This is a friend's Poncho RA IV with less than 1000 miles.
Same part number for Olds- 857

 

The design has changed. The older 857 does not have the angular cut on the top of the lifter. Probably just makes attaching the cross-bar rivet easier.
Has your friend experienced any issues?

 

A bunch of broken link bars that spun the lifter, knocked the roller off one, and ruined the cam. Zoom in on the pics

 

These? I guess we will see. No issues that I have heard of...

 

I'm trying to figure out if the slot is to accommodate lifter bore spacing


how thick are the link bars?

 

Since the lifters don't go up and down at the same amount and at the same time, they need the slot. The distance between the rivets varies constantly except on the base circle of the cam lobe.

 

did they just go kaboom and he shut it down?

 

yeah

 

the reason I asked is because it’s hard to believe that many just failed all at once.

Could have been valve float or something. Link bar hitting the valley tray, if he had one, is a problem on Pontiac’s.

I would check the broken link bars for damage inside the slot ends and the upper edges

 

I'll pass it along. Thanks!

 

they may have a wider than normal slots because they are made for two different apps, the olds lifter bore spacing is .092” wider than Pontiac. Should check to make sure the link bar isn’t butting on the rivet base during max lifter height differential and on base circle.

check one of the ones that aren’t broke through a full rotation while checking the link bar for clearance

 

Right on. He has a Butler Tomahawk valley tray, allegedly designed for roller lifters.

 

My link bar is .085" on my digital caliper for thickness. The valley tray makes sense. Hitting that a high rpm would be very bad. I like the Turkey Tray gasket but with a roller cam, aluminum heads with BBO ports it is not worth all the modifications necessary to run one on a SBO.

 

I have decided I will be using Bam Solid Roller bushed roller lifters if I ever replace what I have with our old (circa 1987) USA made hydraulic roller lifters.

 

Guess I should pay more attention
Whats Comp have to say?

 

They're probably going to warranty them, but we don't know to what extent. Sure, they'll have no problem sending out another box of lifters, but what about the Butler cam (Comp core) and other rebuild expenses? Also, would you put them back in after failing so quickly?

What likely went first, the roller or the link bars?

 

You'll most likely get the new Evolution ones in exchange. I’ve used a half dozen sets of the new ones, so far so good.
Btw- the ones your friend has weren’t actually made by Comp. They are now, they own the factory.

 

I called them today. The evolution series just changes the guts to a cartridge. The link bars, body, and roller are the same.
The Morel/Ersons sure look beefier in comparison. Why did you quit selling them, again?

 

Either noisy (like a sewing machine) or wouldn’t bleed down and would hold the valves open once you fired the engine.
Actually Comp is using their mech roller bodies for most of the new Evolution series lifters. That means the wheel size goes from a .700 to a .750 on the Olds/Pontiac stuff, not a bad thing. And not sure how many failures they had on the solids in the past, but they felt that was the best route moving forward for the new lifter.

 

I can confirm this issue. That is exactly what happened with the 440 DX pump gas engine I posted.

 

Why would you pump them up before adjusting in the first place?

never prime the oil system before properly adjusting the lifter pre load.

 

In my situation they were not pumped up prior to adjusting preload. They pumped up while making pulls on the dyno and started hanging the valves open.

 

That was a pretty rare Pontiac motor. Tear down time

 

Not bleeding down before initial fire up and pumping up when running is different.

I don’t use a lot of the comp hyd roller lifters , but the ones I have used are still running fine. 6k plus with no pump up. They do need more seat pressure and near zero lash..1/8 to 1/4 max

Ive used Howard’s hyd rollers and no issues with them. I don’t know who makes theirs

 

I know this is a few days old but I want to add that lifters dont fail like that unless there was something in a bind or maybe over revved. It might be the picture but it looks like the pushrods on the left side in the picture have been very hot ? Especially down near the lifters ? Somethings not right. I have used a ton of Comps lifters and have never had one fail. I have them in several marine engines that are 5 years old or more and they take a beating.

They need to put some checking springs on the heads and run the thing through a few revolutions and see what it is doing.

 

Morel.

 

Always? I’ve been told they could also be Johnson or Gaterman.

 

it’s real easy to spot. Gatermans look like the old Crane stuff, they’re here in Fl and I think they bought some of the machinery.
Johnson’s have a look all their own as well.
Morel does private label for Howard’s, Lunati, Erson, and some of the warehouses so those all look the same. But their quality has gone down. And according to John Callies at Morel, they won’t stand a lot spring pressure either.

 

who’s quality has gone down?

 

Morels as of late. I know others that have quit using them as well.

 

This quite a known fact on other forums as well.

 

Why i'm afraid to go roller. Seems always hear problems.

 

Plenty of issues with flat tappet too. Hopefully the newest Comp design is trouble free.

 

Mark are these lifters no good to use? Comp 857-16 lifters. Or should the Evolution series be used.

 

I’ve been using the rest of the olds ones as well as the new ones. No issues to report.