Totally disgusted - flat cam

[BigRed76]

I agree with Eddie H. If you ran a quality oil filter then it should've trapped most of the crap from that pushrod.

[Scotty-D]

IMO, you are not out of the woods yet. I've seen that happen before, and every single time it was from a lobe going down and allowing the rocker arm to beat the pushrod into submission. It generally bends the crap out of the pushrod when it does it, but I have seen it both ways.

Sorry if I missed it, but have you pulled the oil filter off yet and cut it in half? I'd be very interested to see what you have collected in there.
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[Eddie H.]

Originally Posted by Scotty-D

IMO, you are not out of the woods yet. I've seen that happen before, and every single time it was from a lobe going down and allowing the rocker arm to beat the pushrod into submission. It generally bends the crap out of the pushrod when it does it, but I have seen it both ways.

Sorry if I missed it, but have you pulled the oil filter off yet and cut it in half? I'd be very interested to see what you have collected in there.
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If it were mine, I'd probably go ahead and pull the cam out and inspect it closely, just to make sure.
While I had it out, I would throw it, and everything else that came out of a Comp Cams box in the trash, and go back with some good parts.

[burnin oil]

Sorry about the bad luck. Low zinc is definatley a problem but it can not be as bad as we blame it for. I would rather had higher zinc content but the fact is every day there are flat tappet cams installed by the factory today with little to know cam issues. Every single Dodge truck running around with a Cummins diesel engine is a flat tappet. This fact tells me that it is the cam cores that are the issue and not the oil. If I were running a high lift cam with fast accelerating ramps with massive spring pressure then a zinc additive would be a safe investment. On a cam with mild ramps and spring pressure you should be just fine with regular oil.

[storm9c1]

Originally Posted by burnin oil

Sorry about the bad luck. Low zinc is definatley a problem but it can not be as bad as we blame it for. I would rather had higher zinc content but the fact is every day there are flat tappet cams installed by the factory today with little to know cam issues. Every single Dodge truck running around with a Cummins diesel engine is a flat tappet. This fact tells me that it is the cam cores that are the issue and not the oil. If I were running a high lift cam with fast accelerating ramps with massive spring pressure then a zinc additive would be a safe investment. On a cam with mild ramps and spring pressure you should be just fine with regular oil.

This is a can of worms. That being said, using the Cummins comparision is like comparing apples to oranges. First of all, last I looked, official Cummins spec diesel oil does call for higher ZDDP (but that was a while back). Secondly, Cummins designs the engine from scratch knowing what kind of protection modern oils provide. An OEM is going to pay more attention to reliability than any run-of-the-mill aftermarket cam provider. Diesels also use a different valve geometry. Interestingly, there are high performance upgrades for the Cummins that include roller cams. I have heard of people ending up with flat cams in their Cummins with aftermarket parts. However, the OEM setup is bulletproof as long as you run the oil spec they recommend.

[burnin oil]

Flat cams are not a major concern. We actually snap them from the injection pumps more often. PPumps rob power like a 671 huffer. Sure there are some differences but the point was that flat tappets are still around on a motor designed in the 80s with no real redesign other than upgrading the head to 24v. The 6.7 is like the 400sb Chevy, some minor differences to make more cubes but still the same engine family. Cummins recommends premium blue by Valvoline oil but by no means do you need to run it. No problems with any of the other major brands. They are more concerned by which oil filter you run (Not Fram). I actually broke an oil pump at 4k+ RPM (and 75 PSI boost) and the cam still didn't go flat. Modern oil still can do its job, even on a quality after market cam. I would still prefer more zinc. Any and all lube enhancement is a good thing but we have what we have. Interestingly I have seen as many failures running Schaffers race oil as regular over the counter oils.

[Horsman]

Call me nuts, but I went ahead and pulled the engine so I can tear it down for inspection. The metal chunks worried me enough to do so. Thanks for the insight guys, great lesson learned here.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by Horsman

Call me nuts, but I went ahead and pulled the engine so I can tear it down for inspection. The metal chunks worried me enough to do so. Thanks for the insight guys, great lesson learned here.

You'll sleep better after knowing exactly what's in there. You going with a different cam now?

[1970 CST STEP]

Originally Posted by Horsman

Call me nuts, but I went ahead and pulled the engine so I can tear it down for inspection. The metal chunks worried me enough to do so. Thanks for the insight guys, great lesson learned here.

Very smart move. Really sucks what you have to go through. I've got a 286h in a 468 with less than 200 miles and no problems yet and no zinc added to oil. Pennzoil 10-30. a couple months ago, I went into shop, smelled a really strong odor of gas, looked around, and followed my nose straight to my truck with the brand new engine, looked under truck and gas was everywhere! Crawled under it and looked, had gas flowing out of oil pan at the bottom of dipstick! Gas tank was not venting and was passing through fuel pump. Pulled drain pan plug, first gallon was pure gas, then oil. Drained, changed filter, filled with oil, fired it up, ran for a few minutes, drained and filled again. Haven't had any problems so far, but man, the feeling in your gut is like no other!
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[Scotty-D]

Shoot...I ain't calling you crazy. That's the only way you will ever know exactly what is going on with it. Good call and good luck.
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[edge]

Smart move. Good luck.

[prostreetC-10]

Here is the result of metal in motor even with a good wix filter. You are smart in not taking the chance. It's like the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth 2 birds in the bush".....or something like that. lol

I about sheet at how much metal still made it through my motor even after changing the filter 2 times in about 10 miles. Like the wedding ring on my rod bearing?