Solid lifter cam, how loud?

[rrunnertexas]

I need a bit of advice....

I just fired up my 383 with a it's new Comp Cam solid lifter camshaft. While running it in a 2000 rpm I could not believe how much valve train noise I hear. I know a solid lifter cam is going to make noise... But how much is too much?

Can anyone that runs a solid lifter cam send me some thoughts on this?

Does it quiet down a bit after break in?

I know this may seem like a silly question, but..... I could use some advice.

Thanks

[Dick]

What did the manufacturer recommend for valve lash?

[84ram]

Engines with solid lifter cams make a lot of mechanical noise because the rocker arms are all 'tapping' on the ends of the pushrods and the tips of the valves at the same time. Since you don't have the cushioning effect of hydraulic lifters, you have to have some clearance between the rockers and the valve stems, which creates more noise when the engine is running. I used to have a friend that had a dart sport with a solid cammed 340 that also had a gear drive setup for the cam, and that thing sounded like a freakin' thrashing machine! The exhaust drowned it out at WOT though!! Just make sure that the valve lash is set correctly and if it is, don't worry about it. You'll get used to the noise.

[rrunnertexas]

Well, the Comp Cams card says to set it: Int .016 and Exh .018, hot settings.

The Comp Tech line said I should set them both .002" tighter cold, so I have the lash set at .014" and .016".

Just for grins, I pulled off the valve covers and re-checked the lash. They were all about .002" bigger that my original setting. So, I tightened them back up to .014" and .016".

[party340]

Yea, their pretty noisy. If pushrods, cam, lifters ard rockers are new expect to adjust everything pretty often for the first 3000 miles. After that it should stay set.

[rrunnertexas]

Well, thanks for the info.

I guess I was expecting the valve train noise to be a bit more subtle.

My friend has a '69 R/T Charger that he put a Hemi into with a solid lifter cam. That cam has a NICE sound to it at idle. Nothing radical, just that great mechanical sound that we all love. I know my 383 is not a Hemi, but the blocks do share some of the same design ideas.....

Mine on the other hand sounds like a loud slant six...

I double checked the lash and it is within a few thousands. I don't see any metal in my oil, to inidcate a parts failure, so I am a bit puzzled.


Hummmm....

[pishta]

What valve cover are you using? I have a solid cammed, roller rockered gear driven 451 and it sounds like hell at idle, but gets in to the music at about 3000 and screams at 6500. the gear is louder than the cam at idle. I have pretty thin headers too and that does not help down low.

[quickd100]

On the V-8 solid cammed motors the factory used a black crinkled textured paint on the valve covers, this was supposed to dampen the valve train noise a bit. But as some others stated, give it a while, pretty soon that valve train noise will sound like sweet music to your ears. Dave

[pishta]

Originally Posted by quickd100

On the V-8 solid cammed motors the factory used a black crinkled textured paint on the valve covers, this was supposed to dampen the valve train noise a bit. But as some others stated, give it a while, pretty soon that valve train noise will sound like sweet music to your ears. Dave

There you go, my Diamante had double walled valve covers, you could not hear any valve train noise in that motor.

[Thunderstruck]

hmm,

Black crinkle coated valve covers, guess my solid cammed 2bbl 273 and my 225 slant six would beg to differ. Urban legend.

OEM solid cams, at least for more pedestrian motors, are fairly mild in rates of lift and what not and are pretty quiet when properly adjusted.

However, aftermarket cams are another story. That's the price you pay for playing that game.

Steve

[345Dart]

Originally Posted by rrunnertexas

I need a bit of advice....

I just fired up my 383 with a it's new Comp Cam solid lifter camshaft. While running it in a 2000 rpm I could not believe how much valve train noise I hear. I know a solid lifter cam is going to make noise... But how much is too much?

Can anyone that runs a solid lifter cam send me some thoughts on this?

Does it quiet down a bit after break in?

I know this may seem like a silly question, but..... I could use some advice.

Thanks

Thus unless you are driving at 7000rpm a lot, whoever talked you into a solid needs a kick in the "you know what".
Friend of mine has almost the identical engine as mine including cam specs, except his is a solid and mine is a hydraulic. You would swear his engine is going to rattle apart compared to mine when running. He is not impressed -
and his is pretty close to a total resto.

You may get used to it!!

[rrunnertexas]

I have a set of the Mopar Performance Valve covers that are black wrinkle coated... Not much help with the noise....

After I break in this cam, I will idle it down and see what it sounds like... All I know is it sounds LOUD at 2000 rpm.
I may have to kick myself in the you know what... I selected this cam BECAUSE it was a solid... I really enjoy the sound of my friends solid lifter Hemi. That motor sounds like music at idle, so that helped my decision. Granted, I don't have Hemi, but I thought the outcome would be similar.

Also, I guess my entire reason for asking for advice was it was way louder that I remember.... I was thinking that maybe something was not put together correctly so I shut the motor off and checked everything before I went any further. I would like to avoid having a pile of parts....

[Clair]

What weight oil are you running?

I guess you could try to tighten up the lash a tad, but that would be a last resort, I'm sure Comp has that spec for a reason. That sounds about what the OEM lash numbers are, though.

FWIW, I'd run a solid in a minute, they're just cool. I might be tinkering with a solid roller if I ever go there, though. It'll be a while before I have to worry about it at the rate I'm going...

Clair

[pishta]

I had a stock 4bbl 312 in my 57 Ford and it was a solid mushroom lifter motor. that was a quiet solid lifter motor but the cam was way mellow, im sure the ramp rates were extremely mild. If you have an aggressive profile, itll rattle a bit. As for solids differing from hydros, just check the useable powerband of a mech to a hydro, there is a difference.

[ace26]

I have a comp solid in my 410 stroker in my duster,very loud at first,set the lash and drive it for around 500 miles,then readjust your lash change the oil and whatnot and after another 500 miles or so it will be quiter least that's what ive gotten with mine so far it's got about 2500 miles on it now and i love it.

[rrunnertexas]

I just finished running the motor at 2000 rpm for another 15 minutes to make sure I break in this new cam per the Comp Cams break-in procedure. After I idled it down to about 1000 rpm, it sounds better, but still noisy. From what I hear, it almost sounds like just 1 or 2 of the lifters are loud.

I will again check the lash and see if something is bigger that it should be. If I can get the 1 or 2 to "shut up", I think this new cam will be great.

I will take the advice and put some miles on the motor in hopes it will quiet down a bit. Time will tell.

[oldguyalso]

Okay, I'm risking stating the blatantly obvious here. Breaking in a cam you should run the lash a couple of thousands wider. After it's broken in readjust to cam specs. Run about 500 miles. Replace oil and readjust lash. Run another 500. Repeat oil change and lash adjustment. At about 2,000 readjust lash. Set up a regular maintainence schedule. I usually check the lash about every 5,000. I like to tinker! Good luck!