Thinking about solid lifters

[PLDRIVE]

Lippy, lets see if Brent will give U a 30000 mile warranty on the lifters.

[lippy]

Originally Posted by gsharapa

On my 6th Cobra and 4 were small blocks with 2 solid rollers and 2 big blocks both solid rollers. My current Cobra is KC 496 FE, Pond aluminum block, 10.7 compression, with solid roller, T&D shaft mounted rockers, single plane intake (cut down 1/2 inch), Quickfuel 850, Edlebrock stage 3 aluminum heads and aluminum flywheel. I love it as it knocks down tork at the low end an moves the tork & HP up in the higher band. Spins like a small block and idles at 900 rpm. It made 681 at the crank. It drives great and of course has the HP if you want it....

Originally Posted by PLDRIVE

Lippy, lets see if Brent will give U a 30000 mile warranty on the lifters.

I'll need to contact him in 15 years if they fail at 30k

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by lippy

I'll need to contact him in 15 years if they fail at 30k

Haha - That 15-year / 30000-mile verbal warranty is infinity better than Roush's 15-second / 30-foot written by lawyers non-warranty.

BUT at least Roush have nice valve covers...
Whooops... look what the cats dragged in... Roush are no longer the only ones

[PLDRIVE]

Lippy i did not mean to be a smart ass. Brent will give u excellent guidance, but i would suggest should evaluate the following .

I am guessing this is your first solid roller engine based on your original question? Gsharapa has a lot of experience with solid rollers u don't (not insulting U).

Originally Posted by lippy

I'm fine checking valve lash every year or so, and inspecting/replacing lifters every 7,500-10,000 miles.

You do need to keep a keen eye on the lifers for changes in lash (I would never go that long without checking lash and i run oversized 904 needle free lifters and lifter bore sleeves (SBF) . Valve Adjustment my not be needed, however; an inspection is needed. You implied only 2000 miles a year, but that will be stop and go and a lot of heat cycles). Sitting in traffic low idle is a killer on solid lifters. U get the picture.


R u willing to pull the lifters out of the engine after 5000(give or take) miles and check them or have them checked? Will u inspect lash like should?

Buy what U want, but make sure the extra HP is really something u desire. It is going to cost u more money, and will require more attention on your part to run a solid roller engine.

Best of luck on your decision.

Mark

[lippy]

Originally Posted by PLDRIVE

Lippy i did not mean to be a smart ass. Brent will give u excellent guidance, but i would suggest should evaluate the following .

I am guessing this is your first solid roller engine based on your original question? Gsharapa has a lot of experience with solid rollers u don't (not insulting U).

You do need to keep a keen eye on the lifers for changes in lash (I would never go that long without checking lash and i run oversized 904 needle free lifters and lifter bore sleeves (SBF) . Valve Adjustment my not be needed, however; an inspection is needed. You implied only 2000 miles a year, but that will be stop and go and a lot of heat cycles). Sitting in traffic low idle is a killer on solid lifters. U get the picture.

R u willing to pull the lifters out of the engine after 5000(give or take) miles and check them or have them checked? Will u inspect lash like should?

Buy what U want, but make sure the extra HP is really something u desire. It is going to cost u more money, and will require more attention on your part to run a solid roller engine.

Best of luck on your decision.

Mark

The support engineer at Isky told me that with their EZ Roller lifters (bushings, not needle bearings) I need to check the lash from time to time but if that lash is not changing then the rollers don't need to be removed and inspected. He also mentioned that typical solid roller lifters need to be inspected and possibly rebuilt every 7,500-10,000 miles, but the Isky ones should last probably 3-5x that long if driven on the street. I suppose he could've given me incorrect information, but he seemed to be on top of things, and is an Isky support engineer (also mentioned he has these in his daily driver). Am I naive to believe him?

[vector1]

lippy, you are not naive to believe him, they are good rollers. i just sold a set of those with 50 hrs on them because i got tired of fing with them, physically and in my mind.

as long as you keep 'em hitting the ramps you'll be alright. which makes me wonder, what is the ramp window? .002-.010? i have no idea but this would give you an idea of how much tolerance you would have in the adjustment.

