632C2

A little over a year ago I decided to give the Isky EZ Roll lifters a try in my 632. A few of the Crower (HIPPO) lifters had gotten sloppy and I was looking for something a little more reliable.

I purchased a set from Mike Lewis @ Wolfplace and promptly installed them. I made 7 runs on the DynoJet before I heard a weird noise. I immediately pulled them out and found that several of them had seized up. Mike put me in touch with Ron Iskenderian and this is when the adventure began.

To date I have gone through 4 sets of the EZ Roll's and have yet to install the last set. Every time it has been the same thing with the roller seizing up. Also, every time I have had to send the cam back in to get reground because of the damage caused when the lifter seizes.

According to Ron, this latest set is supposed to cure all of my problems but I am apprehensive to install them. This "R&D" for Isky has really burned me out and this is one of the reasons I haven't been doing any car related work lately.

My application is not what I would call normal. My spring rate is 325# on the seat and 875# open so the roller lifter is taking quite a bit of abuse. Ron has said all along that these pressures are no problem for their lifters.

At any rate, the jury is still out in my case.

Steve

69 N.O.X. RATT

Uh Oh, I need to call you Steve !! I just got a set.......no desire to be some ones R and D.

I am 280 at the seat, but will go over 8000 rpms.

Maybe you should start a thread on Speed talk ?

69ttop502

Hey Steve, thanks for the review. Yours is the first real actual user feedback I have heard. I am one of those on the fence, wanting to go solid roller from my solid flat tappet. I only want to swap, however, when a near bullet proof lifter exists, although I will never "test" them as your application does. Sounds like you have been pulling that motor alot lately. Thanks again for the info.

Bill

Little Mouse

Thanks for the strait up on this, unreal that a company would put something out like this on the public without heavly testing it to make sure it works even under hard condititions for a reasonable amount of time. This destroys a hope to get rid of needle bearings.

540 RAT

I'd heard about your problems back when they started, and I thought it had all been cleared up, guess not.............BUMMER. Just curious, what oil were you running? And how much oil pressure did you see when hot? Were you using oil restrictors to the top end?

I've been skeptical of this lifter design from the start because on start-up those little bushings will be bone dry at their point of contact, from pushing the oil aside. Since they have to have the oil wedge formed like rods and mains, to prevent contact and wear, they will wear for sure, at least at every start-up. Shouldn't take too long to get loose.

632C2

I need to make sure that everyone understands that this "R&D" I have spoken about was never solicited by Isky and in fact they offered to refund my money on more than one occasion. My refusal to give up was based on my desire to find a solution to the ongoing maintenance that comes along with roller lifters. Unfortunately, when you look back and realize that you've put in more maintenance trying to make something work than just sticking with old reliable, you get kind of bummed out.

John: This is the first time I have spoken on any forum about this issue. I want to be careful and not make this a "trash Isky" deal.

Bill: I truly hope that this EZ Roll deal works out because it will be a benefit to all of us.

Little Mouse: You are the one that actually prompted me to start this thread. I wouldn't give up just yet.

540 RAT: I am running Royal Purple XPR 20W50 oil - the $14.00/qt stuff - and I love it. I usually see 25 psi at idle and 85-90 psi at high rpm - when hot of course. No oil restrictors here. I use a Moroso 4-stage dry sump setup with a 3 gallon tank.

Steve

540 RAT

Royal Purple XPR is my oil of choice also. Were you using it with the Crowers when they went bad? Could you give a little info on how those Crowers were used, how long they lasted, and just what exactly went wrong with them? I've gone with the Crowers myself, and I'd like to know what I might expect out of mine. Thanks.

632C2

I started using the Crower Lifters with Mobil 1, then went to Red Line, and finally ended up with Royal Purple. I check my lifters everytime I adjust them. With the Big Chief heads you can remove the lifters without pulling the intake manifold so it makes checking them extremely easy.

They lasted about a year and a half but since this is not my daily driver I can't tell you how many miles are on them.

The problem with the lifters was the same problems I hear from everyone - the needle bearings go away.

Steve

carbster09

I am looking at doing an engine build on my BBC later in the year. I want to do a mild build; merely a bored 454. I have a 71 LS-5. I wanted to go with a retro roller hydraulic cam; maybe a Lunati. Do hydraulic rollers have the same issues as your soilds? I know that they are pretty much used in most production cars now. I want a solid engine that will run and run for a long time. I can't afford to be taking it apart; time, money and expertise! 450-500 hp is fine with me. i am looking at stock parts, ported, etc.... The car is just my weekend toy or it will be when I move back to the USA!

carbster09

632C2

Sounds like a good reliable combination. I haven't heard of any of these types of problems with hydraulic rollers. Maybe some others can contribute to this.

Steve

540 RAT

Thanks, good info there. But one last question about the bad Crowers. Did you notice any pitting at all on the roller OD's?

7T1vette

You need to re-negotiate with Isky on their "yet-to-be-developed" rollers. Tell them you will do the development for them, if they supply all of the hardware (including replacement cams, etc.) for $[fill in the blank] for each test.

gkull

Steve i lost a wheel on my old Brand X from Crane and it dinged up a lobe on my billet steel roller with only 200# seat. Crane credited me with the cost and gave me the Crane Ultra Pro's at cost.

I have them in both of my mild 7500 rpm motors without a failure. I only use Valvoline racing 20W50.

I just hate having to get proficient on on changing parts because of failure

Good luck! This summer.

Is that TKO 600 still withstanding your abuse? I installed the Center Force DFX clutch assembly. Very nice driving it out at the track

69 N.O.X. RATT

Steve,

How much vacuum are you running ?

632C2

540 RAT: I just spent a half an hour in my garage trying to find them but I failed. Sorry.

7T1vette: I should have thought of that earlier...

George: Sounds like Crane took care of you. The TKO is no longer behind the 632. I am going to have to do some research on a Center Force DFX clutch. Thanks!!

John: Crankcase vacuum or manifold vacuum?

Steve

tshort

Steve,
Thanks for sharing your 'research' with us. It's unfortunate that this has become a lesson in R&D and not a lesson in a new alternative to the normal solid roller woes. I ended up switching back to a solid flat tappet after my first experience with a roller failure at the beginning of the year. If the technology ever gets past this hiccup I'd like to go back to a solid roller setup but it's just too costly at this point to replace/rebuild expensive rollers as a 'normal maintenance' item.

Sounds like you might need to take a break from the testing/dynoing and get that bad boy back on the road for a few months. I'm sure it'll help renew the passion with the vette.
-Travis

gkull

Steve those Tranzilla trannies might be something to check out.


Money stops me. I really thought about the CF Light metal Pressure plate because I road race. Then you have to look where is the most bang for the buck.

Are you drag racing with the son this year?

69 N.O.X. RATT

Crankcase.

632C2

Travis: A solid flat tappet sure seems like the way to go from a reliability standpoint. As far as getting the car back on the road, that sounds like a good idea.

George: I am probably going to stick with the Coan PowerGlide. No racing with my son - he is working for a company called Aon in Chicago. All that fun is over - for now anyway.

John: About 12" at 7000 rpm.

Steve

540 RAT

I sent you a PM.