I just installed lew lifters and a cam about 2 months ago. I had put one in a month before that one but several of the lifters seemed to never pump up and I got about 6 lobes flattened after breakin. Now that one was probably my fault as I did not use breakin oil. This new one was done properly and after one or 2 of the lifters pumps up during a cold start, the engine runs pretty good. The lifters all look exactly like the crane lifters I bought after I installed the cam/lifter set this last time. I bought a Summit cam that came with lifters, the one I cratered. Then I bought a cam and lifters from Rock auto because a guy here said the numbers were very close to stock, what I wanted and its what is in the car now. Idles pretty smooth and feels strong.

This current Rock Auto cam/lifter setup has always had a lifter or 2 leak overnight and I can hear it, or them, in the morning startups. I bought a set of crane lifters after I put this last cam in because I was to the point of just putting in a better set. When I got them, they were exactly the same as the other 2 sets I got from summit and Rock Auto. What I would like to know is, can I tell which lifters are bleeding down if I pull the intake off and pulling each lifter out? Putting them in orderso they go back in the same hole. I want to take those apart, see if I can spot a defect or not. But either way, I want to at least try to see if the insides are the same as the crane lifters and put the innards into the leaked down lifters. I mean the body, hole placement and the clips holding the inner parts of the lifters are the same.

If needed, I can give more details of the crane lifters but neither Summit nor Rock Auto know what brand the lifters I bought from them were. I can't go rollers now nor will I go solid lifters either. I would have at the beginning but I just want to sort out the leaking lifters. Most don't leak, I hear too many times that it is normal for some to bleed down but obviously most don't.

Thanks

Russ

 

Try some CompCams lifters.

Did you use a break in oil with zinc?
Did you spin up the cam shaft first using the dist. hole to get oil to the valve train?

 

All lifters will bleed down over night when they are stopped in the open position where spring pressure will slowly push the oil out and the lifter will tick for a few seconds until they pump back up. How long does it tick for?

 

Yes I did use a good break in oil with zinc this last time. The first time I didn't a paid the price. Now I add ZDDP to my oil with any oil change. Yes I did prime the oil system before I started the engine that first time. I made sure each rocker arm had oil running out of the pushrod end before I started it up. Not a hard porcess.

As far as the lifter noise, it seems to be getting longer. Up to 15 or twenty seconds this morning. I know at least most valves are under pressure when you shut off the engine. So that means I should get lots of noise during eack morning start up. But it feels and sounds only like one, I get a miss on my #4 cylinder each moring too. I think all cars now use hydraulic lifters but I have never heard the lifter noise on startup with any of my other vehicles. The only way to test this is to probably take out each lifter and somehow put pressure on it to see if one leaks/bleeds out more than the others but that seems and sounds impreactical. I know that lifters can get a clog or some sort of grit that may allow the lifter to leakdown quicker and build back up slower. After that initial startup, it doesn't make any noises unless I let it sit all day, then I hear a slight click of a lfter.

I just thought I would ask. I guess I will just pull them out and try to clean them or see if the inner parts are interchangeable.

 

Are you sure that you don't have another wiped cam?

 

I hope not! Its always a possibilty but I am inclined to think that I did break this one right and when the car warms up it runs really good. I just think it might be a faulty lifter. I have the car on the lift now and am planning on pulling each lifter and taking it apart, cleaning each piece and either putting it back together or installing the parts from the comp cams lifters I bought. Its such an old technology that most any country can make these and there is a possibilty of a bad batch. Not many rebuild with flat tappet lifter any longer so Its hard to tell. I have watched videos of taking apart lifters, so not very complicated but there is at least one that is bleeeding down too fast and I hope to figure out which one and why.

It bothers me that it makes the noise on a cold start up the very next morning and when I sell it, I would like it it to be right. Other noises and problems are not a deal killer but that noise is. I could start it up before a buyer looks at it but not my way. I hope to find something soon.

thanks

 

Are you able to upload a clip to youtube? as said its normal they bleed down, could make a little noise at first.
Ever heard an LS when they are cold, sounds like somethings broken.
No exhaust leaks?

 

This is a mild cam you say? Sounds like valve lash is not set correctly even when hydraulic lifter is pumped. Maybe one rocker adjustment is too loose? I assume all new pushrods when lifters were changed from the destroyed cam lobes. If not verify all those seats and possible the rocker seats.

