[jonmachota78]

Thought i would start a new thread rather than hyjack the other one.
What is the life expectancy of our retrofit hydraulic lifters?
We all know about the ticking issues, new style old style comps, oil band located for chevy, bla bla bla. Im not talking about all that. Im talking abou lifter FAILURE. The major failure point being the needle bearings. We know factory hydro lifters can go many hundreds of thousands of miles. Not talking about that either. Lets focus on Pontiac hydraulic roller lifters.

How many miles before needle bearing failure?
What are the warning signs a problem is brewing?
A lot of our lifter tick normally? So cant really use that as a warning sign.
Please share you experiences with this topic.

Heres my experience so far. 30,000 miles, old style comp lifters running since 2008. Perform great. Ya they tick a little.

Jon

[Dave M]

I just had my engine rebuilt using a HR cam. It's my first one. And I only have about 20 miles on it. So I'm very interested in hearing the responses. Thanks for starting this Jon.


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[ta man]

Same Comp Rollers since 2009.No tickers.Everything looked good on swap to new shortblock. I had my Roller Rockers rebuilt and returned in 2 weeks..does Comp offer the same service for HYD rollers?

[Steve C.]

Not the exact same situation with hydraulic roller lifters, but for conversation here in order to note the appropriate difference. Regarding Solid roller lifters it is my understanding that inadequate oiling, excessive spring pressures and the hammering effect associated with VALVE LASH play a significant part in the failure of the roller, needle bearings and axle. BUT very important, the lack of adequate valve spring pressure to control the valves is a potential KILLER of solid rollers on the street.

The fact that hydraulic roller lifters do not have the hammering effect makes a significant difference.


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[PontiJunk]

Originally Posted by ta man

Same Comp Rollers since 2009.No tickers.Everything looked good on swap to new shortblock. I had my Roller Rockers rebuilt and returned in 2 weeks..does Comp offer the same service for HYD rollers?

I spoke with Comp some time ago and was told they only offer the rebuild service on solid rollers.

[tom s]

I have a 455 I built early 2012.It had the Comp Hyd rollers used at that time.I changed the cam a few month ago.The engine has lots of miles on it before I changed the cam and is being driven a couple times a week still.The lifters looked and felt good when I put them on the new cam.I know they are not the latest version of Comps Hyd rollers.Not sure who was making them for them back in 2011.Tom

[jonmachota78]

Is anyone aware of a hyd roller needle bearings failure? Im sure it happens

[FrankieT/A]

Originally Posted by Dave M

I just had my engine rebuilt using a HR cam. It's my first one. And I only have about 20 miles on it. So I'm very interested in hearing the responses. Thanks for starting this Jon.

Me too...I have tuning mileage on a new top end. Everyone assured me rollers are OK. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[FrankieT/A]

Starting my engine cold my HR are dead quiet. After driving some, pull back in the garage, I have a couple noise makers. I would say louder than a tick, but only like 1 or 2. I would say less than a 1000 miles. I called Comp Cams, they replaced the lifters. I should have the car running this week coming, I'm waiting on intake gaskets. If anyone is interested I'll report back.

[HWYSTR455]

I've got Morel's in the Olds, they have about 30K miles on them, they are fine. Couple have light ticks when hot, but other than that, no issues.

IMO it's rare you will see an actual roller failure, unless there has been some type of abuse or other issue that accelerates wear. And when I say abuse, I mean like lack of oil changes or poor maint/adjustment. Other issues, like poor alignment/pushrods, rocker bind, etc.

Too many are gun shy when it comes to rollers, MANY have had success with them, and not just Pontiacs.

.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I've got Morel's in the Olds, they have about 30K miles on them, they are fine. Couple have light ticks when hot, but other than that, no issues.

IMO it's rare you will see an actual roller failure, unless there has been some type of abuse or other issue that accelerates wear. And when I say abuse, I mean like lack of oil changes or poor maint/adjustment. Other issues, like poor alignment/pushrods, rocker bind, etc.

Too many are gun shy when it comes to rollers, MANY have had success with them, and not just Pontiacs.

.

Agreed, and I'm betting the few cases we might read about, we really don't know the back story. Usually there's an underlying problem.

I have one of my hydraulic roller engines here, Comps rollers, that has been together for about 15-16 years now. No ticking, no issues. I've never had a valve cover off since it was installed. It's a .640 lift cam I run on the street everywhere. I'd have to look at the paper work to find the spring seat and open pressures, but the engine still buzzes to 6300 cleanly and runs fantastic.

Like Steve said, correct spring pressures are critical.

[jonmachota78]

Thanks for reviving this thread guys. Im still interested in hearing of any hyd roller failures and the circumstances surrounding it. Thx jon

[n2ogpsj462]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I've got Morel's in the Olds, they have about 30K miles on them, they are fine. Couple have light ticks when hot, but other than that, no issues.

IMO it's rare you will see an actual roller failure, unless there has been some type of abuse or other issue that accelerates wear. And when I say abuse, I mean like lack of oil changes or poor maint/adjustment. Other issues, like poor alignment/pushrods, rocker bind, etc.

Too many are gun shy when it comes to rollers, MANY have had success with them, and not just Pontiacs.

.

I've been looking for info on the durability of the morels considering that's what Lunati uses and they have a nice deal if you buy together. 650 is more manageable than 900 (498$ and 5-550 from comp)