There's no reason to pull the head yet.

 

It's just a thought. Even if the lifters are fine, there's still the question of WHY they ended up stuck...especially since it's just one cylinder.

An hour and a head gasket...what's the downside? :cheeers:

 

Everyone seems to be stuck on why is it just one cylinder. Well, my thought is that when the engine was shut down for the last time 12 years ago, the affected cylinder ended up with both valves closed, hence the lifters were all the way down in their bores. After sitting for 12 years, the exposed tops of those bores was completely rusted up. When the new owner turned over the engine, the lifters were shoved up the bores and through the rust and corrosion, and became lodged in the up position and not able to return to the bottom.
I would get a K-D lifter puller (they're still available and I have one) and pull the two lifters out. Observe the cam lobes for those 2 lifters while the engine is rotated and see if the lobes are OK. If they are, then disassemble the 2 lifters and clean them up. Also, take a brass shotgun cleaning brush and attach it to an extension and put it on an electric drill. and clean the lifter bores up. Then drop the lifters back in, pushrods in, rockers back on, put your manifold back on and then cross your fingers that when you fire it up, all has been returned to normal.
You may just have a situation where there is absolutely nothing wrong with what you have. Do this first before you tear everything down to start replacing parts. Everyone on the forum has great advice and ideas but it's very easy for us to spend "Your money" by saying tear it apart and start replacing this and that. If you're like most of us, money is always tight and you have obligations to family, etc.
I always take the cheaper troubleshooting route first, before replacing things. GOOD LUCK!
Duane

 

I like the inexpensive troubleshooting route as well and I'll go you one better. Time is money too. Knock the lifters back down and rotate the engine by hand until the cam pushes the lifters up again. If you can push them down with little to no effort it wasn't rust from sitting or it's gone. Either way if they're following the cam with no effort don't spend an hour working them back and forth to get them past the built up varnish. Button it up and run it.

My money's still on the rocker/pushrod failure and subsequent replacement by the po. You just don't get rust and water in the lifter valley unless you left it with the intake off in the rain.

Failed rocker arms are very common in early SBC. I can't count how many I replaced over the years. The ball socket area wears and eventually crack through the rocker arm. Also seen the end of the pushrod go through the stamped rocker, rocker studs worn halfway through from the rocker running crooked on the stud. Replaced lots of rocker arm studs too. The rocker moves sideways, the pushrod pushes up beside it and knocks the adjacent rocker and the pushrod off and bends that one too. That's why the two of them side by side on the same cyl fail and both lifters stuck at the end of their travel.

Steve g

 

Well, are you there yet?

Make sure the cam profiles are down when you tap on the lifters. No need to tap aggressively.

 

Looks like I am in lifter hell. after spraying evereything suggested on them (PD, Laquer thinner and atf and acetone) on them they will not budge. I tapped on them with a hammer (more than a few times)and nothing. Getting out a tourch and heating up the bores was suggested. Any thoughts? Also trying to find a lifter puller locally but no luck so far will order one tonight.

BTW this engine has been worked before at some point, the Valve cover gaskets were replaces and fairly new, the mainifold came right off and those gaskets were new also. Their is a good deal of rust on all the other lifters so there must have been something in there when it got put up.

 

As noted, if they won't move - that's it. Combined with the rust on the other lifters, the only solution is a teardown at this point. You may still have a good overhaul candidate, but that's another discussion.

Good job troubleshooting - sometimes it just turns out that way.

 

You're not in lifter hell, you're in engine hell. I can't see any of this turning out well if you have to heat the lifter bore to remove the lifter. It appears this engine sat with the intake off. The two stuck lifters are the only apparent problem so far.

I wouldn't spend any more time with it. Pull the engine and strip it. Drive the lifters out from the bottom with a large drift and solid bfh after the cam and crank are out. Go through, clean and measure everything and go from there. If a major o'haul isn't in the budget, and it cleans up okay put it back together with new rings and lifters. You won't spend much more money than the route you're going now but you will have a known commodity when finished.

Steve g