Collapsed lifters
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 253
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From: Oklahoma
Collapsed lifters
Continuing on my epic journey on my 79 L82. My question is...after I went back and changed a head gasket I thought was my issue after putting it back together the engine would just barely turn over and sounded like it was in a real bind. I pulled the intake and driver side head. I realized that several of my lifters were seized . Would that have caused all of my previous problems including low compression,rough idle and misfiring? I did check the bottom of lifters for any anomaly’s Thanks
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2017
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From: Cool Northern Michigan
Are you saying the lifters were tight in their bores or the lifters plunger appeared seized?
In either case you would have bent pushrods. And I thought you had a faulty head gasket before with the low compression?
Slow cranking? Put a charger on the battery. It hasn't run in awhile.
In either case you would have bent pushrods. And I thought you had a faulty head gasket before with the low compression?
Slow cranking? Put a charger on the battery. It hasn't run in awhile.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 253
Likes: 24
From: Oklahoma
I am saying that the battery is new at fully charged and over 14 v. After replacing the head gasket I reassembled and started the car it t ran briefly and died. Tried to restart and just really strained to turn engine over. Several of the rockers were “free” spinning and I noticed the lifters were compressed and they would not move up and down. I pulled the pushrods and none were bent . I think I preoiled the lifters by soaking in oil before assembly and messed some of them up and they seized .
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 253
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From: Oklahoma
In retrospect my engine guy said don’t do that but I had already done it. I may be my own worst enemy...lol I wondered why after settling the rockers by the time I went through the firing order #1 pushrods were loose again. I noticed Ihave several liters that are ‘stuck”
Last edited by Steve Kistler; Feb 22, 2020 at 09:32 PM. Reason: Added information
Le Mans Master
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From: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
With pushrods out, are the lifters stuck in bore and difficult to pull out of bore?
FWIW, when a cam lobe is wiped, that often scars the face of the lifter so badly that the edges of lifter are mashed larger and interfere w/. bore ID ... won't pull out.
FWIW, when a cam lobe is wiped, that often scars the face of the lifter so badly that the edges of lifter are mashed larger and interfere w/. bore ID ... won't pull out.
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If you pulled the lifters, and put them in the different holes when you put them back in, you may have flattend the lobes on your cam. The cam lobes break in to the lifter its mated to. If you change that then they will wear differently. I would pull a lifter that isnt moving and see if there is a cup indentation to the bottom of the lifter. You may have to crank the motor around witht the intake off and see if the lifter them selves are actually going up and down......bright side is , if you smoked the cam just cranking it over then you may not have contaminated the bearings, you may just be able to flush it out and install a bigger cam, but others will say the whole thing need to be torn down.
Last edited by Rescue Rogers; Feb 23, 2020 at 07:49 AM.
Le Mans Master
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I would back up all the way. It sounds like you may have wiped out the cam. Misfiring or backfiring on load is the early symptom but it rapidly goes worse. Common with todays available oils. Lifters wear out the bottoms at the same time as the cam lobes. Once the cam wipes out, the lobes wear off and the lifters do not go up and down anymore.
If you remove the plugs and crank the engine, you should see the lifters move up and down. If they do not move, your cam has died.
If you remove the plugs and crank the engine, you should see the lifters move up and down. If they do not move, your cam has died.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 253
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From: Oklahoma
Essentially I have 4 lifters that act like solid lifters in a hydraulic setup. Would that effect leak down results showing pressure losses and indicate a bent valve because air escapes through the carb.
Race Director
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From: SW Florida.
You say the lifters hardly move once they are in the engine. If that's the case, a sounds to me like you have a bunch of Cam lobes that have been rounded flat. But you can lift the lifters and have them drop with no pushrod on on top of them? Put the push rods back in and adjust them to essentially 0 lash. Take out the spark plugs. Crank the engine. Does it crank any easier? While cranking it watch all 16 rockers. Are some of them actually not or barely moving? Then you need a camshaft. With intake off you can actually watch the lifters rising up-and-down. In case you have any that the valves are not adjusted enough to move the rockers yet.
Last edited by derekderek; Feb 23, 2020 at 09:42 AM.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Little Rock AR
I would back up all the way. It sounds like you may have wiped out the cam. Misfiring or backfiring on load is the early symptom but it rapidly goes worse. Common with todays available oils. Lifters wear out the bottoms at the same time as the cam lobes. Once the cam wipes out, the lobes wear off and the lifters do not go up and down anymore.
If you remove the plugs and crank the engine, you should see the lifters move up and down. If they do not move, your cam has died.
If you remove the plugs and crank the engine, you should see the lifters move up and down. If they do not move, your cam has died.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
make absolutely certain you KNOW which bore/hole each lifter is assigned to. ... otherwise, install a new cam & lifter kit.
great how-to video ... IIRC these are New lifters and Not filled, Not soaked in oil.
Dr. Detroit
Joined: Mar 2012
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From: New Braunfels Texas
If you didn't mark the position of the lifters you pulled out, then throw them all away and buy a new set of lifters.......you can put the new set on the old cam.....but it will need to break in just like a new cam and lifter install......this will also alleviate your concern that the lifters are not compressible any longer.....which could simply be oil trapped around the check valve inside the lifter......
Jebby
Jebby
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2019
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From: Oklahoma
I actually removed and disassembled every lifter individually and most were “air locked “ and then reinstalled. I did a leak down test and all cylinders were above 90%. I am going to reinstall engine and see what happens.
Dr. Detroit
Joined: Mar 2012
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From: New Braunfels Texas
Jebby