I've had my engine torn apart for a few months now and while it was torn down I wrapped everything in oil soaked rags and put them in bags to keep them safe. Unfortunately the bag my lifters were in got exposed to the air and the sides/walls of them have some light surface rust on them in spots. I've kept them all in order and have them soaking in oil right now.

Can surface rust be removed safely? If not can I replace lifters without replacing my camshaft or is that a package deal when it comes to hydraulic flat tappet lifters? My camshaft is in "great condition" per the local machine shop. When I asked them if I needed to replace it back when I started the tear down.

 

I would take a 3M scuff pad and clean up the rust. I would never run new and used cam/lifters mixed together.
If you are rebuilding your engine why not new cam and lifters?

 

I’ll try cleaning them up. I didn’t replace the cam/lifters because when I took the engine to the machine shop I had the guy look at the cam/lifters for me while we chatted. He said they looked great and didn’t need to be replaced. No need to spend money if I didn’t need to.

 

clean and make sure they spin and slide easy in the lifter bores
then your good

I have been known to treat it like a new cam and break them in

good luck

 

The lifters are matched to the lobes and cannot be put in in a different orientation. I've actually used a buffing wheel to polish up the sides of lifters and they must spin perfectly freely in order for them to work.

 

Well the story gets worse. I had them soaking in oil last night, my wife moved them and they got placed precariously. They fell over and all got mixed up. I went ahead and ordered new lifters and a cam from Summit, should be here by Tuesday. :/ I just re ordered the same ones I had, they had a whole set with the cam, lifters and timing chain/sprocket.

 

Brilliant! You figured out how to get a new cam & lifters with your wife’s approval. Tip of the hat to you, sir!
Seriously though, unless the machine shop carefully measured each lobe on your old cam, they are only guessing it’s ok.

 

Isn't it fun y how women criticize us about stuff,?

 

Too late now, but you can install new lifters on an old cam. People do it all the time if the lobes are fine, but the lifters had issues.
You can install old lifters on an old cam if each lifter's location is known and labeled.
You can not however install old lifters on a new cam.

 

I heard from a few different places not to install new lifters on an old cam. That it would wear improperly and quickly.

 

Not at all. Just make sure you moly lube the lifter base.

People swap just lifters quite frequently. Either trying different brands, or the original lifters went south.
The new lifters will mate to the lobes of the old cam in due order.

 

BTDT. No problems.

 

if its not a kit you can send back the new cam and save $200+ and just use the new lifters.

 

Why have I’ve been told not to use new lifters with an old cam then? The first response here said not to and when I called a machine shop, he asked what kind of lifters. When I told him, hydraulic flat tappet, he said no.

 

call comp cams....they should tell you the truth, not just sell you a cam. Its been done for decades

even Summit says you can reuse your cam
https://help.summitracing.com/app/an...my-camshaft%3F

How old was your mechanic that siad no...30 something?

https://www.bing.com/search?form=MOZ...ith+an+old+cam

 

Case in point. Warranty jobs of a collapsed hydraulic flat tappet lifter when I worked in a Chrysler dealer was to replace just the failed lifter.
Edit: on a 440 I had, I reinstalled the stock used cam and lifters after having enough of some radical big cam. The lifters were not kept in order. Although it's best to keep lifters in order, lifters are "married" to the cam, not the individual lobe as strange as it sounds.
​​​​​

 

yup, if 1 is ok, 16 is too.
run them in like new cam

 

Because there are thousands of mechanics that are in the millennial age.
They don't know "Old School !!!!

 

In the 80's.....we all had 305's that had cams that went flat......the cheap thing to do was to pilfer a "350" cam out of a rusted out truck and get a new set of General Kinetics lifters ($25)......a few of us would go to Detroit occasionally where GK was located and get some lifters from our source "out the back door"......we would put these new lifters on the 350 cam in a 305 and they ran surprisingly well and the lifters broke in right away (80's oil formulation...).
No problem really in doing this but there are some things to know......
I never do it anymore simply because the situation never arises......I am never in a situation where I would need to remove a cam and lifters and reuse them....and if so, I have a numbered lifter rack that I put the lifter in.......it is unfortunate that you lost the lifter position......
The reason an old lifter cannot be used on a new cam is that the lifters convex "foot" once acquainted with the angle ground lobe starts to spins....it wears a tiny "flat" in one specific circle on the foot of the lifter......this can be seen on the old lifter as a ring.......but a new lifter can go on an old cam lobe as the cam lobe angle does not change and no definitive wear is found on a an old cam lobe......this is of course assuming that the lobe has had sufficient oil and it is a quality part to begin with.

Jebby

 

If you haven't ordered the lifters yet, I would highly recommend lifters that have a small oil hole drilled at the bottom to help oil the cam. There are others that have a flat area to help lube the cam too but I am unfamiliar with those. Lifters with oiling will provide insurance against wiping the cam.

Also, as other have said, make sure your lifters move extremely easy in the lifter bores. Any "stickiness" at all is bad, and can cause the lifter to not rotate and wipe the cam. A good test is that when lubed up, a lifter should not stay in any position you place it in. It should just fall due to gravity all the time. Anyway, I am probably beating a dead horse here, but clean, good lifter bores are CRITICAL so an engine doesn't wipe cams.

Good luck