Which lifters will pump the most oil up the push rods ? On a 70 383, don't ask. I have a problem on my block and I have to run hollow push rods so i need a set of good pumping lifters in it. Which ones pumps the best. Thanks

I didnt think the lifters pumped up any oil.. just the oil
pressure... but I dont know much about hyd lifters... I am
use to solid lifters

They aren't suppose to on a Mopar but I've got a 383 block that no one can get the #4 cam bearing in it where it won't spin so I have to usr hollow push rods in it to oil the head. I've had it to 3 shops and no one can get it fixed. the hole where the bearing goes is too small and it squeezes the bearing too tight. It is my numbers motor so I want to keep it in the car. The last guy was suppose to have put in an under sized bearing and said it was fixed but after i got it back in and running it did the same thing. I'm not able to go thru pulling it again and I had ran it about 5k miles before with it this way but I changed the lifters out this time and they don't seem to be pumping like the old ones did. the old ones were comp and the new ones are Lunati so I don't know the difference.

It sounds like the cam bore on #4 is a bit over
sized... see if a bearing company can make you
a bearing over sized... if they dont have one
already... or have a machine shop make one... I
have never had a cam bearing spin... but I do
have to size the ID of the bearings to fit the cam
edit
the cam should spin with your hand

The hole is under sized and that is what compresses the bearing, I can't find any one around here to hone it out any. I've done had it rebuilt 3 times and I can't afford to do it again. He put and under sized bearing in it last time and I thought it was fixed untill I got it back in and running. I haven't been able to find another block around here are I would have built another engine. I know some lifters pump up more oil than others I just need to find out which ones is the best.It runs all right long as the lifters are oiling the valves

If your talking the cam being to tight we use a old cam
with grooves cut in the bearing locations to size the bearing..
put it in and turn it so it cuts the bearings that are tight

I just went through the dreaded mopar tight cam deal.

Mine had zero clearance on #2 cam bearing. Bearing didn't spin but was destroyed.

We put the cam in a lathe and polished the journals to obtain the clearance we needed.

Don't any one know which lifters oil better than other ones? I can't afford to pull my motor back down now.

Lifters don't "oil" per se.

They have a hole in the cup to let oil out of the lifter where it then goes where it's directed by the hollow push rod. All the oil comes from the oil pump thru the lifter gallery.

One is as good as another IMHO.

The only difference between lifters might be the size of the hole but I doubt a few thou will make much difference.

You really need to find a machinist that isn't a hack to fix the problem. If you stick the cam to that bearing and it does more than turn a little, your numbers block could be toast.

Kevin

The oldest trick in the book is to install the bearings and then use an old cam with a notch on each journal to scrape the new bearings to fit. This works like a charm and would definitely solve your problem.

I also don't think there's anything wrong with your cam bores, the issue is with the bearing manufacturers not making the bearings to fit properly. The factory never had any problems and they didn't do anything to the bearings once they were installed !!

Another popular theory is "core shift" in the block. But core shift occurs during casting. The machining process would still yield straight bores.

Try the cam trick !!

I have been hearing/seeing this 'cam with notches' thing for a long time. I hadn't ever had the tight bearing problem in the past, but have it now. Does anybody have a pic of a cam they have cut the notches in?? Do you cut the notch straight across the journal or at an angle?? Thanks.

I dont have a pic of mine but I cut them on a angle.
I used a .040 cut off wheel on my die grinder

I cut mine straight. I didn't want the cam to try to "drill" into the bearing, I wanted to control it by turning and pushing. Cut the grooves deep enough for the material to fall into. You want a good cutting edge but no burrs. Remove burrs after grinding your slots but don't take the sharp edge off.

A. Mopar cam bores have a tendency to run small. It is not a new problem. It can be solved with a hone.

B. Core shift, no, because machining is done after the casting process. BUT, the blocks change shape as they age and the internal stresses are relieved. It is not unusual for a cast iron block to have a couple of thousandths of movement from stress relief. Casting shift would be more like it.

C. The textbook way to take care of a tight bearing is to blue it, test fit it, then scrape the parts of the bearing that rub. It can be done very artfully, however it's much more difficult on a cam bearing because of the lack of space in which to work.

D. The slotted cam journal works, too, but may leave a rougher surface, although it doesn't seem to make a difference to the engine.

E. Machining down the diameter of the cam journal to get a proper fit should be pretty easy for a decent shop, as another way to fix this.

F. I cannot imagine a machine shop so helpless as yours sounds like. Maybe a trip to OKC is in order, or else to a better local shop? They do not sound like people I'd trust with my numbers block.

Good Luck,
R.

A few minutes per journal on the lathe polishing is a way better option than hogging out new cam bearings with a crude cutter, in my opinion.

When I brought the "cam cutter" up to my machinist, he looked at me like I was nuts. He said......"yeah, that's not happening and having my name on it".

I know it's fairly common, but I can't see why when polishing the journals is so simple.

I guess I'm going to wait and see if I have to have surgery and if I do as soon as I get over it I guess I will try to pull the motor back out. Can i just pull the intake off and the lifters and pull the cam out and get a new cam bearing put in with out tearing the motor back down? I'll have to find me a new shop that can maybe do it right so I don't have to worry about it any more. Thanks for the info.

You need to pull all the bearings up to that one, they don't fit one inside the other.

Here's another trick a friend uses to some success. Install the back two bearing then install the cam and make sure it turns freely. If not, he wiggles the cam which sort of seats the bearing. Then he installs the next one and again tries the cam. He does this for each bearing.

You dont need to pull the engine.. just the radiator
and the front of the engine... I have cut the bearings
out without knocking them out... a hack saw blade and
no handle..just rapped tape around it..I broke about
1/2 the blade off and spit the bearing... see if you
can bend it and pull it out with pliers(needle nose)..
then(do this first thing... see if you can turn the
bearing sideways to get it through the top drain back hole..
if you can great.. if you cant you will need to knock out all
the front bearings and start stay way..... at worst you might
have to drop the pan.... if you get the bearing/s in and its
still wont spin with your fingers your gonna have yo size the
bearing with a old cam and slits

Saw my first big block cam replacement that wouldn't spin in the block back in the early 70s. Also saw a nice fresh 440 spin one cam bearing and ruin that block. Ever since, I have kept a cam laying around with the slots cut in the bearing journals. I have used it on ALL big block cam replacements for 40 years and haven't had a cam bearing problem since.

It has had to cut it's way into more than one engine, but it had always done the job. There are more precise ways to go about this, and going that way is good. But grinding the bearings into submission with a grooved cam has never presented a problem in my experience.

How do you reach the 4th bearing with 1/2 of a hacksaw blade ?
How do you keep the metal filings out of the motor ?
If the bearing spun in the bore, it should just about fall out. It may come out stuck to the cam - had that happen !!