VinMichael

I picked up a 455 .060" for free with old school Speed Pro pistons. I do see some glitter in the oil so, I am expecting bearing damage. It has a flat tappet hydraulic Comp Cam in it, I am not sure which grind yet.

My question is, are the lifters worth reusing, or are is there some type of damage that could have been done internally to the lifter. Or would the oil filter likely have caught the bearing material.

Olds64

Is it bearing material in the oil or is it iron from your camshaft? You can run a magnet through the used oil to see if iron shavings are in it. Better yet, you can have the oil professionally analyzed:

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/?ses...dgajs%29%29%2F

Sine you know the engine has already suffered catastrophic failure your best bet might be to start it and see if it runs. Do you have a test stand, or is the engine already installed? If you're going to rebuild the engine anyways then just take it to your machinist and he can let you know what needs to be replaced.

VinMichael

The heads are off, it’s a short block. The machinist I brought it to said the bores are in fine shape to hone.

The cam and lifters look to have have very little run time on them.

Olds64

I would at least replace the lifters if not the cam as well. It's one of those MAW things.

If you want to save money and reuse the lifters you need to make sure you put the lifters back on the appropriate cam lobe. Nothing wrong with this if you have a budget. At the same time I suggest having the machinist simply hone the block, install new bearings and use Plasti-gauge to check bearing clearances.

Macadoo

I agree with 64, you can't put a price on peace of mind. And a free 455? That's awesome dude! No matter how much money you put into it (within reason), you're ahead of the game. I say bearings, lifters, maybe cam. Or mic the lobes and at least see if they are all the same size. Maybe even see if it has any run-out?
If it is bearing material, I would want to know why. The clearances too tight? Too loose? Cam or crank bent? Messed up journals? I wonder if the block was line-honed.
And when you say you see some glitter in the oil; just by putting a light on it?

cutlassefi

Better yet, just have your machinist check everything for you. That way you know exactly what you have.

VinMichael

Yes, this is the second 455 short block I’ve picked up for free this year. Oh, the possibilities.

I have a bunch of heads that that didn’t have a home, and now they do! And finally found someone willing fill the heat risers with aluminum. I was never able to bring myself to mess around with torches in my garage.

On second look, these lifters are SKETCHY!! But the cam might still be good. I will post pictures.

I have a good dial bore that reads to .0001”. So no need for plastigauge.

Macadoo

How long is your bore gauge? I bought one and it was too short for an accurate reading. My machinist's is something like 3 feet long, lol.

I feel ya' on the torch in the garage. I don't even like to weld in mine but I do (with lots of welding blankets hanging). I saw a post the other day of a burnt-up 88. It made me want to move my fire extinguisher from the back seat floor to the arm rest

VinMichael

My dial bore is short, like a foot. But it does the job just fine. My numbers always add up with my machinist.

I will MIG weld in my garage all day long. Hospital visit isn’t worth it though. 1,000 degree molten metal in a pan, no thanks!!

Macadoo

Yeah, I get it. I put in a foundry at school a few years ago. We pour both aluminum and silicon bronze. BUT, the students practice with sand in the crucible until I feel like they won't maim me, lol.

VinMichael

All of the lifters have this strange pitting in the middle. But this is the worst looking one with the craters on the side.

Olds64

If you can catch a finger nail on it I would replace them.

FWIW, here's a thread detailing the fiasco I went through with my Olds recently. I had valve train tick due to a bent pushrod. I ended up measuring the cam lobes with a magnetic dial indicator and replaced the lifters.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-noise-134021/

Macadoo

I would also check the bores. Anything inside those you can feel with your finger?

OLDSter Ralph

1. My attention has been drawn to about SIX CompCams lifter/cam problems on this site in the last year or so. This includes Olds64's fiasco.
2. My stepbrother had oil pressure problems that have been narrowed down to CompCams lifters in his 383 Plymouth (incident #7). The shop owner he worked for asked questions of the CompCams Rep at PRI in Indianapolis this past spring. The shop owner was assured that it wasn't related to CompCams lifters. My stepbrother installed new MoPar lifters and oil pressure jumped to 50 psi. It required a new crank and new bearings because of damage done.
3. I would ask someone such as Cutlassefi what brand he recommends.
4. As a result, I am replacing the CompCams cam and lifters in the 461" engine for my Starfire. Erson TQ40H cam and Lunati lifters are going in.
5. CompCams anything is now on my "DON'T BUY LIST".
Do as you please, but those are my thoughts.

Olds64

Ralph that's interesting that your stepbrother spoke with the Comp Cams representative. As I recall, I got the adjustable roller tip rockers from Comp Cams, but the cam, lifters and pushrods were all from SuperCars Unlimited.

OLDSter Ralph

Jesse, then, I misunderstood when I read your fiasco. That still leaves five incidents and my stepbrother's Plymouth.

My stepbrother works in an "engine machine shop" as a machinist that builds some wild stuff. An example is all the Hemi's for a 4 or 5 engine "Pullin tractor" that runs on alcohol. Another example is a special inline six John Deere head, "custom" machined from a "block of aluminum" (I think the new buzzword is "billet"). Even the intake is fabricated from scratch. The John Deere "pullin tractor" is owned and run by a retired John Deere Engineer who seems to know what he is doing.

"The boss" (Radar) was at PRI and asked the Compcams Rep the questions. Radar had seen the engine and was trying to help diagnose the low oil pressure problem. The engine when it was being drag raced had 50 psi oil pressure with mechanical (solid) lifters. The engine was being "de-tuned" (milder cam and new lifters) for the street when the low oil pressure problem appeared.

VinMichael

852-16
863-16

those are the two different lifters that are offered by Comp. Maybe one is better than the other.

BillK

My take on the cam and lifters is either:

1. Keep the lifters in order and run it as is or. . .

2. Replace Camshaft and lifters. Once a cam and lifter combination has been broken in together they need to stay together.

I would never put new lifters on an old cam or vice-versa.

Take two of the lifters and butt the faces together. They should "rock" In other words the bottom of the lifter should not be flat. If they dont then throw the whole mess in the scrap metal bin.

Just my opinion,

Koda

Side note, billet is mostly BS.

OLDSter Ralph

??????????

11971four4two

THOSE LIFTERS ARE JUNK
Hopefully cam and lifter bores are not torn up

I have had good luck with crower and melling brands

Olds64

That's sound advice Bill. When you open up the top end to check out lifters it isn't that much work to remove the timing chain cover and install a new cam. Having said that, I replaced the lifters and pushrods in my 455 when I bent a pushrod. I used a magnetic dial indicator to measure the cam and all of the lobes measured good. It runs fine now, I guess I am lazy.