Sure Phil, I think that's a fair request.
The answer is that I was misquoted. I didn't say that it provides alignment, I said that it can provide stability. Rubbing can occur without consequence and in circumstances such as this, with lift approaching .800" and spring pressures almost as high, even a 7/16" diameter pushrod will deflect. If it can lean against the pushrod tube on full deflection, it can gain stability, just as a guideplate gives stability on a SBF application.
Most of this saga has been chasing an
oil usage issue. His intake was a Dove piece that had been heavily ported by Keith Craft (both the intake and cylinder heads were reused from a previous engine). It had porosity issues and in David's own words, he thought it was structurally flimsy. Most FE
oil usage cases can be nailed down to intake manifold/gasket problems but most guys aren't mechanically inclined enough or willing enough to do the work themselves. In the matter of knocking out the easy explanations first, I sent David a replacement set of valve seals as well as some
oil restricting pushrods just to try. It didn't solve the problem so instead of bringing the engine 12 hours back to me, we agreed that he would do an intake gasket swap. It was at the end of 2 gasket swaps that he made the above comments about his intake manifold and wanted to look for another. It had even showed some pin hole leaks when he pressure tested it.
I offered to send him a Performer RPM to try just to eliminate variables, but he decided to drive to Ohio instead and bought an NOS Tunnel Wedge. It was at this point that he had the flanges cut so the ports would line up and began to clearance the pushrod tubes. (BTW, a 3/8" pushrod was what the intake was designed for, not 5/16".). He got that completed and we decided that it would be prudent to remove the heads and clean them.
He sent me bore pictures and the cylinders showed a little less hatch than what I would expect, but there again, I was looking at a picture and he was 12 hours away. I then asked him to bring the engine to me so I could take a look in person. I think I also made the comment that it would be nice if he threw the new intake on, just so we could eliminate any variables. If someone brings me an engine and claims it's using oil, there's a lot of stuff to check (especially on an FE) and any help is appreciated. It would have been nice to eliminate the intake as a variable.
That's as far as we got.
Now, to address the other items:
Sleeves move in an aluminum block. We try to catch all of this at machining time by heating the block, putting torque plates on, squeezing the sleeves down, and then deck the block. Under normal operation and heat cycles, sleeves can set a little more over time, but that's why Robert Pond recommends a Felpro 1020 gasket, because the fire ring matches the sleeve perfectly. That's why it didn't leak.
This engine had custom Total Seal piston rings, about a $375 set. They are .043/.043/3mm and have a STEEL top ring. Normally extreme wear issues are caused by a lack of lubrication, clearance issues, or extreme heat. As I mentioned before, I make mistakes like everyone else, but I haven't seen this engine since Halloween of 2014 and I don't know if it had experienced cylinder wash, had been overheated, or what. I have to be completely objective in all situations, but I try to be fair as well.
As for valve guide wear and dist gear, not sure on that one, but there again I never got to see it for myself. Valve guide wear would be accelerated on an engine such as this, just from extreme lift and valve spring pressure, but I would expect them to last much longer than 900 miles, so I'm not sure. There again, I was mindful of the oil usage and cylinder appearances, but have not seen the engine to notice the other items that were mentioned.
Once again, I'm not into the "back and forth" on a post such as this, but Phil wanted an answer to a statement made and I thought that was a fair request. Will not post again, but I do have all emails saved if necessary.