Valvetrain issue...HELP!

B

-Boostjunky-

Boost-A-Holic
Hey guys. Most pertinent mods done to my truck are in my sig.

Here's the issue I'm having. After putting the fresh motor in the truck, I set the valve lash to .010 (I), and .020 (E). After about 1800 miles, I started to notice a slight pop noise coming from the exhaust. It ALMOST sounds like a miss, but it's not mis-firing completely.

I suspected some possible valve-train adjustment issues, and upon re-checking the lash settings, I found exhaust rocker arm # 3 to have over .040" clearance. Obviously this is unacceptable, considering I just barely set them to .020 (E).

So, I readjusted it to .020", and the pop noise in the exhaust quieted down considerably. Notice I didn't say it disappeared. But it was hardly noticeable.

I put another 500 miles on the truck, and it's back to popping loudly, again. So I took it to Industrial Injection for them to put the DRB III on there and get some input from them. After shutting off cyl. # 3, the pop sound went away. So, again, another issue with cyl. # 3.

I cracked open the top end only to find that the # 3 exhaust rocker once again had about .060" clearance this time. Now we're worried! We're thinking a valve seat might be dropping (hasn't fallen out, yet...but is getting there).

Another person suggested that maybe the camshaft is getting eaten up on that one lobe. But would it actually eat into the base circle, too? Is it possible the lifter is getting eaten up? Anyone ever experienced this before?

Valvetrain mods include: Max-Spool Pushrods (checked for straight, they're fine), Max-Spool 110# springs, Diesel Pros S1 camshaft.

Any ideas? All input is appreciated! Thanks!
 
Run a dial indicator on the pushrod coming from the suspected lobe and see what kind of lift it's showing you.
 
Sounds like you have a good start then. That will tell you what the lobe looks like. The outer of a cam is hard but once it's worn through it will eat up quick. Hopefully this isn't your problem though.
 
TheBigNasty said:
Sounds like you have a good start then. That will tell you what the lobe looks like. The outer of a cam is hard but once it's worn through it will eat up quick. Hopefully this isn't your problem though.
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Yup, sure sounds like to me that you wiped out the cam. For that valve loosing its adjustment one time I would say fluke, but twice and its getting more and more clearence. :umno:
Putting a dial ind. on the pushrod is the way to check it. Do you still have your cam card? If you do it will tell you what the lobe lift was to referance it to.

Boost, did you break in the cam?
 
The cam break-in consisted of holding 2k rpm for 20 minutes prior to any type of driving, and this with Joe Gibbs BR (break-in specific) motor oil.

As for the head, it was not gone through, other than to install the 110# valve springs.

I never had a cam card for the cam, but I can always measure the lobe of one of the other cylinders and compare it to the cylinder in question. I am clearing out garage space to get this shin-digg ready to go...again! :(
 
Just a little update:

I finally got around to checking into things today on the truck. I pulled the valve cover off, pulled the rockers form cylinder 3 and cylinder 1. I checked valve spring heights and pushrod heights to see if there was an obvious discrepancy. At first, I was sure I saw a difference in spring heights, but upon closer inspection, I found no notable difference. I then moved onto pushrods, and immediately noticed a height difference.

So, check. I have a problem with the cam. I put the rocker arms back on, and put a dial on the pushrod side of the arm for both cylinders 1 and 3. Using a video camera, I recorded the measurements at the rocker arm (pushrod side) while I was underneath turning the motor.

Cylinder 1 netted a peak .280" lift at the pushrod, and cylinder 3 only netted .186" lift at the pushrod. So I DEFINITELY have a flat lobe on the exhaust side of cylinder 3!

I'm heading over to II tomorrow to see if they are going to hold to their word, and cover their work!
 
Industrial Injection is top notch so if its something within their scope Im sure they will take care of you.
 
Update: Took the truck down to II on Tuesday. I showed them the video footage of the dial indicator showing the lift values of cylinder 1 and cylinder 3. They couldn't believe that the cam could go flat in such a short distance (2500 miles), and said it's very possible that a lifter came apart at the base, which would then eat into the camshaft very rapidly.

Today, I called them to see what the status was. They pulled the truck into the shop this morning, and started tearing it down. What they found was exactly what they suspected. The lifter had indeed come apart at the base, and started eating into the cam. We caught in time to avoid any catastrophic damage, and the went ahead and replaced the oil pump for good measure. As of right now, they are finishing with putting the truck back together, and I should have it back by Monday afternoon.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the service, so far! They seem to standing by their work, and proudly! We'll see how things go when I take delivery of the truck, but the feeling is a good one!

Thanks, guys!
 
Couldn't tell ya for certain. It's a Diesel Pros S1 camshaft. I don't know if it's common practice for this particular company to do regrinds, or fresh grinds. Maybe someone else can chime in?
 
Update: Picked up the truck, today, and I couldn't be happier. All the lifters were replaced, along with a new cam , and oil pump. The truck purrs like a kitten, again! Industrial injection stood by their work, and didn't fight it one little bit. Stand up guys over there!

I highly recommend them to anyone needing any work done, or parts for that matter!
 
-Boostjunky- said:
Update: Picked up the truck, today, and I couldn't be happier. All the lifters were replaced, along with a new cam , and oil pump. The truck purrs like a kitten, again! Industrial injection stood by their work, and didn't fight it one little bit. Stand up guys over there!

I highly recommend them to anyone needing any work done, or parts for that matter!
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Sorry about the problem. Lifter failures don't happen too often. We put a whole new set of lifters and Camshaft in again. Thanks for your business! Thanks, Brady
 
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