1turbofocus Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Im guessing this is a Duratec ? I would look into the Crower STG3 cams or the Comp Cams stg 3 , both are great cams , great for racing and good for street , I have a 2.0 Duratec , 11.1 , Stock plastic intake manifold and Focus stock TB making over 200HP to the wheels in a Focus , Would also recommend Adj cam gears and a little dyno time Valve seats , Valve wont cause your worn lobe issue , things that will would be , Valve springs binding , Improper Cam adjustments , Bad Cam grind , Pitting from rust Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papak Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 I stand corrected. It’s Crower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted November 22, 2018 Author Share Posted November 22, 2018 (edited) papak, I spoke with Tom C. the other day, he's great! He was able to give me some insight on Crower cams. I also spoke to Shane at Crower who was very helpful. I need to get the engine out inspect things and get it back together so I can spend some time driving the car . Tom, You mention Comp Cams, I haven't been able to find a cam listed for a Duratec motor. Would this be a custom order from them? As far as the cam damage, I'm hoping that I'll be able to to get to the bottom of the issue when I tear down the engine and inspect it. Andy edit: added stuff... Edited November 22, 2018 by ashyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1turbofocus Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 My apologizes , I said duratec but had Zetec on the Brains , Crower , Burton , Kent or Piper , Crane might have some left hard to say If you cant see the issue for the pitting with the Valve cover off and cam out checking the rest of the engine wouldnt show anything , problem would be in the top where the cam is Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted November 23, 2018 Author Share Posted November 23, 2018 Tom, After seeing the cam I want to inspect the bearings and make sure there are no surprises inside the short block. I don't want to find an issue when something fails... Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 We're finally making some progress tearing into the motor (progress, right?!). So far we've found it has Crower rods, Ti retainers, some form of snazzy pistons and what appears to be a wacky cam arrangement. The exhaust cam has a lift of ~.441" so it's darn healthy. The welding on the lobes is visible and I'm reasonably sure that's what failed. The intake cam has a lift of ~.360" and it appears to be stock! The tear down has proved a mixed bag. We've found some nice bits and some evidence of some "band-aid" repairs. They're getting fixed as we go, but it's frustrating to see some of the crappy work someone did in the past. On the other hand I'm working on the car with my Auto Shop students and they get to see first hand a bit of shoddy workmanship and learn from it. As far as cams I have some Crower "Stage 2" cams on the way. I think they will fit the bill well. What's the collective wisdom regarding Ti retainers? I would not have chosen them for a street car, but they're in there and appear to be in good shape. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzempel Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Stay away from Ti retainers, unless you plan to replace them as a regular maintenance item. They have a shockingly short life span. Randall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 Randall, Any idea of the lifespan of these things? My understanding is that they die due to fretting between the spring and retainer. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1turbofocus Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Stay away from Ti retainers, unless you plan to replace them as a regular maintenance item. They have a shockingly short life span. Randall They do , I have been running them on my street (572 CU IN ) and dirt track engine for more then 20 years , springs changed about a 2 dozen times and no issues , My 720+ Hp Zetec Turbocharged had them on it for 7 years and sold the engine and he ran it another 4 years and sold it to some one else same Crower Tit retainers , I have built thousands of Tir Ret heads through my machine shop over the years and never an issue Alum Ret , short life span Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzempel Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Tom, curious that your experience is so opposite what was relayed to me by some top tuners over the years. Perhaps the people I've talked with used Ti retainers made from the wrong alloy. They related sudden failure after mere hundreds of hours. Randall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastg Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 I have a friend that own a small parts engineering company in WI, he has made over 35,000 TI retainers for a major manufacture without a single problem. I think it's an internet legend that just gets repeated many times unit it becomes a big problem. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 (edited) Here we go! Edited December 16, 2018 by ashyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1turbofocus Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I talked to a Crane Engineer today and he stated Crane no longer makes the Duratec Cams and hasnt in some time so the only way to get any is being lucky and finding some old stock on the shelf somewhere Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 (edited) I guess we'll have time to go through the short block while we wait.... for cams. At some point it would be fun to drive this thing . Edited December 20, 2018 by ashyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) OK, the motor is nearly completely apart and I need some more help . How are you guys at identifying pistons? These are fancy bits and I will likely need rings and possibly some spiral locks. They are gray in color and have no identifying marks. They're in OK shape and we plan on running them. EDIT: Found 'em, they are Supertec pistons with a -20cc dish. This yields a CR of ~ 9:1 in the 2.3L. I'm thinking very seriously about replacing them with something that will get me up over 11:1. I have no idea how these ended up in the motor. Anyone need some turbo pistons?! http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14884&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14885&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14886&stc=1 Edited December 21, 2018 by ashyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) Here's the crown: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14888&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14889&stc=1 Edited December 20, 2018 by ashyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1turbofocus Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Wow , 9.1 NA will have you WAY down on power , What do you want for them , I could use them do Turbo 2.0 and 2.3 Builds all the time Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Tom, I suspect we could work out a deal for the pistons. Do you have anything you would like to trade that may be useful for the rebuild?! Send me a PM. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Update: Things are still moving forward, just a bit slowly. We've totally torn down cleaned and inspected the engine. Parts are taking a bit longer than expected to arrive, but I'm assured they are on the way . Essentially we're redoing everything. One of my students compared this engine to a Russian nested doll. He said whenever we pull something apart we find something else wrong! Unfortunately he's right. The good news is that there's nothing left to pull apart... I'm hopeful that by next week we can drop off the block and head for some machining and maybe have the motor back in the chassis by February. We'll see! Rebuilding an engine and sorting a car with high school students is not always fast, but it is always interesting! The help I've received from this forum has been great. I really appreciate it. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papak Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 The worst part of rebuilding one of these is that the manufacturer never intended for it to be rebuilt. No key ways, etc. Drill out the plugs from the oil journals and tap them for brass plugs. It’s the only way to assure that they are clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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