Dick,
You may be plowing new ground with the valve train geometry because of the push rod length needed with Merlin Super Tall block. Does your friend use the same block? Without some input based on SpinTron testing or from someone with extensive time with this block and combination in an endurance application, you might consider reducing the # of hours between rebuilds so you miss a catastrophic failure.
How much spring pressure? Just enough to control the lifter tracking on the cam:rolleyes:

Bob,
I am very interested in that system. Looks like a nice idea. Have you run this system yet? If so, can your provide any details, like how many hours on the cam and lifters? Whose and what type of lifters? Spring pressure?

Thanks

Dick,/Vinny, I am running the isky 9385+ springs in at 215# new at the seat, probably around 195 after breakin. Using the .903" crower lifter, 66291X903H which also has the high pressure oiling, using KE's spray bar and KE's pre-luber. I am using a Canfield head which only has a 8.850 and 9.650 push rod. I did however use the 10-11" pushrods on some Big Chiefs awhile back. I do pull the lifters at 125-150 hours and they look really nice and probably could go for more. I don't have the cam specs with me but it is roughly .698" lift with a 290/302 advertised duration. Cam (Crower with the four cylinder swap) life so far is at 150 hours and the lobes look good. I have roughly 350 hours on the spray bars. Keith can make you up some spray bars, his new number is 217-415-9568.

We also use the KE spray bar and use the Isky 9385 springs but with 240# installed on the seat. The springs probably settle around 220#. My gross valve lift is .756/.735 and the cam has a mild/easy 420 lobe. I started the 2007 season with two new engines and the Crower .937 lifters. Unfortunately, in one engine, all the lifters simultaneously failed at 5800 RPM with only 12 hrs run time:eek: All (16) bearings in the rollers turned into powder with the wheels flopping on the pin. We took out a cylinder, ported head, cam, valves, etc.
The only good news to come out of this process was that Crower paid to R&R, rebuild one engine and change out their lifters in the other...but only because we had to file suit in TX to collect and they defaulted with the court.
We are now using the Jesel .937 dogbone lifters as I was unwilling to chance less expensive but untested "big" lifters from all the rest of the standard lifter suppliers after my Crower event. We now don't have our "tested" valve train as the Jesel .937 lifters are significantly lighter than the Crower. We have been checking the lash regularly in 2008 and it has been rock stable....yeh!
Maybe change springs the at 100 hrs and these engines should last my shift:drink:

Here is another KE spray bar pic

Could somebody please explain what that thing does ?

I dont have a clue ,never seen one and how hard is it to install in a bowtie blockk ,whats the cost and whats the gain of it ?

Thanks . :rolleyes:

Ben,
sorry to hear of your situation. I feel this event has been similar to my experience. I had the cam (.714/.714 275/278) in the motor for 70hrs with Schubeck lifters, .903" (roller X, with the ceramic wheels). I saw a slight loss of oil psi.. hot at idle 45, at rpm 55. Not the end of the world but less than I had prior 55/65. I pulled the motor down and found everything in good shape. I did find two lifters one with a crack and one with a piece missing from the lifter jacket, found that in the pan. The cam looked great! I attempted to contact Joe Schubeck and he is no longer in business. So I did the next best thing. Replaced the lifters with Isky Red Zones with EZ wheel .903". I was told they had not had any failures in a year of use. Well I had to replace my lifter bushings, because of the diff in lifters, pinned verses tie bar. So it all went back together, my oil psi was still not has high at it used to be but still very adequate. After 20hrs of use, I did a second or third lash and found three with .045" lash. Not good. Five lifters and cam lobes. The fault was pointed at the heavy springs. Which my buddy is running for the last 6 or 8 yrs with no problems.. similar cam profile, but only a tall deck block. He has gotten as much as 250hrs of run time on Isky lifters with needle bearings. He has had one fail after 12hrs, but chalked that up to a bad lifter.
So I figure it is the spring pressure. Well I have another friend that has a tall deck and used the same lifters on the same brand cam I used and now after 100hrs a couple of his lifter wheels looked like mine.. Like you ran then down the street on concrete. But his cam was not as damaged as mine. So I ran mine longer before I caught it, I guess.. My feeling is it was not the cam that caused the problem. And I tend to rule out the springs being too heavy. The difference in weight between the Schubeck's and the Isky's was about 3 times heavier. I tend to think I should go to heavier springs. Isky rebuilt the lifters for free, but now I have $1k in a set of lifters I am scared to death to use.. like you with the Crowers.. I sat this year out and still have to figure out what I can do with my motor.. Two scored cylinders, and at my second to last bore, 4.607" - 4.625". Not that these things dont happen, just that $3000 for 20hrs of use is not my idea of fun.. And the big thing is no one can tell me what failed. I would have been better off making new jackets for the Schubeck lifters.. I could go to the spintron, but I dont have a spare block to work with.. This one is at the end of it's life cycle, so I am attempting to retire it to a street motor if someone is interested. I just have a hard time tossing that Hogin sheet metal intake in the trash..
That spray bar looks very interesting.. How do you plum oil to it on the Merlin block is my next question.. and will it solve my problem?? :(

I did find the part number.. called them. 755-7005, $90. Looks like it works very easily on the Dart M block. Not sure how it would be plumbed up in my Merlin block..
bob, what block do you have again, and where does that tap into on the front wall of your block?
Thanks!

DD.. it sprays oil at the cam and lifters.. suppose to make junk lifters live longer??

Ben, where is your line tapped into? Are you hitting one of the lifter oil bores?

So actually ,you DONT realy need it ?

Or is it better to have it ?

That is what I am trying to determine. In my case, I have a problem, but dont know what the solution is. Trying to find out how to make a cam live in my motor.. This may help, I dont really know.