Cleaning Lifter Trays
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 19,659
Likes: 34
From: Lenoir City Tennessee
Ci 6, 8 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Cleaning Lifter Trays
I am rebuilding my LS motor for my 70 and have had the engine tore down for quite a while. I am getting it reassembled and to the point of dropping the lifter trays in. Anything special to clean these with or anything not to clean them with.
Just want to be sure.
Thanks,
Just want to be sure.
Thanks,
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 19,659
Likes: 34
From: Lenoir City Tennessee
Ci 6, 8 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Thanks for tip. I was thinking maybe some mineral spirits or acetone just clean them good. Any thoughts on that?
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 16,477
Likes: 26
From: Gone
CI 6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03
I just replaced them. No cleaning necessary. 
A set of 5 trays (yes, they come packaged five to a box oddly enough) is like $15.
This is just one of those parts I can't ever see re-using if I'm "already there" and have it apart to that stage (heads off)..
Otherwise, just clean them like you would any other engine part. They should be fairly impervious to the usual cleaning solvents. Spray/wipe them down, and blow them off.
*Edit, Acetone might be a bit much though, be careful with that and plastics
A set of 5 trays (yes, they come packaged five to a box oddly enough) is like $15.
This is just one of those parts I can't ever see re-using if I'm "already there" and have it apart to that stage (heads off)..
Otherwise, just clean them like you would any other engine part. They should be fairly impervious to the usual cleaning solvents. Spray/wipe them down, and blow them off.
*Edit, Acetone might be a bit much though, be careful with that and plastics
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 988
Likes: 4
From: Livermore CA
I just replaced them. No cleaning necessary.
A set of 5 trays (yes, they come packaged five to a box oddly enough) is like $15.
This is just one of those parts I can't ever see re-using if I'm "already there" and have it apart to that stage (heads off)..
Otherwise, just clean them like you would any other engine part. They should be fairly impervious to the usual cleaning solvents. Spray/wipe them down, and blow them off.
*Edit, Acetone might be a bit much though, be careful with that and plastics
A set of 5 trays (yes, they come packaged five to a box oddly enough) is like $15.
This is just one of those parts I can't ever see re-using if I'm "already there" and have it apart to that stage (heads off)..
Otherwise, just clean them like you would any other engine part. They should be fairly impervious to the usual cleaning solvents. Spray/wipe them down, and blow them off.
*Edit, Acetone might be a bit much though, be careful with that and plastics
I agree, just replace them. I don't like reusing plastic parts on a rebuild especially if they are critical to function and catastrophic if they fail. The bonus of new one is that if you do a cam swap in the future you will have restored the squeeze the trays put on the lifters keeping them suspended while pulling out the cam.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Unless they have junk on them, there's really no reason to make them sparkle as they will never be seen again anyway. Basic clean only is all that is needed or as suggested to you already, just buy new ones.
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