Any opinions on removing lifters and disassembling them for cleaning?

 

Never take them apart. Whay are you wanting to, how many miles on the engine?

 

Took 1 apart. Seems to be a simple set up. Im hoping a ticking issue I have is a lifter and not a liner. I figured I would remove the intake mani, rockers and replace the lifters with clean ones. See if that resolves my problem. 80+ on the existing motor.

 

If you can pull them up (later in life they get mushroomed and can only leave by removing the cam). If you were to keep up with which lifter and pushrod went in which space, I would think you could soak the lifters in a strong cleaner, like Berryman's parts cleaner, which is under $20 for a gallon can with a plastic dip tray. By keeping the same lifters, in same position, you could avoid problems. And you haven't dismantled them. New lifters are crowned and wear down to match new cam. I would suppose that either cam or lifter being new could make the other old one wear in an odd pattern.

So we assume you took one apart that is not in your truck?

If truck is still all together, you could listen to valve covers with a yard stick to isolate noise, then with valve cover off and at idle, press on rocker arms to see if noise changes. The idea being you locate the approximate area of the problem.

Valve train can have all sorts of gunk problems. You can also look those over first, just by removal of valve covers (intake usually has to come off as well). The rocker arms squirt some oil out of the ends and it lubes the push rod, drips along it, and lubes the top of the lifter. Of course lifters have their own oil port in their body. Three of mine had gunk blocking some of that little hole in the rocker arms.

 

You really do not understand the operation of a lifter or how to set them up afterwards, assuming that the can lope and the hardened lifter surface are pristeen and a Rover rarily is.
How do you even know the lifters are the problem?

 

No, I was examining a lifter from the old motor and pulled it apart. So what happens to the lifter if its taken apart and reassembled correctly? I dont mind buying a new set if needed but thought it would be easy to clean up the currently used lifters providing they are in good shape. When I did a head job on the motor in there now I remember my lifters and rockers looked as gunked up as yours in the pics.

 

My biggest concern is not over if you can clean and reassemble them, the main reason for lifter noise is more based on if they were shimmed correctly, not that they got dirty on the inside. The other concern, if there is any hardened surface wear, the cam lobe will also be warn and both need to be replaced if you want as much power and life from the engine.

 

With wear, they can be mushroomed and won't come out the top, they'll go out the bottom, when you change the cam as well.

 

Hi Mike, Your comment / advise regarding "shimming" has confused me. Why is a shim required for a Hydraulic tappet? Surely the hydraulic tappet should have sufficient range to be able to compensate and no shim is required anywhere (I'm talking in regard to a '95 D1 with the 3.9L V8 in case that's relevant). Thxs, Ian