Recently I had a shop install solid roller cam and lifters and heads on my car (346CI forged motor). The car ran fine before I took it there (Idrove it up there) Just lacked the power that I wanted. The heads that I purchased were apparently (from what the shop said) destroyed, due to drilling out the underside of the valve chamber to get more valve stem height on the other side for the springs to fit. Apparently this lowered the compression. Everything was put together on the car, the heads included after being sent to 3 different shops. Also a double roller timing chain was added! The car made 430 first pull then fell on its face everytime after down to like 380's. Car didnt run right. After I had to go up and adjust the rockers myself. Drove the car 100 yards to get gas and pulled back up and started hearing squeaking. Not good. Found out I spun a rod bearing. This motor has about 5-6K miles on it!! Now the problem is. My oil pressure was said to be fine! I hadnt driven the car but one time since the timing chain and other work had been done! The O-Ring to the Oil pick-up in the oil pan was pinched where it met the oil pump. I cant get a answer on what the problem really was. I know it wasnt intention if it was done. My question is COULD the O ring being pinched cause an lack of proper lubrication? My car ran fine up there and I had to TRAILER it away because they were done with it and wanted to keep charging me more and more. Could this have been a coincident that my bearings took a crap on me when all of this work was being done? Or was it something they could have done wrong (like the o ring)?? I dont really know too much in depth info on all of this. Any help appreciated!!

 

If the O-ring was pinched, you would most likely see a drop in oil pressure....considerable amounts in most cases.

 

If I understand correctly, they sank the valve seats in the combustion chamber to gain more valve stem heighth?? I've never heard of anybody doing anything like that just to crutch some short valve heights. They should have replaced the valves with a set that were the proper length. Even so, if they're saying that the motor went South from lack of compression, that not right either. Low conpression would cause you to be down on power a little, but not destroy an engine like they're saying. It sounds like they sank the seats so much that it messed up your heads and now they're looking for a way out.(I hope that they weren't so stupid that they didn't put hardened seats back in the head after sinking the valves) Try to find out a little more information so we can determine what's really going on here.

 

If they installed the timing chain they had to drop the oil pickup off the oil pump and might have pinched to o-ring putting it back on?? If someone didn't study the oil pressure while it was being dyno'd then it might have started taking out the bearings then?

 

I agree with ya brian. Im not sure on the hardened seats, Ill have to ask. The heads were more of a power loss problem that another machine shop did. The real concern is that the engine spun a rod bearing after all of the installs were made. I hadnt seen the car on the dyno. But good news, they said they would pull the motor and put back in for free. As long as I get the other shop to put rebuild the lower end that they were claimed to have messed up on. So hopefully they will do that. My problem is this shouldnt cost me n e thing cause I dont see it being any of my fault or coincident that it drove fine for 6K miles and now broke! Metal on metal with no lube is a very loud screeching noise and was very noticable when I heard my car start and run. Hopefully it will get solved. I just didnt know if that pinched gasket could have been the main problem