How do I tell if my lifter's no good?

simonjrwinter · #1 (**permalink**) 12-22-2003, 04:54 PM

Too many problems to go into here, but how do I tell if my lifters are no good (I think I may have one thats collapsed)
I'm going to take them out of the engine one at a time, dissasemble and clean them but how will I tell if they are no good? should I be able to blow through the lifter from the side hole and have air come out through the top hole? how about vice versa?
Thanks guys any advice you can give will help stop my driving my Cobra to the crusher!
Simon
ps 400 mile engine, Edelbrock performer plus cam with hydraulic lifters, oil changed 3 times already

Perf. Eng. Eric · #2 (**permalink**) 12-22-2003, 05:58 PM

Simon, Clean the lifters ,then submerge them in oil. Now take a pushrod and try to push the center of the lifter up and down until it pumps up. They should beging to get hard to pump if they are working properly. If not take the ones appart that do not pump up ,re-clean and try again. Hope this helps, Eric

Edley Rondinone · #3 (**permalink**) 12-22-2003, 07:55 PM

1. If it has a bad, "rotten eggs" smell, its probably bad.
2. If it stays out 'til the wee hours of the morning, coming in reeking of alcohol and cigarettes, its probably bad.
3. If your lifter has a lot of stuff in its room, with no visible ways of paying for it, its probably bad.

Jack21 · #4 (**permalink**) 12-22-2003, 08:20 PM

If you think you have one or two lifters that are collapsing, or not filling with oil, take the lifter apart, clean it real well with gumout spray. An overnight bath in laquer thinner and some steel wool scrubbing will remove stubborn deposits.

My preferred way of pre-oiling lifters under pressure is to slide the lifters in the lifter bores, make sure that they rotate easily, then with an electric drill and the distributor removed, and a few quarts of oil in the pan, prime the engine with oil from the oil pump. Wait until the air bubbles are all out, push the lifter innards down with a pushrod, or screwdriver several times until the lifter won't depress from the retaining clip. Then turn the engine over by hand so that each lifter is sitting on the bottom of the cam, and you get full tight on all lifters. Then, button the engine up.

When installing the rocker arms, follow the firing order so all cylinders are at TDC on the firing stroke as you install the rocker arms. Twist the pushrod with your fingers as you tighten the rocker down. The pushrod will stop turning at zero lash. Follow your cam manufacturers instructions for lifter pre-load. Typically this will be 1/2 to 1 turn past zero lash.

Having gone through all this, if the air hasn't been bled out when you first start the engine, the lifters will clatter like hel! for 20 - 30 seconds, then stop as the lifters fill with oil.

If you have a lifter that just won't quiet down, replace it. Or replace the whole set if several are causing you trouble.

Ideally, you should be using lifters from the same manufacturer as your cam, and they should be the lifters specified by the cam manufacturer for your specific cam. If you need one or two replacements, they can be ordered from the cam manufacturers tech support staff, and if this is a new cam and lifters, they should be free under warantee.

Hope this helps.

simonjrwinter · #5 (**permalink**) 12-27-2003, 03:57 AM

OK, so tell me if I've got this right (and please tell me if it's wrong)
If I've got the engine all together and running (but knocking) I can run it for a couple of minutes,(or even just run the oil pump with the primer?) stop it, take off the rocker covers and try to push the pushrods down. If the lifters are ok and filled with oil, I shouldn't be able to push them down, but if there's a problem, I will be able to push the pushrod/lifter down (fairly) easily.
Does that sound about right?
Thanks guys, hope you all had a great xmas and that we're all in for a more peaceful 2004