Changing Lifters with the head on.

[alloydave]

Anybody like to share there tips on changing lifters with the head still on the engine .Ive just done the change but didnt have a lifter tool .All i had was a magnetic extension tool .Most were easy to do but the very front and rear were a real challenge .Whats the secret to changing these two lifters?
If i had to do it again and the engine was older i would certainly take the head off .I assembled my engine with the lifters from my first cam that had only done 100ks ,but thought i better put a new set in with the new crow unit.The engine hasnt been started yet so the cams still new .Checking the lash was easy enough with the book stating between 2.5--5.00mm .What would be the best lash just on 2.5mm or just before 5.0mm ? Mine are measuring 4.5mm totally colapsed.

Dave

 

[xctasy]

There is a lifter removal tool somewhere on my posts, but I'm off the movies with the squids shortly

Just shape a sharp 90 degree bend on the last 3 mm of a 400 mm long piece of No 8 wire, pull rocker cover gasket and rocker gear, then pull suckers out by the circlips.

Add a little CRC, WD40 or maybee some penetrating oil they don't come out easily. Alloy heads are the easiest. Pity iron head X-flow onwers and log and 2V headers, they have heaps less space to pull the beggars out.


Use a smear of molybond or good thick engine oil or follow cam makers instructions. Then make sure the lifters are adjusted right, and run for 20 minutes.

Nasty dry lifter noise will eventaully go away after a day of varied cruising. Check the springs are okay.



Happy New Year!

 

[73GreenMachine]

So you can get them out without ripping off the head? I like! With a freshly rebuilt motor,(a 200ci pre crossflow log) hopefuly itll be ok. I get this really weird knocking noise as I come down off acceleration. Ie you rev it in neutral and it revs real well then it makes a tack tack noise as the engine returns to idle. I also think it is responsible for an intermittant miss I am having that I can't get rid of. I am hoping changing the lifters (again)will help. They were brand new from the rebuild!! Anyway thanks for the tip.
Happy New Year.
73GreenMachine.

 

[addo]

Check your oil pressure. The scenario (and its precursor) makes me wonder about big end bearings. If you were bored, a visual inspection might be even better policy.

 

[SONNY]

the only motors that the lifters can be removed on without taking the head off are alloy crossflows.cast iron head xflows and all log motors the head has to come off to change the lifters.

 

[alloydave]

Getting them out was the easy part .Getting the new ones in is where it gets tricky .NO 1 is the worst.

 

[xctasy]

Ya tool!

The best thing is the little magnet stirer used in laboratories.

There is a little plumbers block, which expands as you turn the ineer piece, sort of like a stent.

The No 1 and 12 are blind holes at the top, but if you've got slave labour, you can make 8 year old kids with small hands put them in. They can stand in the engine bay without scratching the extractors, they don't have knee or back problems, and don't want free beer after giving a 110% effort. Best results come from little smart mouths whos dads drive Holdens

"Dad dad dad, I put lifters in Daves Ford and its gonna kick your cars ar$e when its finshed...!"

 

[Anonymous]

The fun starts when u meet an engine that has done many miles & the lifters have mushroomed, making it near on impossible to pull them out through the top.

We hauled the lifters up as far as we could as hard as we could (with in reason) to get them to stick there. Remove the cam shaft (if your lucky the lifters will now be clear of the cam journals). Cut 2" piece of PVC pipe in halves longways, slide down the cam tunnel, then gently persuaded the lifters to go down wards & land in PVC, remove PVC & hopefully 12 lifters.

 

[Anonymous]

So you can get them out without ripping off the head? I like! With a freshly rebuilt motor,(a 200ci pre crossflow log) hopefuly itll be ok. I get this really weird knocking noise as I come down off acceleration. Ie you rev it in neutral and it revs real well then it makes a tack tack noise as the engine returns to idle. I also think it is responsible for an intermittant miss I am having that I can't get rid of. I am hoping changing the lifters (again)will help. They were brand new from the rebuild!! Anyway thanks for the tip.
Happy New Year.
73GreenMachine.

If you find damaged lifters, carefully check your cam dimensions. It may have taken the snout off a lobe.

 

[addo]

Greeny ran his new motor for a few days before realising there was no oil pump drive shaft.

It may be more than a cam lobe...

 

[73GreenMachine]

Greeny ran his new motor for a few days before realising there was no oil pump drive shaft.

Just to set my embarassing story straight, I never actually drove it without oil pressure, just ran the cam in in the driveway.
As for the lifter noise, it appears as though it is not lifters. I went to a mechanic today, who seems reputable as he has built many of these motors before(he owns, sponsors or races several Cortinas), and he seemed to think I had cracked a piston(or pistons). I am going to pull the head off and have a look (or maybe look through the spark plug holes) and see wether this seems right. If it is, the motor will have to come out again and chew through another $1000 to get it fixed up(since I can't pull a motor out and leave it unmodified ) The GreenMachine story continues.....