Replacing a lazy lifter

-

cmills

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
138
Reaction score
2
I have narrowed it down to two lifters so I have decided to replace both. I ordered several from Summit. What steps should I take when doing it? Immerse them in oil? For how long? I also ordered camshaft lube to use during the install. NOTE: I do not need to remove the intake. I am one of the lucky ones. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
let them sit a few min in the oil then coat the bottom with the lube also the two lobes, make sure they rotate in the lifter bore freely, then start up and hold between 2 and 2,500rpm for 20 min.
 
You need to use some sort of break in product and oil additive, and go thru the same break in procedures whether it's one lifter or 16. Also, make sure they rotate. They should not be soaked or pumped up prior to install.
 
I never have soaked lifters. For cam swaps I just coat the lifter faca and the cam lobe.Thats it!

Never have any problems.
 
This idea is sounding good!! Any other comments?
 
Why. Never had a problem and never will. Soaking lifters is for chevies,lol..


You soak hydraulic lifters so they are not dry on start up. Do you really think chevy and mopar hydraulic lifters are that much different?

Never having a problem does not mean you are doing what is best.
 
Not to add to this pissing match but,.................I never have and never will.
submuging,...maybe...............
Pumping them up before installing them, NEVER!

The most important point here is Lube the base of the lifter, and brake in cam. AKA new lifters!
 
This sounds like a good idea!! Any comments?

yeah, do it if you can.

FWIW I had a 318 w/340 cam do this once in a while , lifter tick, sometimes it was quite. The last time it happened I pulled the lifter and took it apart, cleaned it out & freshly oiled it upon re assembling and stabbing it back in,
it worked.
 
do not soak lifter...lifter that are full of oil or pumped up will not let valve close during start up...and if the valve is hung open..it will meet mr. piston.
 
Well... You should.

No, conventional wisdom is not to soak them, just coat the sides with oil and the bottom with break in lube. When you soak them they will hold the valve off the seat at initial start up and risk burning the valve, its safer to let them clatter a second and pump up.
 
like I said,dont soak em! Cam has excellent oil supply as do lifters.I coat the lifter and the cam,maybe dump a quart on everything in the lifter galley.

Then start up and clatter for a second.Never replaced a lifter or a cam after doing it this way.
 
let them sit a few min in the oil then coat the bottom with the lube also the two lobes, make sure they rotate in the lifter bore freely, then start up and hold between 2 and 2,500rpm for 20 min.

So is that the break-in that is required?
 
Yes, you need to get up to the 2000+ rpm range to ensure that the lifters are rotating in the bores, 20 minutes is sufficient to to properly break in the lifter to the cam lobe.

The worest thing you can do is let it idle or let the rpm drop enough so the lifter stops turning. You want the ignition timing as close as you can get it so the engine will start right up. Also if the carb gets drained fill the bowls so you aren't cranking waiting for the fuel pump to fill them.
 
They used to say soak them (submurged) over night or for a couple hours. That was then. Time has shown that not filling them with oil is a better thing for startup. The lifters get oil before the crank does with the mopar oiling system, so they pump up quickly in most cases, and it means when you tighten down the rockers the preload is properly applied. If you've ever tried to compress a hyd lifter in it's bore, especially an anti-pump-up deal, you'll understand why it's best to leave them empty until it's fully assembled and pre-oiled.
 
Yeah they pump up plenty fast enough w/o soaking of any kind. Like, 3 seconds.

I DO NOT think it's a good idea to try to swap the guts from your SUMMIT part lifter into the housing for an old MOPAR lifter! Anybody else see potential problems with that?

I don't care how faithfully they follow OEM spec, mixing brands is trial and error.
You might need an Xray machine to see the differences but they are there.
 
do not soak lifter...lifter that are full of oil or pumped up will not let valve close during start up...and if the valve is hung open..it will meet mr. piston.

Wait a minute here. Lets say I pull in the driveway and shut off my engine.
My lifters are now fully pumped up. So I decide to re-start the engine...with the lifters fully pumped up, valves ain't gonna hang open.

I'm new Mopar and a hundred years Chev, so things may be different, but we ALWAYS pumped up new lifters before installing. I ain't talkin' soaking, I'm talking pumping oil thru the passage to be sure they were pumped up fully.

I have been so wrong on many things since I went Mopar, but a hydraulic lifter is a hydraulic lifter. Period.

I think....
 
The piston in the lifter sits somewhere between being bottomed out in the lifter housing and all the way to the top against the retainer that keeps it all together. The exact position is determined by all the tolerances in the engine and in the case of adjustable rockers where you adjust them to. The flow of oil through the lifter galleys will keep them pumped up to the point where there is zero lash, it won't pump them all the way up.

If you soak new ones in oil before installing them the spring inside has the piston against the retainer and they fill up with oil. When you first start the engine the piston is already at the top of its stroke, not where it needs to be to keep the lash at zero and it will hold the valves off the seat.

It takes longer for the piston to bleed back down to where it needs to be than to fill up to move the piston to where it needs to be. With the valve off the seat the potential for damage exists. The clatter at start up while they fill is annpoying but not dangerious for the engine. This is the reason you don't soak them in oil.
 
-
Back
Top