that all of the OEM's have only used roller lifters for the last 20 years or so, mostly performance and efficiency factors, but the need to eliminate zinc and phosphorus from the oils to stop fouling catalytic converters sealed the deal on cams. You can run one of several racing oils (Brad Penn, Joe Gibbs) that still carry enough of the heavy metals to keep the flat tappet cam happier, but the right answer is to go roller lifters and not worry about it. There are guys who don't agree, but if you take time to really research the facts the answer is clear.

I have used rotella in all of my engines for a while as I feel like it is a much better oil than what is commonly used. Do you feel like rotella would help the cam wear issue?

Originally Posted by JDS72CHEVY

I have used rotella in all of my engines for a while as I feel like it is a much better oil than what is commonly used. Do you feel like rotella would help the cam wear issue?

We've got some guys here who swear by Rotella oil. I used it (newer roller cam engine) until I discovered that it also carries very high levels of detergents, which can cause their own problems in non-diesel engines. My opinion is that any motor oil that is rated for use on the road today is formulated to prevent plugging catalytic converters, and carries reduced levels of both zinc and phosphorus when compared to motor oils that were offered before 1990. For me, I would not spend the money to build or rebuild any engine with a flat tappet cam where roller lifters are an option. Again, my opinions and I'm not going to get into another pissing match about oils (with others here, not speaking of you JDS) defending what I've learned to be true. I've found a bunch of good information on the site, BobIsTheOilGuy - Bob Is The Oil Guy | The Internet's Number One Motor Oil Site even though it's now sponsored by Pennzoil Synthetics....