Who has NEVER had a cam or lifter go bad?

[Kern Dog]

This is a serious question.
Bad news goes everywhere but good news often hides in the shadows. I know that there are many of you that have never had a cam go flat so let's hear from you!
Before I went all Mopar, I had a few Chevys. I never had a cam go bad with them despite Chevrolet having a recall in the late 70s for that very thing.
In all of the Mopars that I've owned, none of the stock engines had a cam/lifter issue either. It was only after I stepped it up a bit and went for increased performance.
In 2006, I used a Comp Cam 285HL in my 440/493. It ran great, sounded great but lost a lobe within about a hundred miles. I used the assembly lube, I used Valvoline oil and I did the break in but the engine ran hot within the first 15 minutes so I had to shut it down to cool off. When I went to restart it, I got no spark. I kept replacing stuff until it finally ran, at that point I finished the break in. Summit Racing warrantied the cam and sent another.
The second cam from Comp was the same grind. It lasted a few months before the same thing happened again. I took the 292/509 I originally had in the engine and slipped it back in with new lifters. It held up fine. I pulled it a few years later when I tried the Lunati solid in an effort to stop the detonation.
In 2022, I lost the MP 528 solid after having it in the car for 8 years. Sometime in 2021, I switched oil to a synthetic with a high detergent. I was told that the oil itself was probably to blame.
Back in 2010, I lost an MP 292/508 in the 360 I built for the FrankenDuster....

By all accounts, I did everything right with that one. I still never figured out why it went bad.
I have other cars here with flat tappet cams but they show no signs of failing. The 360 in a Dart, the 440 in the Power Wagon, the 360 in a 72 Duster all are holding up fine.
I am not a trained mechanic but when I am trying to determine the cause of a problem, I look for a common theme.
The only cam failures I've seen have been in rebuilt engines aimed for higher performance. Higher performance often means non stock parts, stiffer valve springs and higher compression.
There has been all sorts of discussion over what causes these failures. Some blame the manufacturers for making crappy products. There have been tests to show that the hardness of the metal in the camshafts and lifters is no different but there have also been some that found too little taper on the bottoms of the lifters. Some blame the valvesprings for being too stiff, others blame the oil. There are engine builders now that refuse to install flat tappet cams because they don't want to risk a costly warranty return.
You may just default to the argument to switch to a roller cam and that is a solid argument, but.....
Why do so many flat tappet engines survive? I know of several guys that have not dealt with a cam failure. What are they doing right?
Are you one of them that has never personally lost a camshaft?

 

[66 Sat]

I've never had any issues but only talking 4 camshafts here:

1998 - Edelbrock Performer Cam went into a 318 (Hydraulic)
2001 - Crow Cam (Australian) installed in a 351 Cleveland (Hydraulic)
2018 - Schneider Racing Cams - 318 poly (Solid)
2021 - Schneider Racing Cams - 354 poly (Solid)

BUT
All mild-ish cams without super stiff springs, plus 2 of them were 20+ years ago when quality was better.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

You may just default to the argument to switch to a roller cam and that is a solid argument, but.....

I’ve heard of a couple roller cams going bad.

 

[Cojohnso1]

I had a cam chew down from solid lifters at .590 lift. The cam was long in the tooth. But right after the oil companies began there "No Zinc" practice. The cam went fast.

I later learned that mechanical Cams/lifters were more susceptible to lack of Zinc. Thus I use Zinc additives on all classic motors. Regardless of setup and profile.

 

[eldubb440]

Ive never had a break in go bad, I'm 5/5 at least........ I did have a lifter stop spinning in my AMX after years of driving

 

[QuickBpBp]

Only once in a car I helped out with. Lost 2 lobes off a 528 solid MP cam that was 25 years ago. Pulled the motor and went through it and there was ZERO damage to the bearings. After seeing that we should have just pulled the radiator and shoved a new one in as the filter caught it all.

 

[toolmanmike]

I've never had one go bad but I haven't switched out too many and mine were in the last quarter of the last century when there wasn't as many issues. I think it's more of a lifter issue than poor quality cams.

 

[Krooser]

During the 60's - 70's GM mis machined a lot of Chevy cam tunnels in their blocks.I had a 307 with a miss...bad cam.

Other than that I never had any cam failures...

I believe these failures are a combination of heavy springs, fast ramps, not having the engine properly timed to start on the first crank...stuff like that.

 

[toolmanmike]

 

[1968rt]

Been building motors for almost 50 years. I use a small amount of break in lube on camshaft .My motors all get Zinc additive and a can of STP. The last ten motors Ive built I used NOS lifters from the 60s, 70s or 80s! Zero problems

 

[toolmanmike]

The last ten motors Ive built I used NOS lifters from the 60s, 70s or 80s! Zero problems

The key here.

 

[bandit67]

U tube has a ton of vids addressing this issue. I saw one a while back as a machine shop machinist described mainly what tool man mikes vid posted; bad lifters. He said most all the lifters used in the USA were from two main manufactures. At the end he named the one manufacture that his shop had zero failures using their lifters. I have not yet myself had a failure, including a 396 I broke in last week. But Hawk Rods post of having a failure AFTER putting over 17,000 miles on an engine has made me feel just getting thru your break in does guarantee longevity . All my engines were mostly hydraulic flats except two solids.

 

[4mulas]

I read the title of the thread and expected to see zero replies.

 

[68BabyBlue]

I've run seven stock GTXs, a '66 Imperial, '62 Imperial, and a 1960 Chrysler 300F with the original 413. Never had a cam failure. All but one had original Mopar cam and lifters. In 2018, I replaced the Hemi grind Mopar Purple Shaft in my A33 GTX with a Comp Thumper, looking for more low end torque for street driving. Guy who did the install addressed the lifter concerns, used the break in lube, said I'd be fine to continue the Valvoline VR 1 I was using. I drove the car for 2000 miles before selling it, no problems. I'd heard enough horror stories, I was paranoid when I had the A33 car done, but the guy who did the work had a good rep for his builds holding together.

 

[toolmanmike]

I read the title of the thread and expected to see zero replies.

 

[Photon440]

The only failures I've had were on stock GM products. My mother-in-law gave me her 1981 Chevette, it had a cam lobe wear off after it was 19 years old. I also had two Oldsmobile engines that had the lifters wear out to the point that there were holes in the bottom.

 

[GrabberOrange69]

I’m 5/5, one of those being a roller cam. Haven’t had a failure, however, I’ve never run a cam with more than .512 lift. Never ran a dual spring, all street stuff, 6k rpm and below. Mopar and Fords have a lifter diameter advantage over GM that I believe reduces cam failures for those camps.

I have one SBC acquaintance that has had 3 fails in a row with Comp. He’s a long time Hot Rod shop owner, and he’s now done with that brand.

 

[Don Frelier]

As far as I know, never had that problem.

 

[440 4 speed]

Never had a problem.

 

[1KoolBee]

I’ve had collapsed lifters, broken valve springs, seized rock arms, and bent pushrods. Never wiped a cam. Of course it’s been about 15 years since I’ve broken in a new one. Back in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s it was almost unheard of, unless you drove a Chevy!