[steve25]

The grooved ones are even worse when there's not the needed radial contact area.

[PAUL K]

Comp roller tip rocker arms are supplied with grooved balls. They are physically larger than factory Pontiac balls.

The company that originally made the lifters that ended up in the OP's engine used to hardness check the face of every lifter they sent out the door. They stopped this process around the time the cam lobe / lifter / oil debacle blew up. I always thought this was a cost saving move that would have negative consequences.

Sad deal..... A lot of work, money and aggravation by the end user but I'm guessing the lifter manufacturer is happy they will sell another set of lifters.

[Jimbobeast]

Not Rhoades lifters this time or ever again.*
Butler wanted to sell me roller hydraulic lifters which would mean several modifications and $2300 that I'm not looking to do. The new cam will be extra gently broken in with Break-In oil, extra zinc and a lot of bourbon. The specific bourbon will be selected after a rigorous research progect which is ongoing. Beer will be the catalyst of choice for the dismantling/reassembly of the car. I'm leaning towards Corona.

[steve25]

I have used at least 11 sets of Rhoads lifters in the last decade in builds of many motors besides Ponchos with no issues whatsoever.
I think your lifter failure and crumbling push rods are somehow linked.

[Jimbobeast]

Steve, it's gotta be the springs. I'll know soon enough.

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Jimbobeast

Not Rhoades lifters this time or ever again.*
Butler wanted to sell me roller hydraulic lifters which would mean several modifications and $2300 that I'm not looking to do. The new cam will be extra gently broken in with Break-In oil, extra zinc and a lot of bourbon. The specific bourbon will be selected after a rigorous research progect which is ongoing. Beer will be the catalyst of choice for the dismantling/reassembly of the car. I'm leaning towards Corona.

I don't think it's Rhoades fault, they use the best lifters available and modify the internals. Personally I wouldn't second guess the hydraulic roller choice..... They break plenty and when they do it can be catastrophic.

[68WarDog]

[QUOTE=Jimbobeast;6539233]Not Rhoades lifters this time or ever again.*
Butler wanted to sell me roller hydraulic lifters which would mean several modifications and $2300 that I'm not looking to do. The new cam will be extra gently broken in with Break-In oil, extra zinc and a lot of bourbon. The specific bourbon will be selected after a rigorous research progect which is ongoing. Beer will be the catalyst of choice for the dismantling/reassembly of the car. I'm

[Kenth]

Factory RAIV springs has 115 lb @ 1.812" installed height and about 340 lb open @ 1.2913".

HTH

[Formulajones]

Yeah that's pretty typical flat tappet stuff. I break in cams with that frequently with no issue.

So if those springs are correct and installed properly your problem is elsewhere.

Possibly sitting for 10 years before starting the engine and frequently turning the engine over might be concerning. Was there any break in lube left on the cam?

[Jimbobeast]

There are sill remnants of break in lube on the sides of the cam lobes, but the cam was not visible.

[Kenth]

10 years old dried up cam break in lube MAY have clogged the oil channels for the lifters, in the lifters and pushrods for the rockers.

[67Fbird]

Did you pull the dizzy and prelube the motor before fire up? Death of a flat tappet cam set is NOTORIOUS now days! Just is. Every precaution you can take gives you a % increase in success. Common KNOWN + 's are
Assembly lube, break in oil with HIGH ZZT, pre-lube before fire, immediate filter inspection after fire up with oil change to high ZZT oil, OCD type inspection of EVRY lifter. ALL these combined give you a 75% chance of survival rate .....up from the %50 chance.

[Jimbobeast]

Copious assembly lube (albeit 10+ years old), prelubed the motor down the distributor hole, high zinc break-in oil, ran motor at 1800 - 200 rpm for 30 min, changed filter and added 10W30 non synthetic oil
(?Valvoline). I did not add zinc to oil after break in. I will this time.

[Jimbobeast]

I took out my frustration splitting a bunch of fiewood (we had plenty after hurricanes Helene and Milton. Milton was a direct hit), then I cleaned the garage and moved her to the lift area to begin the engine out procedure.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by Jimbobeast

I took out my frustration splitting a bunch of fiewood (we had plenty after hurricanes Helene and Milton. Milton was a direct hit), then I cleaned the garage and moved her to the lift area to begin the engine out procedure.

Nice looking gto!

[Jimbobeast]

How I spent my weekend (besides going to the Snowbird Nationals Drag races):

[PAUL K]

I think the "bright side" is you have a RAIV GTO to work on

[68WarDog]

IMO I'm NOT putting another hft back into my RA block. Way too many bad things can happen. Are you getting it ready to sell?

[Jimbobeast]

Sell it cheap right now. All the parts are there. Assembly needed - Ages 6 - adult.

[steve25]

Think twice!

If a HFT fails then 99% of the time the cam and lifters are toast, if a lifter fails on a hydro roller you stand a chance of loosing the lifter bore.

Also lifter bores have a greater ware rate with a roller lifter since they don’t spin.