Video

I realy enjoy yorur knowledge of problems and how to fix these issues.

Do you have a video of you explaining the fix for the oiling fix for the number 4 main bearing.

Looks to me like you have other problems besides lifter failures.

All the new cars have roller cams. Wipe out one flat tappet cam and you just bought a roller cam because you have to buy another cam. Quit your whining and go roller.

This is why people buy Chinese heads and put their own good parts in them. They might be made from an aluminum can, but most of the castings are nice. (Not procomp/speedmaster junk)

Back in the 70,s Dick Henessy told me to NEVER USE COMP CAMS .

Comp U flat

Too much ZDDP is worse than not enough! How many companies do you think are making flat tappet hydralic lifters! Maybe your choice of oils and additives are less than ideal! Not that I am on Comp Cams side at all. You seem to having a lot of failures. I would not use Lucas in anything or their ZDDP additives! Just like cam cores you are only going to see two major players in the came core market!

try driven br 30 or br 40

I am very interested in talking to you.. How can I reach out to you through email..

I didn’t know who you were till about 5 yrs ago but have come to value your info and have a couple questions you if you would be inclined to answer about flat tappet cam and lifters for gen 1 Chevy motors as I have no confidence in todays products but have a few cams from approx.the 90’s and 2000 or so.one is a slightly use crane 1st gen z/28,the other trw/speed pro that’s new.the crane looks to be made of good material and other I see no reason for concern but wonder what might be done to them both before use and what lifter you would use.i was thinking Chevy and not the cheapo’s nor the $400 lifters but a bit lower.whats your thoughts?thanks

This is coming from a Chevy guy, I like your presentation and truthful, to the point objectiveness. My high school auto students built 3 motors this spring. The small block with a Howard's setup failed. Comp Products told a friend of mine they are at about 40+% failure rate and wouldn't even sell him a flat tappet for his BBC. Other student ran an Elgin setup it lived. Only difference was we broke it in at 1800 RPM and used 30 weight non detergent. The other SBC is an Elgin setup is going on the start up stand shortly my only change here is to run it on the stock springs through the break in. This whole camshaft thing is really disappointing! Have a 400 SBC with an Isky cam and Crower direct lube lifters in it that will be broke in next. The JUNK they are making has taken all the fun out of building motors with my students, the next generation of hot rodders. Complete buzz-kill. Student from last year on a Comp set survived break and a summer of fun. Cam/lifters failed last month. Does big pharma own stock in lifter companies? Thanks you have a new subscriber.

Get lifters with a hard bottom .

Cams need to be ground with a 1 to 2 degree back cut on the lobes, lifters need a crown on the bottom so they will spin . Hope this helps.

Don buy Chinese crap buy Elgin or Melling

You are using lubricant with TOO MUCH zinc additive. Too much zinc increases wear.

You USA guys need to get the Japanese to manufacture your camshafts and solid lifters. They make our components for the V8 Supercar series for all the front running teams, and the main thing, the valve springs, are the best available on the planet, and we have tried every top-end manufacturer to F1 standards.

You can also use a Mirror or Window they are flat

I had an Edelbrock RPM cam go flat on at start up, only ran for about 10 minutes. was about 300/ 318 duration with .488/.510 lift. was about 8 years ago.

I just asked this same question to Elgin Inc., since I had purchased their hydraulic flat tappers and 292 cam and then got real nervous of catastrophic failure if the quality was china inferior! I sent an email to their tech dept. wanting more info about their lifters- here’s their reply! !Hi xxxx Thank you for your inquiry. Elgin lifters are OEM, made by Eaton & Delphi. The flat tappets are from the same Eaton factory that makes them for OEM assembly lines. What ever inventory the OEM's don't use at the end of each week is made available to the aftermarket through Elgin. The HL-1817 are coming from the GM Engine Assembly Complex in Mexico. These have the lifter body cast and machined in North America. We sell them because they are the only lifters that we will cover with our warranty. Thank you, Scott Stier Aftermarket Sales Desk : 847-930-6325 Elgin : 800-323-6764 ----Original Message---- From: Elgin Industries [mailto:noreply@elginind.com] Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2022 10:26 AM To: Sales Subject: Submission from Website Contact Form From: ckfkdnjjdk Subject: Mail Submission from www.elginind.com/ Name: David Haney Phone: 864-305-6189 Email: kdjsfjgfjgf Comments: I bought your Elgin HL-1817 lifters and your E-920-P cam for my sbc 350, and I am hearing MANY people complaining about cam lifter failures and killing the engine upon break in - NOTHING has been said about your brand, but the general statements made imply there are actually only about 3 lifter manufacturers making lifters for everyone….. who makes your lifters? Are they actually made in the USA, or just assembled, and made in Mexico? Are there reports of lifter failures being made about these? I would much prefere to know in advance of blowing up my engine! Your honesty is paramount, as I will still continue to buy your products! Are these issues due to poor quality metal (China metal), or are your lifters built from quality USA steel? Thank you in advance for any and ALL info you can provide! (Also I am fully aware of proper break in procedures- varying rpm’s from 2000 to 2500, and at least 20 minutes to 30 minutes- never let it idle during break in, use break in specific oil high zddp oil and change the oil and filter, right after break in with another high zddp quality oil and filter) thanks! -- This e-mail was sent from a contact form on Elgin Industries (www.elginind.com)” made me feel much better after getting that reply! ps, my lifters do not have a parting line, and look like a solid body with the recessed middle section like the pic of the Summit ones above. Even the numbers are similar, indicating the most likely other companies are also buying left over stock assembly parts to rebrand, and sell. ‘there’s a bunch of guessing going on these days, so when you get the info straight from the (reputable) company, you have to hope for the best going forward!

