Switching from hyd followers to mech.

[belchfire]

So once again with the destroy all lifters engine. In our previous episode the cam gear slipped and wiped out the valve train. I was able to clean up the bores and use the old followers and make it run. My oil pressure has never been good and a different pump didn't change that. The old followers rattled so I wasn't surprised to hear it again. It seems to be getting worse. Oil pressure is 30# at speed and 15# at idle. Not too happy on a modified turbo engine. I fired it up without the valve cover because apparently the entire engine compartment needed to be lubricated. After cleaning things up I came to some conclusions. 1- I have plenty of volume.2-There may be some enlargement of the holes from the crash that is bleeding off pressure. 3- there is a crack in the webbing that goes through one of the follower pressure ports probably bleeding pressure off there too. So, here's the question; if I install mechanical followers and cam will that eliminate the noise issue, the lash issue (and subsequent uneven valve lift issue) and possibly help with the pressure issue?  Is a 1.5 NA cam the same as a 1.6 turbo? Is there a gasser bump stick that might work better? Would throwing in a new set of hyd followers just be a waste of time And just where DO you find a new cam?

[R.O.R-2.0]

personally, i think you would have the same pressure with either lifters.. the hydro lifters hold a small amount of oil.

i think if you want to fix the problem, and you admit the head casting is shot, i would drop a new head on..

[belchfire]

I had a Suzuki GS 1100 that only ran 2 psi but had a ton of volume because everything was roller bearing. This was normal from the factory. This one starts out at 60psi then drops when warm. I'm running 15W-40. I didn't think that changing followers would affect that but it's kind of embarrassing to have the valve train rattling away. I'm thinking that because of the clearance issue, I've got a bleed and the followers won't pump up. I thought that with the mechanicals that I would at least quiet it down. I didn't think of valve length but you're probably right. I bent a valve when it blew and it was a real PITA to find the correct replacement. I know that a new head would be the thing to do but that's a $300 casting + a valve job + a gasket +  new bolts + a whole lot of work. I've already got over 2 grand in this engine and don't feel like dumping even more money into this thing. I built it mainly as a veg-oil experiment and that has worked well, but I'll have to run on it for the next 20 years just to break even. With the turbo and IP mods, the little ***'s got some poop-when it runs. Guess I'll live with the rattle until it quits altogether.

[the caveman]

Sorry if i missed something in one of your posts, but the heads do wear at the lifter bores. We used to see that on taxis that may not have had tons of milage, but perhaps never had enough oil changes or...?

[belchfire]

It was a brand new head casting but got severely wailed on when the cam gear slipped. Funny thing is that sometimes it goes away and everything runs OK. Maybe it's bad followers. The original set-up had a ticker that cleared up after it got warm and those were the followers that I put back in when the new ones disintegrated. I'm wondering if it's worth taking a chance on buying another set of new replacements.

[R.O.R-2.0]

yea, for under 100 bucks, i would just buy a new set of lifters.. and hydro engines are notorious for low warm oil pressure.

[belchfire]

It's always good to know when a problem is just an idiosyncrasy of the machine. I can find followers all over the place, but no one seems to offer a cam. I've read some of the posts about gasser cams and it's probably not something I want to get in to. Mine is functional but got beat up and could be better.

[R.O.R-2.0]

gasser cams have valve overlap. and thats VERY BAD on a diesel.. the valves dont close in time for the piston to get to the top of the stroke, and then BANG! its done..