presoaking lifters

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o1heavy

o1heavy

1974 dart sport
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whats the deal with everyone suggesting not presoaking lifters
before for breaking in a new cam
 
there stoop asses.....

you presoak a hyd lifter to perge any air out of it so they pmp up faster...

and so you dont dry F*** you lifter bore first time you start it lol
 
Not quite. You presoak to pump them up fully BEFORE you install them. The lifter bore wont ever be dry any longer than the bearings.

I'll add that can cause a problem hanging valves open.
 
if lifter are full of oil...valves will not close ...engine will not have any compression...

until lifter bleed down
 
man, it sure will be scary with all the lifter noise
and it will a little tough to get the lash right /not being able to fill the tension from the lifter
 
I'm guessing adjustable rocker arms wouldn't change the answer we're after would it? I understand non adjustable rockers with presoaked lifters wouldn't be a good idea but not to clear on adjustable rockers.

I have to admit I soaked mine with or without adjustable rockers and never had a problem. I mean that's what I was told I should do. Lucky I guess.
 
if you adjust the valves when the lifters are pumped up ,before running
the valves can't be held open unless adjustment is off



i dont have a problem (just asking questions)with not soaking just concerned with missing the adjustment becouse of the the lifter being soft and then pumping up while running and then having a tight adjustment
which would be tough on the new cam
 
o1heavy said:
man, it sure will be scary with all the lifter noise
and it will a little tough to get the lash right /not being able to fill the tension from the lifter
Click to expand...

I lube them good but I don't pump them up. They should stop rattling within 10 seconds of startup unless you've got a bad one. As far as feeling the tension, make sure that all the adjusters run all the way top to bottom of threads so a tight one don't give ya a false feeling and lube the threads with oil. Next pick one rocker/pushrod/lifter combo that you can see the lifter piston when it moves away from the cir clip and practice getting the feel. I usually start with the pushrod in the lifter and the cup end about half way into the adjuster ball end. Tighten slowly till the cup is just seated in the adjuster ball end then 1 more turn.
 
i have always soaked them ,but i understand what the concern is

i'll try it we'll see how it goes i let u guys know
 
There is another way!
Pull the distrib and put your priming tool in the hole.
Then as you turn the pump, a buddy slowly turns over the motor by hand and all the lifters will fill with oil and your whole engine will be oiled up and ready to start as soon as you put the distrib back in!
Works for me!
 
cudamike13 said:
There is another way!
Pull the distrib and put your priming tool in the hole.
Then as you turn the pump, a buddy slowly turns over the motor by hand and all the lifters will fill with oil and your whole engine will be oiled up and ready to start as soon as you put the distrib back in!
Works for me!
Click to expand...

i always for get that! us slanty guys don't get that luxury...
 
wasn't there just a thread about someone that couldn't get started and more than one person asked if they presoaked lifters or left rags in their motor? I thought if you didn't presoak them they wouldn't pump up themselves and your valves would not open?????
 
As I recall, one of my Mopar Performance engine books (don't remember if it was the LA book or the Magnum book), or maybe both of them, said not to pre-soak the lifters. I think it had something to do with less chance of damaging a valve by hitting a piston. I'd have to dig out the books & try to find what they said to be sure though.
 
cudamike13 said:
There is another way!
Pull the distrib and put your priming tool in the hole.
Then as you turn the pump, a buddy slowly turns over the motor by hand and all the lifters will fill with oil and your whole engine will be oiled up and ready to start as soon as you put the distrib back in!
Works for me!
Click to expand...

Exxxacctlly.....
 
I got a cam and lifters from a friend that were run for 20 minutes then taken out of the motor. Installed them in my motor without priming them. It had me scared for a bit, the one lifter was ticking pretty bad. after shutting it down and starting it a few times it finally went away. I think for the next cam install I'm priming them or soaking them.
 