I just asked this same question to Elgin, since I had purchased their hydraulic flat tappers and L46 cam and then got real nervous of catastrophic failure if the quality was china inferior! I sent an email to their tech dept. wanting more info about their lifters- here’s their reply! Hi David, Thank you for your inquiry. Elgin lifters are OEM, made by Eaton & Delphi. The flat tappets are from the same Eaton factory that makes them for OEM assembly lines. What ever inventory the OEM's don't use at the end of each week is made available to the aftermarket through Elgin. The HL-1817 are coming from the GM Engine Assembly Complex in Mexico. These have the lifter body cast and machined in North America. We sell them because they are the only lifters that we will cover with our warranty. Thank you, Scott Stier Aftermarket Sales Desk : 847-930-6325 Elgin : 800-323-6764 -----Original Message----- From: Elgin Industries [mailto:noreply@elginind.com] Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2022 10:26 AM To: Sales Subject: Submission from Website Contact Form From: David Haney <fbpd227@yahoo.com> Subject: Mail Submission from www.elginind.com/ Name: David Haney Phone: 864-305-6189 Email: fbpd227@yahoo.com Comments: I bought your Elgin HL-1817 lifters and your L46 cam for my sbc 350, and I am hearing MANY people complaining about cam lifter failures and killing the engine upon break in - NOTHING has been said about your brand, but the general statements made imply there are actually only about 3 lifter manufacturers making lifters for everyone….. who makes your lifters? Are they actually made in the USA, or just assembled, and made in Mexico? Are there reports of lifter failures being made about these? I would much prefere to know in advance of blowing up my engine! Your honesty is paramount, as I will still continue to buy your products! Are these issues due to poor quality metal (China metal), or are your lifters built from quality USA steel? Thank you in advance for any and ALL info you can provide! (Also I am fully aware of proper break in procedures- varying rpm’s from 2000 to 2500, and at least 20 minutes to 30 minutes- never let it idle during break in, use break in specific oil high zddp oil and change the oil and filter, right after break in with another high zddp quality oil and filter) thanks! -- This e-mail was sent from a contact form on Elgin Industries (www.elginind.com)” made me feel much better after getting that reply! ps, my lifters do not have a parting line, and look like a solid body with the recessed middle section like the pic of the Summit ones above. Even the numbers are similar, indicating the most likely other companies are also buying left over stock assembly parts to rebrand, and sell. ‘there’s a bunch of guessing going on these days, so when you get the info straight from the (reputable) company, you have to hope for the best going forward!

You can't argue with the dial gauge.

15:00 mark = 🔥🔥🔥 Also appreciate your methodology 👍

China China China! I’ve heard good things about truck Norris but I haven’t looked to see if they make them for mopars though.

I can fix it. Put 2 pins in it guys. Alignment Pins from a block to head.

I cannot believe you re-used that Comp Cam. That would have been the first thing into my scrap pile. That cam caused the wear pattern on the Johnson lifter.

I had the same problem with my 440 build two years ago. The Comp Cam ate 4 lifters, one looked just like the one that you have, concave wore plumb through to hole in the lifter, I found that out at 378 miles when the engine started missing badly and I was 20 miles away from home. tore down and cleaned the engine, ordered and Edelbrock cam/lifter set, got it, opened the box, there is a Comp Cam and Lifters in the box. No way man. Sent it back to Summit, because I tried for 6 freaking weeks to get Comp customer service on the phone the first time. Ordered a Crower, they were the best ever on customer service, Johnson cam saver lifters with the oiling groove down the side. So far, so good. I`m like you, I check everything twice in a rebuild.

Dont buy Chinese crap! Comp might use chinese cores and lifters.

I think it’s taper/ machining issues.

I'm new to the car space and would like to do a stock refresh on an Olds 403, new bearings, rings, cam and lifters all within original spec. A first time rebuild for a newbie is a daunting task in and of itself, but the lifter failure epidemic is alarming. Any advice? Thanks.

