The Official 356Talk Forum

Didn't help with the steel cam.

Good to hear Vic,...
“Didn’t help” is better than “caused problems” haha.

Good thing,...that’s what’s in my “runner” motor in the Conti.
I got some from Ernie who was doing them himself at the time.
I’ve got several thousand “spirited” driving miles in and no issues at all.

I talked to Web last week, and they are requiring new lifters, for the "warranty", to be good on the " new" cams, and have either " lube-a-lobe", their term, with the hole, or the plain ones, not much answer for the extra $195, on top of the cam price...

Mike Horton wrote:I talked to Web last week, and they are requiring new lifters, for the "warranty", to be good on the " new" cams, and have either " lube-a-lobe", their term, with the hole, or the plain ones, not much answer for the extra $195, on top of the cam price...

And you have to use oil with ZDDP and have it blessed by the Pope.

I wonder why they insist on new lifters other then to upsell? I know it is common with VW cams and lifters but a new set of VW lifters are like $25, which is cheaper than having old ones reground.

Dan Epperly wrote:

Mike Horton wrote:I talked to Web last week, and they are requiring new lifters, for the "warranty", to be good on the " new" cams, and have either " lube-a-lobe", their term, with the hole, or the plain ones, not much answer for the extra $195, on top of the cam price...

And you have to use oil with ZDDP and have it blessed by the Pope.

I wonder why they insist on new lifters other then to upsell? I know it is common with VW cams and lifters but a new set of VW lifters are like $25, which is cheaper than having old ones reground.

Dan, don't forget the appropriate pre-lube on the cam lobes, tappet faces, rocker arm toes & valve tips, all preloaded by valve spring pressure... the magic added during engine build up,

For years probably decades we have been regrinding the steel lifters. I think we have sold all the core lifters that we had reground. We have a center less grinder do our followers. Fortunately we have two large airplane factories in the Dallas/Ft worth Texas area still with a few good machine shops al zim

Zim's has been resurfacing 3 piece case lifters since before we were Zim's, you remember that magic change when PCA was not amused with our name POR-SHA. We only resurface the thin lifters which are steel. Because there are two large aircraft manufacturers in the Ft.Worth/Dallas area we have had no difficulty finding a suitable grander who we have used for nearly 40 years. There is a radius that needs to be put on the lifters. You can check your lifters by putting a drop of oil on them and pressing them together. If they stick together they need to be reground and the cam is probably flat. al zim, Zim's Autotechnik 800.356.2964

Hi Al centerless grinders are usually used for OD grinding of shafts like valve stems the lifter shafts etc. Lifter grinders work like valve grinders but the offer the face to a cup wheel at an off axis.
j

About 3 months ago on my way down from big bear I stopped at Webcam to discuss new or refurbished lifters. I was told that the "new" lifters came from another country.... and they needed to be remachined before sale or use....

So I dropped off my used GERMAN lifters and had them machine them instead. The gal in the office just smiled and nodded...
Nice people.

For What It's Worth, new lifters currently available from Germany (539-05-210) have flat faces.

Brad - do you know who manufactures the new German lifters.
Everyone - I'm confused about the flat vs. radius - It appears that originally they were flat but current thinking is that they should have a radius. Wouldn't the cam have to have a corresponding tilt ground onto the lobe peak area to achieve the desired 'spin the lifter' effect? Is there a standard for the cam lobe 'tilt'? Isn't the cam lobe pretty much centered on the lifter face?
The radius feature has kind of an urban legend feel about it although I am supremely ignorant about current cam and lifter grinding technology .....

Hi Greg,
My post on the first page pretty much covers it. I have talked to a number of cam companies and none of them makes a really big deal about the difference between tapered cams and straight cams even though they do have their preferred type. They do make a big deal about using the correct lifter, flat or radius, for the way they grind their cams.

The cam lobes are not centered to the lifters or vice versa. The offset is what makes the flat lifters spin. Modern engines have roller lifters to avoid these issues which are made worse today by the modern oil with vastly reduced ZDDP due to emissions issues.

One thing that is a bit odd is that many OHC engines, Porsche 911 included, used rocker arms which just ride on the cam without any rotation effect and they held up pretty well. Today most of those designs have added a roller to the arm, again due to modern oil.

One word of advice is to avoid excessive valve spring pressure especially in street engines. Cams that need more than the stock springs are usually too hot for the street anyway.
Cliff

Thanks, Cliff - you're right - I should have read page one again

Merry Christmas Greg!