trying to depress lifters, hole wont allow paperclip

[bsbllfit7]

hey i am trying to depress my lifters and clean them or see if they are broken, i cant seem to get anything far enough down inside of the lifter top to depress it, i have a 2g but it appears i have the 1g lifters in my car as they have a tiny hole on top

 

[1995gsx20g]

2g's have the little hole also.

i ended up using a spring that had nice long straight extention on the end of it. just broke off the hook at the end and it just fit.

 

[bsbllfit7]

ok i got a safety pin and was able to get all the lifters to depress except for 5 or 6. The other ones wont allow me to put the safety pin down inside the lifter. WTF is happening here

 

[snowborder714]

You're sure you are moving it around to find that little "magic button" inside the lifter to allow it to depress? Sometimes it can be a bit hard to find, but once you get it on a few of them, it should become more natural.

 

[bsbllfit7]

ya im sure, it wont even allow me to stick the safety pin in more than half way, also i know what the feeling is now, i tried doing all the lifters but got all but 5 or 6 to get the safety pin in. What would keep the same safety pin from going down into the hole?

 

[98SpyderAWD]

What are you holding the lifters. The lifters have a small hole on the side too that allows the oil into the lifter. Make sure that the hole is not covered when you try and press it. Also try using a small allen wrench to press the lifter.

 

[bsbllfit7]

im holding the lifter with my hand as i try and depress it, ive tried it many different times on all 6 of them and cant get it to depress.

 

[LiquidX]

You should just go and get the revised lifters with larger oil holes and forget about the stock ones.

Try soaking the lifters in carb cleaner for a little while and try again. Perhaps there is some build up sticking to the "magic button" (according to Brian ) and soaking them will remove it as well as clean them out.

 

[bsbllfit7]

well also i was getting a gnarley knock from the valvetrain, drained oil to make sure it wasnt a rod bearing or something, nothing present, next was taking the lifters out and was going to try cleaning them and re-installing, if that didnt work then i was gonna go to revised lifters. The knocking was pretty loud though from the valvetrain.

 

[98SpyderAWD]

If you cant get them bled, my advice would be to buy a new set of 16 from Jackson Auto or engnbldr off of his ebay store. The 3mm ones will stop that valve ticking.

 

[bsbllfit7]

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thats the sound at full operating temperature, it has to be the lifters or something, timing is good, no flecks of metal in oil after drain and oil change

 

[Dhan]

I'm having similar issues with the lifters on my car. I'm opting to just buy all new ones though. It doesn't cost much.

There's a very depressing story on DSMtalk about a guy who rebuilt a Galant only to have faulty lifters help destroy the whole thing. After reading that, I wouldn't take any chances.

 

[bsbllfit7]

how do i tell if the lifter is collapsed?

 

[98SpyderAWD]

After you pull them out, you can press them from the top (where the hole is) and the should have a spring like motion in and out. If they fell like they are rock solid, then I believe its collapsed.

 

[Dhan]

You'll hear the infamous 'clicking' sound from the engine, especially when the engine's cold. Exhaust leaks are another tell-tale sign that the lifters are shot.

Also, were the rockers overly loose?

Mine are so bad that some of them are causing the valves to stick open.

 

[bsbllfit7]

ok i wasnt able to compress the lifters by hand without putting the safety pin in. how much force should it take to compress it without the pin inside releasing it

 

[Calan]

Exhaust leaks are another tell-tale sign that the lifters are shot.

Huh?

Mine are so bad that some of them are causing the valves to stick open.

Just out of curiosity, why do you think that is the case?

 

[bsbllfit7]

haha no exhaust leaks i know that much, its definitely a knock coming from just under the valvecover

 

[98SpyderAWD]

Not a lot of force. My old ones are in the garage and I am able to press them with my thumb holding it in my hand.

 

[bsbllfit7]

ok well i just pulled mine today from the car, i was able to put a paper clip in 10 of them and depress them, now that that is depressed i can move it fairly easily with my fingers. Should i still be able to depress it if i havent bled the oil out yet? Also when i would rotate the camshafts by hand it would be very difficult to do on some parts. Could this be a lifter that wasnt depressing properly

 

[98SpyderAWD]

Were you moving the cams by themselves or by turning the crank?

 

[bsbllfit7]

i was turning both the cams at the same time, 2 17mm sockets with ratchets on both sides. Both turbing, it would be easy to rotate for a bit but then it would get very tough to rotate and i was thinking it might be the lifters.

 

[98SpyderAWD]

If you were turning the cams without turning the crank, your valves might have been hitting the top of the pistons and that might be 1 of the reason it was hard to turn. I suggest you dont turn the cams unless you position your crank at a timing where none of your pistons are on TDC. As far as resistance, I think you can get some, but not that much to not be able to turn with a wrench or ratchets...

 

[bsbllfit7]

the car was in good timing, i can still run and drive the car as the tbelt is in place and timing is good to go, so the valves should not have been hitting the pistons at all. Timing is set.

 

[98SpyderAWD]

Thats good. Get the bigger lifters. You wont be disappointed.