New Lifter inspection Is this Normal

[GTS Dean]

What about a new cam, solid lifters and some adjustable rockers?

[ellowviper]

What about a new cam, solid lifters and some adjustable rockers?

That's what ran for years. Loved that set-up....had to go back to hydraulic with the GEN-IV heads.

[d124716]

What about a new cam, solid lifters and some adjustable rockers?

Does sound exciting but I had my crank pinned (balancer spun) and really don't want to go there touching anything again.... all though further truth would probably be hesitation to step away from factory settings, measurements, etc. All that will be new for me... plus if I am not mistaken new cam would require retune at a dyno.

[GTS Dean]

If it was a flat tappet lifter, you'd need a new cam ground for that profile. I'm guessing that a solid roller would work with the stock cam, but you'd need to have adjustable rockers and check the pushrods for correct length. Mechanical lifters may be easier and less expensive to source than in-spec stockers or hydraulic Johnsons.

[d124716]

If it was a flat tappet lifter, you'd need a new cam ground for that profile. I'm guessing that a solid roller would work with the stock cam, but you'd need to have adjustable rockers and check the pushrods for correct length. Mechanical lifters may be easier and less expensive to source than in-spec stockers or hydraulic Johnsons.

This does make sense.... keeping the same cam but changing out lifters to be solid rollers and adjustable rockers wouldn't require dyno tuning. The only added item is adjusting the rocker clearance and new pushrods and a pushrod tool.

Do you (or anyone) have a setup (solid lifters and rockers combo) that they did and could give some comments on what to buy (what type of lifters, rockers, etc), I would want to evaluate task at hand prior to making a solid decision towards going that way. So far MOPAR lifters are out of the questions, I'm still toying around with the idea of Johnson lifters as haven't heard anything be better than Johnson lifters thus far.

[dave6666]

hydraulic Johnsons

Go on...

Wait what was the topic again?

[ellowviper]

Greg Good gave me his instructions on how he modifies the OEM lifters to convert them to solid. I did a write up 10-15 years ago. Simple and worked great. The engine response from a solid roller is remarkable.

[GTS Dean]

Do you recall if you had to change pushrod length or not?

[ellowviper]

I did new Trend pushrods at a specific length since I was using TD rockers which necessitated a different pushrod anyways. You could modify and use the OEM pushrods if you pay attention to the width of the shim that takes the place of the hydraulic check valve. That would be challenging to get the right valve lash, BUT, new pushrods are only $120 or so...

[jtn0514]

I'm currently in the process of pulling brand new lifters i bought about a 1.5 years ago out of the car. Just got around to being able to fire it up and drive it around the block after putting it back together last month and the lifters are ridiculously loud even after idling and a little driving. I think i put a total of about a mile of driving on it since putting it together. Its loud enough that i'm fairly certain something is wrong with the lifters out of the box and this thread is making me more and more convinced this is the case.

I've already started the process to pull out the lifters. Hoping ill find something similar to what you described here so that i can say i at least found the problem. I might end up going back to my older fast bleed lifters after cleaning and rebuilding them if i have to.

[ellowviper]

Engine Masters did a dyno segment on the so-called bleed down lifters vs. slow-bleed. Not what you think is the case.

[goggles Pizano]

you can use solid lifters with a hydraulic cam. you just need longer pushrods and different springs if the stock ones are too high or too low pressures.

[Old School]

I have 60k miles on the common Sealed Power HT2269 lifter.

[Dan Cragin]

I found the recent HT2269 problematic. Had two sets with a lifter that never pumped up. Never had an issue in the past.

[Old School]

One thing that is sometimes overlooked when installing these lifters is their orientation, the oil hole must be facing up in order to bleed off trapped air. Lifters with the oil hole on the side can go in either way.

[Dan Cragin]

This is a very good point. The oil hole in the lifter must point away from oil feed in the block. They will work fine installed incorrectly, but will bleed down and make noise when cold.

Aftermarket lifters have two side oil holes and can be installed in any direction. If you use a liter with a tie bar, you must install them so the tie bar does not contact the lifter boss, or machine the block as needed.