The lifters don't have to be pumped up to adjust valves. If you cannot feel the lifter preload spring to get valve adjustment right, then engine building may not be for you. Might I suggest a desk job? Also, I have never personally had one single problem pumping oil into lifters before assembly, and I have assembled a bunch of engines through the years. However, that's not usually how I do it. I think whomever it was that suggested using the primer tool after the engine is assembled has it spot on and that's the correct method. the engine HAS to be primed so that right there flushes the "don't pump the lifters up" theory RIGHT DOWN THE TOILET, cause the lifters WILL be pumped up after priming the oiling system, PERIOD. I mean I look at it this way. For the last fifty plus in print, that's all you ever read was to prime the lifters, or soak them in transmission fluid or engine oil. Now all of a sudden a few "new" cam companies come on the scene and start recommending that you no longer do that. I'm not a mechanical engineer, but I know this much. Engine parts have to have oil to run without wear. No way in hell I'm throwin dry lifters in an engine. And I'm not gonna trust some mass production cam company to put pre assembly lube on the inside of every lifter that they assemble. Not with the rate of failed parts in this day and time. It could be that with the increased ramp speeds of some of these modern grinds that they are finding that if the lifters are pumped up on assembly, there's a chance of some internal engine damage from the valves being held open. In all my years of assembling engines, I've never seen that happen, and I've used some of the fastest rates of lift there are. I've never had an engine "not have" compression. My guess is, if someone has, they probably had the valves adjusted wrong, because a hydraulic lifter bleeds down while it's UNDER PRESSURE from the oiling system of a running engine with up to 60 to over 100 PSI of oil pressure. If you don't think that same lifter will bleed down just sittin there either spinning over with the starter or at idle with a low amount of oil pressure, you gotta nuther thing comin. That's how they are designed.....to bleed down. If they did not, you would end up with internal engine damage. If they bleed down under pressure,they will most certainly bleed down with little or no pressure. I think it's all a bunch of hooha.
 
66 Dartman said:
Pumping the lifters up before is a good way to bend push rod's!!!!!
Click to expand...

Oh really? How you gonna stop lifters from being pumped up when you HAVE to prime the engine's oiling system before startup? Are you advising against THAT? Do tell.
 
Do not pre lube lifter.
Put break-in lube on bottom of lifter.
Put light coat of motor oil on sides of lifter.
Insert lifter in lifter bore.
Do this 15 more times.
Adjust all rockers.
Use priming tool to prime engine with oil. Turn crank slowly while doing this.
Install intake and any other engine parts required to complete engine.
Fire her up, you are good to go assuming you did everything else correctly.

Jack
 
StrokerScamp said:
Oh really? How you gonna stop lifters from being pumped up when you HAVE to prime the engine's oiling system before startup? Are you advising against THAT? Do tell.
Click to expand...


Stroker, I know where you're coming from. But try to look at it from another point of view... I know that's hard for you...lol.
Picture the lifter pumped up. You know how hard it is to push the plunger down by hand? To actually force the oil out thru the anti bleed back mechanism and that little hole, right? I'm assuming if you've soaked them, or submerged one and then pumped it to fill it, you know what it feels like. Oil goes in wicked easy. It doesnt come out very easy, by design. Sometimes they get stuck filled, with no lifter preload. Especially when installed in the lifter bore because not only do the valve springs have to act against the anti-bleed system the lifter has, but it also has to squish out into a fairly small oil clearance to the bore. If you've ever taken new ones apart most times they only have a little residual oil/antirust stuff in them. No "assembly lube" per-se. By installing them with nothing but air in them, the pushrods can add preload properly, and as soon as the oil hits them, they will pump up to that preload. Pretty simple really. If you havent been bitten by it, then that's great. I never did but I stopped soaking them around 1990, which was when the instructions changed. The 422 I'm working on now, the hydraulic rollers are pumped up (it was run). I have to empty the lifters to get them in properly because even with 380lbs over the nose, the valve springs will not compress the lifter. They'll open the valve first.
 
moper said:
Stroker, I know where you're coming from. But try to look at it from another point of view... I know that's hard for you...lol.
Click to expand...

Hay...that **** wasn't funny.




LOL
 
You know some of you fellas with your words of wisdom should write some tech articles on this kind of stuff. Lots of great info on this site but most of it fails to make the tech articles. We need more of that stuff. Im asking yall to put your wisdom to use and write some tech articles. Stroker Scamp Tech article on engine building would be a great one for you. Or even short engine assembly segments. Photos are a +
 
72ScampTramp said:
You know some of you fellas with your words of wisdom should write some tech articles on this kind of stuff. Lots of great info on this site but most of it fails to make the tech articles. We need more of that stuff. Im asking yall to put your wisdom to use and write some tech articles. Stroker Scamp Tech article on engine building would be a great one for you. Or even short engine assembly segments. Photos are a +
Click to expand...

Might do somethin like that with my slant.
 
demon seed said:
I lube them good but I don't pump them up. They should stop rattling within 10 seconds of startup unless you've got a bad one.
Click to expand...

I have had them rattle for over 15 minutes.


My take is this,
Water/oil travels fastest when...
A. the surface is bone dry.
or
B. the surface is already wet/lubed.
 
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