My new 347

[Turdle]

Pheeew! Good to know the lifters are stil lined up!

do you see any evidence of impact on cam bolt? If you do I would be calling the engine assembly guys-

 

[shucker1]

Dono,

So the cam does spin freely?

Once the lifters are out can you might be able to see any evidence of the cam "Walking" by the wear pattern where the lifters run.

I would also check the back side of the cam thrust plate. Look for hot spots where it might have been thrusting forward too much.

My theory is that too much oil pump load would try and make the cam "jump" out of the front of the block a "Hot Spot" could cause the cam to get into a bind thus breaking the pin and the bolt.

Guys just a theory. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Dono]

Who said seized cam? Put your hands up.
Everyone else clap.

Lets see what Woody can get Comp Cams to warranty.

New cam (Its damaged), a couple of valves have kissed pistons, lifter (obviously), and I'm still thinking it would be prudent to replace timing set.

So, do I even want Comp Cams lifters? I'm not sure that I do.

 

[gmanpaint]

Sorry to see all the aggravation you have endured. I feel your pain!

I have been following along, but I have purposely not commented all this time. I was afraid to jink you with anything I said. I guess at this point, it doesn't matter, as I know it wasn't me, after all the things that have gone wrong, since the first engine pull.

If you had 2 dozen local engine builders available, it would be easy to point blame on the actual builder for some of these issues, but when you do not have many options, and need the same builder to continue working for you, well, you have to swallow some of that anger and just move forward.

Now if the components failed due to faulty craftsmanship, that's a different story. I would be fully pressing them to refund your money, and shop elsewhere. You will always have that feeling of mistrust in the pit of your stomach, if you use the exact same product that failed. That will cause you to not want to use the vehicle as intended, for fear of breakage, and the cash flow that is associated. I would search elsewhere for different parts manufacturers, for just that reason.

Interesting to see what becomes of this latest round of breakage. I'm still tuned in! Best of luck Sir!!

 

[delexploder]

Can you get a pic of the cam lobe through the lifter bore?

 

[Turdle]

So the lifter did turn? do you have plastic or metal lifter guides in there?

 

[Dono]

There has been one builder, other than Ford Strokers. Me.

Common denominator?

Unfortunately, Ford Strokers isn't exactly local.
I also don't think any company really gives warranty on anything performance.

There is so much labour involved.

From the beginning
1. Oil pump drive gear sheared. Motorcraft part from Rockauto I bought.
2. Oil leak issue (at least 3 pulls to find this, and that's when the bearing issue was found), admittedly, that was Ford Strokers. Ultra black not quite in the right spot at the rear bearing cap.
3. Trashed bearings due to poor oiling, well that could be back at issue 1, although the one bearing not getting oiling was definitely suspect. We will never know for sure. Too much has happened.
4. head gaskets going south over and over. My stuborn side wanting to stick with gt40p irons even though they have a known thin deck with boost that can be an issue for some. The tw170's seemed to fix that issue.
5. Lifter packing it in. Yup, blows big time. A builder wouldn't stand behind that. All in all, this has been one heck of a ride.

Bone stock looks better and better all the time. This is where the issue truly is.

 

[Dono]

The lifter didn't turn. The base of it snapped off where there is less metal at the roller pin.
The dog bones are factory metal, as is the spider holding them down. The lifters were all perfectly in place looking down in to the valley.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

sun of a *****!

 

[Josh P]

Would a weak valve spring cause this by allowing the lifter to lose contact the lobe at a higher rpm?

 

[sr71_1]

As a car guy I'm really sorry to read your struggles.

Not an engine builder but had a 347 (actually 349) in my Cobra. I hung around the FFCARS forum a lot in the past - for sure a ton of professional engine builders on there. One of the take aways that all seemed to agree on was to never use a high volume oil pump on a SBF ...302,,,347 etc.... or risk a blown distributor gear...and possibly other issues related to tight clearance engine builds (I attached one such thread but if you do some searching you'll find a ton on this topic).

Another widely discussed topic was the material for the distributor gear... seems to me everyone was in agreement on bronze for SBF but could be wrong on this.

Anyway....do some searching over there....post your issue... a very welcoming and helpful crowd - you never know.

Good Luck

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/48-for...41-high-pressure-vs-high-volume-oil-pump.html

 

[Dono]

Thanks Kevin,
Appreciated.

I think I'm getting somewhere.
My heads are in getting vacuum tested.

My oil pump is standard volume. The drive gear is steel, made to match the cam. This one has been holding up fine.

On the lifter, Woody tells me that there are really only 3 manufacturers of them. The Comp Cams lifters are really an oem lifter. He does seem to think this was a lifter failure, but doesn't see a point in replacing them all with another brand as they will be the same lifters anyway (Unless I go linkbar).

He said comp will be happy to replace the lifter.

His advice: Fix the damage and press on.
I'm going to do just that.

Just another lightning bolt in that big black cloud hanging over this build.

 

[Dono]

Heads are in, no word back on what they need yet.
Ed Curtis (Flowtech) is grinding a cam for me. I figured if I place my order now, he will have it done by the time I place my valve order with him.

As for the trashed lifter, I'm struggling a bit. Logically, I know that this was not a common failure and I should just replace the one lifter and carry on. Emotionally, I want to buy Morel link bar lifters. My wallet is the main thing stopping me.

I'm really tempted to not bother taking my block in to have it looked at. the lifter bore looks and feels fine. Yet another decision.

On the 'cup's half full' side of things, I replaced my rack tonight in about 2 hours. lol. Pretty darn easy with no motor in the way. I struggle with the lack of instructions on these refurbs though. It came with a little bag containing 2 small O rings and a couple of different sized white hard plastic rings. Instructions say 'replace factory O rings'. WTF. No where could I see where these would go, or where there were any before. I didn't use them. I sure hope I don't regret that decision.

 

[delexploder]

The o rings are for the lines so if it leaks you're going to have to deal with the fittings in that cramped spot , as for your block I would disassemble it , keep everything in order on a big table and clean everything including the block and take a very hard look at your cam bearings and the valley , its cheaper to know now if something is buggered and it only takes a small piece of metallic grit to ruin a motor , just my two cents based upon what I have learned from experience and been taught

 

[Dono]

Thing is on those O rings. there is no way to make sure they go on properly without possibly crimping sideways or something as the O-ring is pushed in there. There were no O rings on the old rack. Very strange. Ill research this further, as its not a big deal to pull those two lines off again for another look.

I have the cam out of the block, but I still think Ill run the rest of it i to the machine shop for them to have a look at, and run a hone thru that lifter bore.

 

[gmanpaint]

As long as you used the white plastic ones on the lines, you should be fine. I hope you swapped the check valve over to the new rack. That you do need.

I think the rubber ones are for the lines to the pump.

 

[Dono]

bit of a side bar here, but there is no way the supplied O rings would fit like this illustration. They are far to big.

 

[Dono]

Check Valve....Um no.
Where

****

The instructions didn't say anything about this.

 

[gmanpaint]

I did the rack R&R not too long ago, and I didn't replace any Rubber O rings. No leakage to be found.

The check valve is a Ford only part, and thus, they do not come with the Reman's. You have to swap them. There is a thin little retainer ring that holds it in place, and hides it inside the port. Until you remove that retainer ( use a 90* dental pick) you can't see the valve.

I posted these pics in my registry when I did the swap. The 2nd pic shows the retainer & valve on the lower right. The last pic shows which port it is located.

 

[Dono]

Oh man, your the best!
I do remember something about this, but not enough obviously.

you saved my ass. I was about to return the core.