sksmith
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
- Location
- Back in St. Louis, MO
Cam / lifter break-in on flat tappet cams can be hard on the cam with heavy-duty or double springs. Hope that's not your case.
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Cam / lifter break-in on flat tappet cams can be hard on the cam with heavy-duty or double springs. Hope that's not your case.
Take the valve cover off and inspect the valves and springs for anything out of the ordinary. Are all the valves the same height? Are there any broken springs? Are all the guides sticking out of the head the same amount? Can you wiggle any of the valves? Then crank the engine with the ignition disabled and see if they're all opening the same amount. A flat lobe will be obvious.
Yep, by the time it's flat enough to make a noticeable driving issue, it's BLATANTLY obvious. No need to measure, it will stick out like a sore thumb. Unplug the coil, take off the valve cover, crank it round and round a few times.A flat lobe will be obvious.
Agreed. That was my last time trusting John. I gave him chance after chance. This last time he contacted ME. It was almost like he was apologizing for making me wait forever last time. He kept following up until I agreed to send the head to him. Then, as before, I had to start calling him, threatening legal action, the police, etc. That wakes him up from email blackouts, but then it's a blackout again for weeks. Pity, really a super nice guy on the phone and seems to know endless amounts about performance Volvo. But then there are guys like hiperfauto who actually write back and seem to care AFTER you get off the phone. Imagine that, a vendor who cares about your business? Just really liked the HSR carbs John sells. They just work amazingly well and, after my experience with the stock carbs, I welcomed modern carbs gladly. I think John is just swamped with work and racing projects. I mean, like 5 years of backlogged work. But needs cash to keep the lights on, so takes a job here and there to keep money rolling in, but really cannot reliably carve off time for killer piece work. That's my $.02. I'm with you, cannot recommend anymore.Sad. You should have received a working product.
Take the valve cover off and inspect the valves and springs for anything out of the ordinary. Are all the valves the same height? Are there any broken springs? Are all the guides sticking out of the head the same amount? Can you wiggle any of the valves? Then crank the engine with the ignition disabled and see if they're all opening the same amount. A flat lobe will be obvious.
Hate to say this but John Parker is sketch on his work. He used to be really good, but has really fallen off. Doesn't deliver parts, half assed jobs, etc. I have a few friends with pushrod motors that sent him things with extremely mixed results. Check everything like Hiperfauto said. Sad. You should have received a working product.
One thing I noticed. They had upgraded to steel timing gears. The cam gear did not require pressing. It slid right on, into the key. I torqued it to 105ftlbs I think, per the spec in my 71 manual