[PLDRIVE]

Lippy how will u know if the lash has changed if u only check them ever so often? The bushing lifters will give u more warning then neddle lifters of pending failure (big plus) and they handle load better . That is right about the lash (not changing). If the lash is not changing, or if it is changing by a very small amount, and the lash between each lifter is close, u are in good shape. But u need to keep an eye on it. If the lash starts changing on one lifter more then the others then u have a problem. The bushing lifters will last longer and will take more abuse, but personally i would feel uncomfortable not pulling and checking them by 7500 maybe 10000 even with a very mild cam. I still want to see over all condition of the lifter. Maybe i am too conservative.

I could see making 30000 miles, if U do not rev the engine high, your cam is very mild, but then why would u want a solid roller???

I am not an FE guy so maybe some of the guys with solid roller FEs will give more guidance on how often they check lash and pull and inspect lifters.

[lippy]

Originally Posted by PLDRIVE

Lippy how will u know if the lash has changed if u only check them ever so often? The bushing lifters will give u more warning then neddle lifters of pending failure (big plus) and they handle load better . That is right about the lash (not changing). If the lash is not changing, or if it is changing by a very small amount, and the lash between each lifter is close, u are in good shape. But u need to keep an eye on it. If the lash starts changing on one lifter more then the others then u have a problem. The bushing lifters will last longer and will take more abuse, but personally i would feel uncomfortable not pulling and checking them by 7500 maybe 10000 even with a very mild cam. I still want to see over all condition of the lifter. Maybe i am too conservative.

I could see making 30000 miles, if U do not rev the engine high, your cam is very mild, but then why would u want a solid roller???

I am not an FE guy so maybe some of the guys with solid roller FEs will give more guidance on how often they check lash and pull and inspect lifters.

I called Isky back with some follow-up questions and spoke with another guy. Pretty much the same story. He said check the lash 1 or 2x per year, and if the lash isn't changing then no need to pull them out to check every 10k miles. He also said they should last at least 20-25k miles in my application.

[PLDRIVE]

Excellent. Does Brent agree with what they told U? What are your cam specs? How high are u going to turn engine (just curious).

Mark

[blykins]

Mark, not sure why you're being so concerned....???

Yes, I agree with the Isky guy....

This cam is not that wild. It's outside the realm of a hydraulic roller for an FE, but it's not a wild cam by any means. The lobes were kept less aggressive for a reason, and the lift was kept lower to help with spring life.

Street rollers do not require constant maintenance.

[patrickt]

... now watch it go out in the first thousand miles.

[PLDRIVE]

Patrickt thats just bad luck!

Run the same cam specs as Patricket has (converted to solid roller) and the lifters should make 100,000 miles.

Brent I'm the guy on the front row of the cheering section for solid rollers.
Lippy has invested a lot of money (by most standards) in his engine not to take a little time out to see if the lash has changed. I hardley consider checking the lash a couple times a year and giving the lifters a good inspection every 4 or 5 years (2000 miles a year) constant maintenance. Besides he will learn the engine and most likely enjoy it. It's my opinion and its free.

Mark

[blykins]

I agree with your opinion....

[mdross1]

Originally Posted by lippy

The support engineer at Isky told me that with their EZ Roller lifters (bushings, not needle bearings) I need to check the lash from time to time but if that lash is not changing then the rollers don't need to be removed and inspected. He also mentioned that typical solid roller lifters need to be inspected and possibly rebuilt every 7,500-10,000 miles, but the Isky ones should last probably 3-5x that long if driven on the street. I suppose he could've given me incorrect information, but he seemed to be on top of things, and is an Isky support engineer (also mentioned he has these in his daily driver). Am I naive to believe him?

A friend has a set of these in a near 1200 hp 632" Chev been there 35K now with 1000+lb open spring pressure.My set of Isky EZ rollers are in a Donovan 427"sbc 660lbs open pressure on a 440 cam lobe.Should last forever the bushings are pressure lubed.

[lippy]

That's cool. But how do you get 35k miles on a 1200hp car in such a short time. Daily driver?