 

Is this a roller cam or flat tappet? If flat tappet, did you run it for 15-20 minutes at 2000 rpm to break in the lifters to the cam. If not, both are probably shot. If a roller cam, no real breakin is needed.

 

I had a 2005 Pontiac GTO with the LS2 engine. I never heard a lifter noise like this, or any lifter noise at startup. The noise goes away after about 10 seconds or so. It is not a rod knock either, I know that deeper sound during a startup with a bad rod bearing. I checked the bearings before I put this last set of lifters in. I called Comp cams just to ask about a piece called the metering valve. The Comp cams have a thin metal piece with a pressed in indention. I found 1 out of 3 so far that was upside down compared to the other 2. I called the Comp number and asked if he knew if there was a difference with that part, upside down or doesn't matter. He said he had never taken one apart but he had heard of others finding the same thing. I guess metering is metering and either it will pump up or not if that was a problem.

The other suggestion was oil viscosity. I told him I broke the cam in with what the engine shop gave me, 50 weight break in oil. 20 minutes is the usual break in time. I put something like 5-30wt oil in it with ZDDP and filter. So its like most engines get broken in. Then he gave me a part number of 858-16, he said it was a lifter with closer tolerances, good grief. The Comp lifters were exactly the same as the camshaft/lifter combo I bought from Summit and Rock auto. Both were around $120.00. The Lifters I bought from comp were $100.00 and internals are exactly the same as the other 2 sets of lifters mentioned above.

So anyway, just weird. I an going to smooth out the bottoms of 4 of the new lifters from comp and replace the 4 lifters I found that were bled down when I briefly started the engine, shut if off then pulled the intake manifold off. Will see how that science experiment works. If it continues, I will take a video and try to post it.

Russ

 

It is basically a stock cam. I bought it from Rock Auto after one guy here said it had the closest specs to an 84 stock cam. So yeah, mild. Its interestiong about lifter settings. The comp cam instructions say 1/2 turn after you feel tension on the pushrod, and tell you how to make sure you are at the bottom of the lobe. My engine guy says 3/4 turn and others between 1/4 and half turn. Should have bought a solid lifter instead. Anyway, yes, the worn or injured parts were replaced. The studs in the head for the rockers, and rockers were replaced and new nuts were installed too. Both the lifter bottom and the cam lobes look pretty good after this last bout of running with this cam/lifter combo. I am fairly certain it is 1 or several lifters. But maybe a crack in the oil gallery that feeds the lifters, who knows!?

I hate to just "live" with it but it seems that is the most prevelant advice. And I hate starting it up first a bit before a prospective buyer looks at it and drives it because they will hear it when they start it and who knows. I know, buyer beware.

Thanks

Russ

 

I decided to replace some of the lifters. I pulled them all, pushed down on each one with a push rod and felt some that were not as solid feeling ast most of the others. I found 4 of them that just didn't feel right. So I took out the inner parts and swapped them with the inners from a new set of lifters I had bought earlier. I mentioned them here earlier. One of them I could not push the new plunger all the way into the lifter. It was tight and didn't want to force it. So I looked up more on lifter makeup and found a group that said I could use new lifters on a broken in cam if I used 500 grit sand paper, and polished, in a figure 8 pattern, the bottoms of the ones I was replacing. So that is what I did with those 4 I was suspicious about.

I had called comp cams and asked about this one piece, the metering valve piece. I found some to be upside down compared to some of the others in the lifters. He didn't know much about that but he did say that either they work or they don't and that part shouldnt matter how it goes in. Well, I put 4 new lifters in after taking them apart and made sure that pice was the same in all of them. I did polish each one and they looked pretty smooth. I put it all back together, added another bottle of ZDDP, used an old distributor I made to pump up the system and started it up. It clattered a bit for a few seconds but smoothed out. I ran it until the radiator fan stopped and shut it off.

For the next three mornings I went out to start it up. Nothing like I was hearing before. Very quiet but not completely. I feel like I hear one very quiet sound from one possibly but it is so muted that I can live with it. I hear it because I am listening for it. I dont' think a buyer would even notice. I did port the intake a bit more to get rid of the castings marks and opened up the mouths on the insides a bit more. I was getting a pooling of fuel at the mouth of all the runners and with the lifter problem I kept getting a miss from a plug during a cold startup. Now I don't get that miss. I haven't driven the car yet to let the computer re-tune itself yet. Waiting for my cruise control to get fixed from Batee.

I appreciated all the suggestions here and I hope, after driving it a bit that these problems are gone.

Russ