making adjustable lifters for cam degreeing

[Calan]

I saw a thread a few weeks back where someone made some adjustable "solid" lifters by welding a screw and nut to the stock HLA's ... or something like that.

Anyone know where that thread is, or have any info on it?

I can't find it, and of course I forgot to bookmark it

Or... if you know the proper length (if there even is one length that will work with stock springs, regardless of the cams), pass that on as well. I could probably just weld a couple HLA's to the proper length...but adjustable would be better. I could probably get close by measuring the travel of mine, but would rather have some verified numbers.

Thanks

 

[300dollarGSX]

It may have been me. I'll take some pictures when I get home. You don't need to weld anything, just remove all the internals from a couple of old lifters/adjusters. Then find a bolt that will fit down in the base of the lifter and still allow the top of the lifter to slide down on top of it. The nut should, of course, fit the bolt and also fit down into the base of the lifter, but not so small as to fit inside the top part of the lifter. The top part will rest on the nut.

This person used shims and made a pretty good write up: <a href="http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/cylinder-head-short-block/314111-cam-degree-degreeing-degreeing.html">Degree thread</a>

 

[Calan]

yeah... I've studied that thread a few times

I'm just wanting something easier than installing/uninstalling/installing...lifters until I get them the right height.

It seems that you could tack weld a bolt in one half, and a nut in the other, and then just turn them until there is zero-lash.

Thanks for any pics/help

 

[bigf4]

I Talk with BLE and they informed me that they will start making dummy solid lifters for guys like us that just need two for valve tran.

 

[TOONAH]

I don't often give advice. But in this case I cannot help myself.
STAY AWAY FROM SOLID LIFTERS. I am an old pro at working with 'tappets', or adjustable
lifters. Many of the Toyota engines, such as the 4AFE and the 4GZTE use them. But solid lifters such as the BLE brand are a completely different animal. You always adjust tappets with the engine hot and if possible while it is running. You cannot do that with the BLE's.
I looked into them for a while but decided the installation/setup procedure was mind boggling and has to be done while the engine is cold. You cannot calculate all the expansion co-effiecients accurately and if you don't allow for heat expansion properly, you will have serious problems. There is actually no sense in using them anyway unless you 'Degree' the Cams. Ultimately if you install adjustable cam sprockets, you can use them to advance or retard the intake and exhaust timings to get better engine response at
different rpm ranges. Then again, there is little to be gained there unless you have done a lot of support mods, such as porting the head, larger intake/exhaust etc.
What else have you done to your motor?

 

[300dollarGSX]

Sorry, I forgot to get the pics and post them. Seriously, it's not hard to make them as long as you have a couple of old lifters/adjusters sitting around. I found a couple of old sets. I could even take them apart and show step by step what needs to be done. I'll do that this weekend.

 

[300dollarGSX]

I don't often give advice. But in this case I cannot help myself.
STAY AWAY FROM SOLID LIFTERS. I am an old pro at working with 'tappets', or adjustable
lifters. Many of the Toyota engines, such as the 4AFE and the 4GZTE use them. But solid lifters such as the BLE brand are a completely different animal. You always adjust tappets with the engine hot and if possible while it is running. You cannot do that with the BLE's.
I looked into them for a while but decided the installation/setup procedure was mind boggling and has to be done while the engine is cold. You cannot calculate all the expansion co-effiecients accurately and if you don't allow for heat expansion properly, you will have serious problems. There is actually no sense in using them anyway unless you 'Degree' the Cams. Ultimately if you install adjustable cam sprockets, you can use them to advance or retard the intake and exhaust timings to get better engine response at
different rpm ranges. Then again, there is little to be gained there unless you have done a lot of support mods, such as porting the head, larger intake/exhaust etc.
What else have you done to your motor?

We're talking about making 2 lifters for degreeing the cams to make sure they are installed the way they were intended. These aren't for actually running the engine. They are to remove any lash while taking measurements. The stock hydraulic parts compress while the cams move and don't provide accurate measurements if you use them while degreeing.

 

[Calan]

I figured out a fairly simple way to modify the lifters and make them easily adjustable. They are threaded on the inside, and the upper part simply screws into or out of the base to adjust the height.

I've got some (crappy) pics and will be posting them and the instructions up somewhere if anyone is interested...either in my rebuild blog or on one of these threads. I'm waiting until I get them installed and tested and the cams degreed, hopefully this weekend.

Here is a pic of the finished lifters, with one screwed in and the other out:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[bigf4]

Cool keep us updated. I just got my summit cam degree kit and wasn't really feeling using shims and getting a pair of ble is impossible. Do a write up!

 

[Calan]

Had to modify them a bit due to originally making them too long, but they worked nicely.

Cam degreeing results here.

I'll get measurements and post up an article in the next day or two.