Quote Originally Posted by Itoldyouso View Post
It seems to me we are hearing more and more about flat tappet cam failures than we ever did in the old days, even when the cam is broken in properly. I know we hear about oil today "not having the good stuff anymore", but sometimes cams fail even when additives are put in to replace some of those things.

Before I knew what I was doing (not that I know much more now) I remember installing a lot of cams in Pontiacs, Fords, Chevys, and other engines without even doing a breakin procedure, I would just install it, fire it up, and let it sit there and idle for a while. And yet, I don't ever remember one of them wiping out a lobe.

Are cams made of different metals now, or are we using higher spring pressures or more lift, which is affecting how they rub the lifter base? Just curious what our more educated members think is causing this to happen.

Don
well its some of this and some of that . oil now has more detergents in it and NO ZDDP and if you add that to you new oil there is a very good chance that it is just going to sit in the bottom of the oil pan never mix in the oil and if it will mix it will not bond to the cam and lifters as the detergent blocks the zddp from working.as for lifters not having the right radius ground on them or to coarse of a finsh or not the right rock well hard to say .thats why i do and have been putting in roller cams in for the last 20 years .i do build flat lifter cam engine any thing but a bbc. but i will not cover a wiped cam no way in hell .that is the first thing i get that out of the way if they do not like that they can fine someone else that will lie to them
.i do not like to wast my time by machining and build the best engine i can for the money knowing i building some thing that can fail on break in with a flat lifter cam