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Bill,
Sorry to hear about your problem. Hang in there Buddy. Let us know what you find when you blow it apart. In addition to checking the plate at the block, take a look at the plumbing on your remote filter, people have starved engines plumbing that in reverse. The center line is out and the outboard line is in. Somehow this always seems intuitively wrong to me so I check it 15 times after reconnecting.
Good luck. Steve
Last edited by Steve Dickey; 06-03-2003 at 08:17 PM..
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your trouble.
You have a mechanical cam, so it needs proper adjustment with feeler gauges, check the cam spec sheet for clearances, such as .022 intake and .024 exhaust , adjust when cold. If your clearances were too tight then when the engine warmed up, the clearances would get tighter ,cause spring bind and destroy your cam.
Also why are you running a mechanical cam, are you going to race it? The hydraulic grinds are just as powerful as the mechanical grinds and are more street friendly and don't need to be adjusted every time you take it to the track.
Perry.
Bill,
Did you check your installed heights and compare to the height at which the springs bind? Given my cam lift and installed heights even if I adjusted my lash at 0.00" cold, my springs would not come close to binding after things warmed up. I think after you get things torn down you will have a good idea as to what went on.
Good luck, Steve
Also, did you break it in with both the inner and outer springs in place?? That might have contributed to the lobe/lifter wear but the broken lifters.......................................
Steve
Worked on the motor some more last night in preparation for removing it tomorrow evening after work. I tried to turn the oil pump via the shaft and it fell straight through to the oil pan Now I'm wondering if somehow, the shaft or oil pump failed and that contributed to my engine failure. I guess I will know more when I pull the pan.
I'm now looking for a nice nydraulic roller cam and will also get matching springs to ensure no problems arise.
Cobra Make, Engine: NAF 289 Slabside Early Comp Car with 289 Webers and all the goodies. Cancelling the efforts of several Priuses
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Before you disconect everything and yank the engine, take aminute to look at the plumbing for the remote oil filter & cooler. As Clois posted previously, if oil is being heavily restricted this would cause this type of damage would result. Specifically, be certain that the hose carrying oil "OUT" of the engine is going "IN" to the filter, then "OUT" of the filter to the cooler and then back to the engine. If you have an oil cooler it should be replaced and not reused. There is no way to clean it successfully. Be sure to flush all hoses before reuse. Fill the filter, cooler and if possible the lines with oil before firing next time. Good luck
Let us all know what you find. What a way to spoil an anticipated event!!!
Rick
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Last edited by Rick Parker; 06-04-2003 at 08:33 AM..
Bill,
I'll be there a bit early and will have to leave by 12:30. With any luck my car will be there to.
If your oil pump drive shaft broke you would have noticed the pressure drop to zero.
Hang in there, Steve
Cobra Make, Engine: I used to fix them for a living
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Next time, prelube the motor until you see oil dribbling out of the tops of the pushrods, that way you know it is circulating. You can't clean metal debris out of an oil cooler, you replace them.
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Sorry to hear about your problems!
I think that the pump drive shaft can come out of the pump and drop into the pan if the retaining washer is not in place. In my engine, it is like one of those push caps on a kids toy (you know the ones that you hammer and hammer on until they are bent and mangled but holding - then you realize you forgot a small part and have to somehow pry them off!). Anyway... if that washer drops too far down the shaft, the shaft will be able to pull up and out of the oil pump, then kerplunk, into the pan.
I think the broken part of the lifters look like a brittle fracture, which either means a cast part, or some sort of heat treatment. Even hard parts will wear with no oil. The lifters do not show a lot of heat though, so I think oil was present, but maybe not in the quantity needed. You noted some "supplier problems" - could the lifters have been out of tolerance on the OD, allowing them to "cock" in the lifter bore and bind up? This might explain the lack of damage to the pushrods. Or could they have been allowed to come out of the lifter bores in the block enough to bind, similar to pistons coming out of the cylinder if you get too much stroke on the crank?
Good luck and best wishes!
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Venom S
I have way to much experience at this stuff lately. I talked to my machinist last night about your situation and he told me to tell you to leave your valves and springs in tact and take your heads to your machinist and maybe he can shed some light on this catastrophy.
Hang in there and be sure to mic and magnaflux everything before you re-use it. Pretty cheap insurance. If you are considering another hydraulic cam I would suggest a Crane if you can find the grind you like or go with a Solid lifter Cam.
If you want to feel a little better about your situation, you can go back and read some of my post over the last 12 or so months.
Clois
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Venom---I am a tad confused, you said earlier that 'Edelbrock said that their springs would work with my cam'...does this mean you put a set of Edelbrock springs on a Comp Cam? If so, this may be the source of your trouble, because edelbrock springs have a different bind height than Comp Cams (generally) and this may have meant that your springs were at absolute compression during the cam's travel, which would give you a bind and compress the lifters. I would almost guess that your pushrods are too long...I would also HIGHLY reccommend you hot tank the block, change the cam (probably destroyed) and ALL the bearings in the motor and then have the block thoroughly cleaned again. And don't forget to flush all the cooler lines and the cooler!
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You suggest replacing the oil cooler in this particular case due to the inability to flush the lines. I spun a bearing in my FE and had some debris in the pan, so this is probably stupid but do you suggest replacing my cooler as well. I know I probaly will hear debris is debris so replace it. Thank you!
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You guessed it. An oil cooler is like $200, how much money do you have in your FE where taking a $200 gamble doesn't leave you with an uneasy feeling? You cna flush the lines, but the cooler will hold onto the metal debris.
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In a fit of 16 year old genius, I looked down through the carb while cranking it to see if fuel was flowing, and it was. Flowing straight up in a vapor cloud, around my head, on fire.
Now I'm wondering if somehow, the shaft or 
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