I pulled my lifters to clean them. Stock 2G turbo with 86k on it. Noticed that there was a large variation in how easily they turned and compressed. Didn't think much of it, cleaned them and put em back. Car wouldn't start. Tried everything I could think of, then pulled out the compression gauge. No compression on 3 or 4, but was fine on 1 and 2. I put everything back where I found it. Pulled the valve cover and no obvious signs of bent valves. Pulled everything back out and noted my findings.

The #3 intake tranny side compresses too far. The other is tough to spin.
#2 intake tranny side also compresses alot.
#1 intake timing side does not compress and is very difficult to spin.
#4 exhaust timing side does not compress.
#2 exhaust timing side does not compress and is difficult to spin.
Both #1 exhaust side do not compress and are difficult to spin.

I also noticed there are at least 3 different sizes with a quick measurement on height. Are these all junk?

I also did a quick look at a set of lifters I have laying around. They seem to compress and spin consistently with the few I checked. I'll probably swap them out, but thought I would put my findings here. I'll also check to see if there are any variations in height.

Did you bleed them before installation?

GVR4592 said:

Did you bleed them before installation?

Click to expand...

since I may be swapping out lifters soon, I might as well learn alittle.
So since there hyrdaulic you have to bleed them before installation?
Not putting in lifters right, what problems can this cause ( bent valves possibly? Hope not )

Ive bled a clutch and breaks before, but never lifters how do you go about that,
I understand the bleeding process, but with a clutch you use a hose to not let any air in, is this similar with lifters?

The lifters should be installed then left alone for a couple hours until they bleed down and return to operating height. When they are out of the car they extend to full length. If you put them in and try to start the car right away most of the valves will not close completely. At worst the valves could hit the pistons.

In the time it takes to put everything back together and put some RTV (very little) on the valve cover gasket and let it dry, the lifters should be good. Another thing I did after cleaning the lifters was blow compressed air into the hole to help remove any moisture inside. Then I oiled them up. Make sure if you use an industrial compressor that the air is dry and clean. I actually used a can of compressed air usually used to clean your computer's keyboard. You'd be surprised how much cleaner is left in the lifter after it's "dry". Looks kinda like a fuel injector when you first blow through it.

Letting them sit doesn't do it, you have to bleed them.

Not bleeding them can cause them to not compress and cause valvetrain damage. You have to bleed them properly.

I've never seen anything for bleeding the lifters. In my experience, the lifters bleed down just with the pressure of the rockers. Does anyone have a link for bleeding the lifters or the aftermath of not doing this? I've only done this twice now, and have had no problems other than the bad lifters I had.

The link for the required information was given in post #4...........with the intention that you would "do a little something" on your own. However, I guess that's not the case.


Spoon feeding at it's best..............
http://www.vfaq.com/mods/lifters.html

The 4th item is "Remove the lifter"............read that.



Last modified: Jul 2, 2004
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