lifter replacement

birdy3897

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
126
I am having the head gone over on my 1978 2.5L mercruiser(chevy) and decided to replace the lifters while I was at it. The pushrods and rocker arms looked good. My question is can I just replace the lifters and not the rest of the drivetrain if it looks good? I ask this because I have heard about wear patterns in drivetrain but I don't think it will matter much with new lifters. also, should I just oil them good when I put them in or use assembly lube??
 

Gary H NC

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
8,972
Re: lifter replacement

The only wear issues would be on the cam lobes.<br />The new lifters will wear into the cam.How did the cam look?<br />Oil them good when you put them in..I doubt you will have any problems..
 

rodbolt

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
20,066
Re: lifter replacement

I am with Gary.<br /> if the cam lobes look ok, the shiney surface does not cover the entire lobe, then new lifters on a used cam is ok.<br /> find out why the old lifter failed.<br /> the lifters can be dissasembled and cleaned.
 

lilmandavis

Chief Petty Officer
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Mar 9, 2006
Messages
618
Re: lifter replacement

make sure thier soaked in oil for a day before installation.
 

Bondo

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Apr 17, 2002
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71,137
Re: lifter replacement

WHY do you want to replace the Lifters,.???.....<br /><br />Are they Worn,.??.. How Bad,.???
 

birdy3897

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Sep 10, 2005
Messages
126
Re: lifter replacement

The plungers are quite worn when comparing with the new ones so I figured it couldn't hurt to replace them. My buddy has the same engine in his boat and had a tapping sound and when he replaced the lifters it went away, plus they aren't expensive anyways. So if the cam lobes are worn the whole lobe will look shiney??
 

lilmandavis

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
618
Re: lifter replacement

yeah, the cam lobes will be all shiny all the way across. they sell cam and lifter kits.
 
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
29
Re: lifter replacement

The lifters are usually sacrificial. are they dished on the bottom ? if not you shold be fine to replace them due to worn internals of the hydraulic lifters. look for pits in the cam lobes. If these are present you'll replace that cam sooner than you can say ...camshaft
 
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
29
Re: lifter replacement

Oh Yea, soak the lifters in a large boal of motor oil for a couple of hrs before you install them. this will help bleed them of any air.
 

Mile-High Mariner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 20, 2005
Messages
136
Re: lifter replacement

Birdy - I'm not sure how soaking the lifters in a bowl or can or any other ambient-pressure oil container will "help bleed them of any air" (it won't, no matter HOW long you soak them), but there IS a procedure in the Mercruiser Service Manual for priming the engine after overhaul; this procedure will work fine for your purposes, and will definitely bleed residual air from the lifters while priming them with oil in the manner in which they are designed to be primed - with the valve train operating normally while the engine is being cranked. Just ignore the ServMan entries that tell you to remove the manifold to get at the lifter - you know by now that you have only to remove the lifter/pushrod cover and loosen the rocker arms enough to pull the pushrods, then use a magnetic pickup or probe to pull the lifters.
 

lilmandavis

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
618
Re: lifter replacement

everytime ive ever soaked new lifters in oil. i set them upright and i see air bubbles comming out of em?!?
 

ron7000

Banned
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
498
Re: lifter replacement

Do Hydraulic Lifters Need to be Primed with Oil?<br />Many people mistakenly believe that hydraulic lifters must be soaked in oil overnight and be hand pumped up with a pushrod before installing into a new engine, however this is not necessary. In fact, this could cause the lifter to act as a ?solid? and prevent obtaining proper preload. What is very necessary is the priming of the entire engine?s oil system before starting up a new engine for the first time. This is done by turning the oil pump with a drill motor to force oil throughout the entire engine. Crane Cams offers oil pump primers for Chevrolet and Ford engines.<br /><br /><br />link to article:<br /> http://www.cranecams.com/?show=faq&id=3 <br /><br />link to crane tech faq's<br /> http://www.cranecams.com/?show=technicalHelp
 

ron7000

Banned
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Jul 10, 2004
Messages
498
Re: lifter replacement

birdy, my recommendation fwiw would be to put a nice amount of assembly lube on the face of the lifter which rides the cam and install. Ideally you'd want to spin the oil pump of the motor before starting to prime that cam/lifter area, but it's not absolutely necessary.<br />In short, new cam requires new lifters. Old cam can always use new lifters but their is a break-in procedure just like when it's a new cam. Used lifters should only be used with cam they came off of and used back on the same lobe because of the wear pattern that's establised between that lifter to it's cam lobe.<br />Chevy hi-perf magazine this month just happens to have an article talking about valvetrains, and they state that builders are using 15w-40 diesel rated oil for engine break-in specifically for the lifter/cam surfaces since the oils today are weak in the anti-wear department because of epa mandates on emissions. The diesel oils like chevron delo, mobil delvac, and most others carrying a CH-4 or CI-4 rating have the higher anti-wear additives. I would caution you though if using a 15w-40, you want to get the best oil flow on startup so if your outside temps are > 70F then no problem, otherwise look for a 5w-30/10w-30 CI rated oil, the easiest to find is probably motorcraft by ford, I know all their diesels are now running that viscosity. You only want to run the motor in on this oil for the first couple hours for the break-in then change to your regular oil. You'll want to change the oil soon after anyway to remove wear metals that were generated from the breakin. Don't forget once started, get it to 2000+ rpms to break in the new lifters! <br />-------------------<br /><br />Must new (Standard Design) lifters always be installed on a new camshaft?<br /><br />YES! All new standard hydraulic and mechanical camshafts must have new lifters installed. The face of these lifters have a slight crown, and the mating lobe surface they ride on has been ground with a slight taper. The purpose of this is to create a "spinning" of the lifter as it rides on the lobe. This is necessary to prevent premature wear of the lifter and lobe.<br /><br />Therefore, these parts will be mated to one another during the initial break-in period. Used lifters will not mate properly, causing the lobe to fail. If you are rebuilding an engine and plan to re-use the existing cam and lifters (in the same block) it can be done, as long as the lifter goes back on the same lobe it is mated to. To keep your components in order, a Crane Cams "Organizer Tray" part number 99015-1 would be helpful. If the lifters get mixed up, they cannot be used, and a new set will be required. The new lifters would also have to go through the break-in procedure to mate to the old cam.<br /><br />Can used Roller Lifters be installed on a new camshaft?<br /><br />YES. "Roller" lifters are the only ones that can be re-used. This design lifter has a wheel (supported by needle bearings) attached to the bottom of it. The lobe the roller lifter rides on does not have any taper. This is a very low friction design and does not require the lifter to mate to the cam. As long as the wheel shows no wear, and the needle bearings are in good condition, the "hydraulic roller" or "mechanical roller" lifter can be re-used.<br /><br /> http://www.cranecams.com/?show=faq&id=2
 
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