I like your style brother. Conclusive evidence based on PROOF !!.. Awesome job.. i really appreciate your honest efforts and research. Thank you. 👏 this camshaft crap is outta hand.. thanks for doing your best to share with the rest of us. 👍 Subscribed ! 🍻

This is a great test for lifter machining. I am terrified to install the 274H I got from Comp and thinking of just dropping the $1200 it costs to upgrade to roller because of all the failures. Maybe I can perform the same check with my magnetic dial indicator and see where the lifters are at. Thanks.

1994 ll worked for Gasbarre products Inc and l did some heat treating. 1995 l worked 12 hours a 😂for a heat treating company in St Mary pa. I went from 6 a hour to 3.50 a hours wage. Don't tell me that it costs 110 t😢heat treatment one camshaft. I could have done 100 a hour. The problem is that they didn't knknow how to do it. Probably the people who did it retired and they need but can't find a metallurgical engineer to show them how to do it. But they won't hir🎉anyone because there is no money in selling flat tappet camshaft.

Back in the day swapping from 906 open chamber to these 915’s would drop a full second off your quarter mile time! The extra port velocity especially down low made these heads a game changer for street racing whereas the open chambers had to be wound up to “flow.”

What does it cost to regrind and harden and who does it?I appreciate your info. but I am a back yard mechanic not a pro but I try to do my home work and have a small library.can you tell me how you go about hardening and regrinding I mean who does it

Chevrolet had the same problem in the 5..3 engine during the Covid 19. The roller lifters were junk / new, and the replacement roller lifters was no better. It is a change of the generation. No quality control because no one gives a shot and all the manufacturer cares about is profit.

They are right, if you buy their stuff you have to use their stuff and let them warranty it. You want some advice. You need to use Lubriplate Gear Shield for a assembly lube,

Great video, I totally agree with the tragedy that has taken place and I’m greatly concerned for the future! (In general). Also for my own soon future for the engine I’m putting together. I have an 87’ 318 with the (302) closed chamber heads that I did some porting and deshrouding on. The reason I decided to tear it down in the first place was because I found that the camshaft had been walking back and forth due to the timing chain bolt had backed off. I pulled the motor and the bottom end looked great so other than cam bearings I’m running it as it was. Unfortunately when I initially began this process (almost 2yrs ago) I chose a comp cams kit; lifters, cam, valve springs, retainers, etc. Since then I have witnessed all of these cam/lifter issues, and I’m really apprehensive about using what I have. The included instructions discuss using the outer spring without the inner spring for cam break-in before installing them both together (which is a real pain in the ass, years ago I never remember having to deal with any of this. Makes me wonder if comp is just making “much to do” as an excuse for the issues they know are going on. I’m throwing an engine run stand together to make sure everything is correct before I put the engine back in my van(not ideal) to maintain major work. So if I check the crown on all my new lifters (in the very box you displayed), which I haven’t yet done…and they check out ok, would you run it or should I send this junk back? Not even sure I can at this point 🤦🏻‍♂️! Gotta love when projects get set back.

SEMA is the "First you get along-then you go along" line from the movie "Any Given Sunday".

@15:44 I rem er hearing a story around 2020 where a guy fatally wiped out on his motorcycle. The hospital officially put down in the statistics book that he died of China virus.

I agree today's Flat Tappet cams/lifters are not as good as we had in the 90's - BUT - One thing I have *NEVER* been of the belief of that 2000RPM or 2500RPM Bullcrap....I have NEVER "broken in a cam" like that....I use home made Grease Concoction (with Moly) and I smear it all over the thing....THICK and I don't rev it up high, because I don't want to "FLING IT OFF" and that "Splash Lube Break In" is a farse!

Sensible point. Only I'd say. 5w 30 is real light for v8.

I watched another video on this where the poster said the force against the crankshaft at higher RPM tries to turn the crank into an "s" shape. He said it will always be on the 2 and 4 cap. The video he posted was a dyno test where the the harmonic balancer was rubbing against something next to it and caused sparks to fly somewhere above 7000rpm. He blamed it on crankshaft quality plus RPM.

Ahh this guys is from Ontario. Explains a lot. Sorry to hear that. I hope you do well enough that you can move out of that area.

Many people NOW are coming around to this same opinion. To remedy the flat tappet problem, many turn to high quality rollers(there are garbage rollers too) and have better luck. Some say because flat tappets represent less than one percent of the aftermarket, manufacturers don't care too much for the effort to produce under strict specs. Great content here.

Stud it line hone it be good

Never ever paint the area where oil and water are suppose to be that will end up costing you .

I am in absolute agreement with you

The cap and block mating faces should not be oiled, perhaps there is something available to keep the oil out. If it's not obvious oil enables the cap to move against the block more easily

Most all cam grinders get the lifters and cams from China, does that tell you where the problem comes from? Very few grinders are left in the US.