Thank you Uncle Sammy.......

[knsmodels]

Well, I am not sure if this has been discussed on here before but I feel the need to warn everyone here that about 8-10 months ago the EPA stepped in and had the oil manufactures change up their formulas on motor oil and remove the Zinc as the new cars do not require it.....our trucks do require it and running the new oil in our trucks will cause cam failure in new motors....this applies to all flat tappet cams.....there are a couple of manufactures Valvolene VR1 and SHELL ROTELLA that still have the Zinc additives but who knows for how long.......apparently Uncle Sam did not see any need to publicly announce this to anyone running older cars but GM has a memo that tells their service people to put an additive in older cars with flat tappet camshafts.....sorry to drag this on but I had the need to vent......I found out the hard way when my newly rebuilt 350 wiped the cam at all of 11,000 miles in my stock 72.......if this has already been posted then I think there should be a sticky somewhere to let everyone know..... Thanks

[KAILUAZ]

Great, whats next, replace my 350 with electric motor?

[stsalvage]

thanks i will let the people here now and i will spead the word mabey i can have my mother write a letter to J Lennal late night TV show he has enough pull to make it facted

[GREASEMONKEY72]

so are trucks have flat tappet cams and all the oil out there is bad for our cams now??? damn i hate the government

[arkracing]

did you break in the cam???? - that is usually the main cause of early cam failure.

You ARE correct about the zinc & phosphate content of the newer motor oils though.

Read through ALL of this before firing up the new cam:
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107853

[68C15]

I was reading the same thing recently in Hot Rod. they suggest an additive from GM with each oil change. it is GM # 12345501 (cam/lifter pre-lube).
this article is VERY good reading.

[killer71]

excuse the ignorance but what is a "flat tappet cam?" Is there a way to know if you have one?

[woodridge]

Excellent post. When GM eliminated the oil hole in the rods the number of cam failures sky rocketed,most engines I build I add these back. . Maybe we need to add some HP gear lube at the oil change. I think the oil companies are headed for some law suits if they don't do some public awareness campaigns.

[67ChevyRedneck]

What do you mean by "new?" Would my 2000 truck be affected? So I have to add an additive to the oil changes in my 67 now????

Does this only apply to installing an aftermarket cam???

[Longhorn Man]

first of all... this wasn't the govornment's doing...this was the automakers telling the gov to do it. The OEMs have been trying to get the gov to do this for years, becouse the emissions from the old high zink oil was clogging up catilitic converters, plus, it was just increased emissions, making it harder to certify a new model/year of auto.
The OEMs argued that the only disadvantage to the new oil formulas, is on engines with a flat tappet cam, which they haven't made any since the late 80's.
The zink levels have already been dropped, and if you are running an oil formulated for a gas engine, then yes, you are increasing the wear on your cam.

A safe bet to genericly say, if your engine was made before 88, it's a flat tappet cam. You can retrofit old blocks for roller cams, or, just get a late model core on your next build.
Diesel formulated oils have lost some zink, and the will lose more in the future.
this has been discuissed through 5 or 6 threads that I have seen, but obviously, there will always be ppl who didn't see it.

[killer71]

so if you buy a new crate engine from general motors what should you do?

[muddpile]

I've heard that Zinc additive from GM works well, and I've also heard Mobil 1 0w40 European formula has tons of zinc in it as well. I'm not sure what I'll use, but I know any rebuild will get a roller cam (although the price for the conversion is out of this world...)

[killer71]

Can u get this additive from auto parts store? This is all new to me!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by killer71

Can u get this additive from auto parts store? This is all new to me!

Same here!

Thanks for the post Andy. Is GM the only place to get the additive?

[68 P.O.S.]

Are performance oils like Royal Purple affected as well? Or is it all oils?

[Bishops Trucks]

Thanks for the info.

[brak]

As i always say...

When you hug a tree, you screw a car guy

[Longhorn Man]

Red line is.. as far as I know, the only 10/30 oil that did not remove the zink. (to say removed, is a little inacurate, there is still a little in there)
With that being said, it is actua;lly against FEDERAL smog laws to run saif red line oil in your 2007 or newer gassoline car/truck.
There was a couple other places that had the zink additive... I can't find where I put all my zink oil info though...
68C15 do you still have that article? I think I remember 2 or 3 companies making that additive, not just GM. Do you have that info?

[grebus1]

Some further discussion on this topic is here:

http://www.streetrodtech.com/forums/...641b6dc4abb994

Also, what about those of us with over 200K on the original engine? Should we be overly concerned?

[knsmodels]

I do not know how this affects high mileage motors......my motor was built about 18 months ago.......everything seemed fine for the first 10,000 miles....cam started to break down after that mark......now I just need to decide on replacing the cam and running the additive or switch to hydraulic roller cam/lifters........

[67ChevyRedneck]

^Thanks for the info.

[Longhorn Man]

if you have the money, there are quite a few reasons to go roller, cost is the ONLY reason not to do it.
Roller cams is the single main reason (IMO) that a small block with 150,000 miles still pulls strong. You get in an early 90's camaro, with a 305 even, and you stab the fun pedal, and you start to wonder, is this sucker stock.. was it rebuilt, did someone sneak a 350 in there?
A properly maintianed roller cam motor will have virtually a new cam in it still even after 150k miles.
You can also run a more agresive cam with rollers too. instead of sliding a block of metal on a nother block of metal, you have the roller that can 'roll' up a steeper ramp without digging in. So in a performance aplication, you can run an agressive cam and it'll last 2 or 3 times as long as the same profile would have run in a non roller engine.
Reduced friction is an invisible advantage here too. Again on the sliding metal to metal, or rolling over metal, obviously, the roller will be considerably easier to run. Team this with full roller rockers on top, and you have reduced your valve train friction by at least 50% (my numbers, and yes, an educated guess, but a guess none the less) You probably won't notice any inprovements in this deparetment, but they are there.
PROS;
Less wear on the cam
less energy consumed in the valve train
more agressive camshaft profiles (optional)
The ability to replace the cam, and KEEP your old lifters
A cam that will last virtually forever.
Con;
Cost is the only reason not to go roller.

[Fred T]

Yes, it's been discussed here. It helps to search before you post.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...highlight=zinc

From what I found, the best solution (for now) has been suggested by comp cams. Add a bottle of cam lube when you change the oil. The current additives are mostly snake oil, and do nothing to address the issue.

Surely someone will come up with a good additive, but it will take some time.

[knsmodels]

I apoligize for the repost of info.....I was too pissed at the time to do a search and I was venting......anyway from what I was just told by my builder is that high mileage engines are at risk also.....the lack of zinc is increasing the friction between the cam and lifters ....thus the lifters are eating through the hardened coating of the cam lobes and literally grinding away your cam lobes......I would put the additive in any late 80's or older SBC.......

[Zonaman]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

.
The OEMs argued that the only disadvantage to the new oil formulas, is on engines with a flat tappet cam, which they haven't made any since the late 80's.
.

OK, so if I've got one of those "hencho en Mexico" Goodwrench crate 350's with a 1996 casting mark on the block, and Mobil 1 in the pan, I can sleep easy?

Thanks.