[llwta76]

Reciently fired up my new 440 . All machine work was done by Kauffmans' here in Ohio. Put the thing together myself and it fired up for cam(solid flat tappit ultradyne/lunati) break-in immediately. Two questions: Durring the 1/2 hr break-in period(1800-2000rpm) the engine temp rose to 250 deg. or more. Found out afterwards that I shorted the coolant system about 2 qts. . Is fine now. What ,if anything , could I have damaged here. Also after draining the break-in oil I only found 2 small pieces of what looks like bearing material in the oil. However I decided to cut the oil filter in half and found a LOT of tiny metal pieces cought in the filter material. I have since put about 200 miles on the thing(easy on the gas to break-in the new clutch disc) and so far everything seems fine. Do I have trouble in this engine comming this summer when I start beating on it?? What do you guys think .
.Thanks! Larry

[Mr_GTO]

How big are the pieces?

[llwta76]

Most are tiny specs but there were some larger pieces to about 1/16" long not many that big though

[llwta76]

thanks for your post . Camis a siloi lifter flat tappit cam

[Bad Karma]

I am far from an expert but IIRC the Break in of Hydralic cams can cause alot of ()*&*&(*& in the oil filter. I have heard alot of people have issues with heat on fresh motors during break ( I could be mistaken as to the actual cause of the temperature) in. I have been told the fresh engines run hot for a little while (few hundred miles)
due to the actual break in on bearings cylinder walls lifters ect. Lots of extra friction until everything smooths out.

The other guess is the Oil passages still had machining byproducts inside (happens alot even afte hot tank scrub yadadada) I have had it reccommended to change oil and filter an excessive amount of times during break in to try and eliminate the metal byproducts of break in and maching of the block as quickly as possible. I would suggest one of those magnet sleeves for the oil filter as cheap insurance.
Best of luck my bro!

[Mr_GTO]

I would just keep the oil and filter changed and USE GOOD FILTERS. ACDELCO GOLD, Mobil1, K&N, etc. are the best filters made. Make sure you use them. You should be fine as long as you're not continuing to find metal in the oil. I would suggest after the next oil change, get a small container, capture the oil and send it out for testing.

This is good site for that. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

[shaker455]

Keep cutting open your filters and watch the oil pressure closely

[Superduty65]

This fall I got my 455 running and only got about 150 miles from it before the cam went bad. The 2 lobes that went bad, went so quickly that it wiped out my bearings, all of them. Some bearings had grooves worn in them a little less than 1/16" X 1/16" all the way around. I first thought I had a problem when I noticed the intake rocker on the #8 and #3 piston would not stay adjusted and I had bearing pieces about the size you are speaking of in my oil filter both times I changed it after the break in. Some other pieces were more like the size and shape of the ball from a ball point pen maybe a little smaller. Those two lobes were ground completely gone and the lifter was concave and grinding on the shaft of the cam. Just watch very closely what the oil is telling you and check the rockers for noise and adjustment often. I don't think you can change the oil too much. My oil pressure was very erratic as well. sometimes below 15 psi and sometimes above 80 psi. Watch for things you feel are abnornal, if you notice something you don't feel is right then post it and these great PY guys will help you narrow it down if it is an issue. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Rx:GTO daily]

How common is it that a cam (even a new 1 like SD65 describes) dissolves like this?? 150 miles in!!?? Can you sue, "kill", or banish to he!! the company that sells such a "high" quality part?? Friend is rebuilding his motor currently, he found he lost a lobe and concaved a lifter as described, but had more mileage on his, maybe 10K. Still seems unacceptable. His was a reground, so I find his predicament a lil less shocking, but was still a Crane or Comp, I forget...seemed bad to me. I have often heard of soft cams, but just how prevailant is this?? How can a company that makes such a critical part allow such garbage to reach the customer? I'm guessing this may be sounding niave to the guys that do alot of engine work, but since I suspect I'll be doing a rebuild in the not too distant future, is there anyway to avoid this?? Or, no matter what you buy/spend can you run into this situation?? I appreciate your input!!

[Jagtec1]

Check your valve adj. based on how you initially had it...and at the same temp. Then perhaps you can determine if there is cause for worry. Personally, I would not have run it any longer during break in if it was over 210. You could shut down, fix problem with cooling, and restart motor...just add a few minutes.

[Tom Vaught]

First off before you "rush to judgement" about the engine builder, you need to do more investigation of the issue.

1) As was mentioned keep a close eye on the oil pressure. make sure you are taking the reading by the distributor vs at the oil filter as I have seen engines where the oil filter gage said high pressure at the oil filter and low oil pressure (clogged filter) at the distributor location.

2) listen for noisy sounds coming out of the engine, like a loose rocker, worn lifter, bent pushrod, etc.

3) recheck the valve lash on all of the cylinders.

4) Most engines no matter how "clean" they were on
start-up will have some metal in the initial filter. As was said cut the filters open and look!

5) IF you did a proper cam break-in with around 2000 rpm for 20 minutes (varying the rpm a little higher a few times) and did not crank the engine for several minutes trying to get the engine to fire, you should be ok.

6) I knew a guy who actually ran an engine at idle for 5 minutes WITHOUT oil in the pan, and when we tore it down the bearings were still fine. This was a broken -in engine though, just brain fade on the guys part.

Tom V.

[llwta76]

thanks again for your thoughts/guidance guys! I'll change ( and cut in half) . the filter again before I run it . Oh! I've been cutting the filter 1/2 way down around its circumference . Not lengthwise.

[Bruce Meyer]

Will the particles stick to a magnet?

[Mr_GTO]

Originally Posted by Bruce Meyer

Will the particles stick to a magnet?

If they're magnetic. I used to use one of those Filtermags on my LS1's and my L98 engines and even on my 3.4L's and I used to cut open the filter and I would see the outline of particles where the magnet was. So yes, they do work.

[blkcrow]

For what its worth-(Im no expert)-but I have yet to see an engine without some metal particles in the filter after break in.Ive seen quite a few chevys/pontiacs/fords and all were machined by various builders and all looked the same.The material was a glittery metal flake in the filter-even saw one chevy that had it in the bottom of the oil container when we dumped the used oil,we had the machinist check it out and he gave it the o.k. and its since racked up over 30K.I would talk with kre as suggested and follow the rest of the advice above.