when I pulled the heads of I popped one of the lifter clips out when I removed the push rods. then I noticed two more missing. I don't know If they popped out during dissasembly or before. any ideas on what to do and should I take the pan off and see if they made it to the bottom. they could have popped out.. hmmm what to do.. also any ideas where I can buy a couple new ones?

 

Pull the pan. and you can wash down with cheap oil, etc. There is a baffle on the top of the pan.

 

where can i get new clips?

 

have you searched the valley & heads with a magnet, the snap ring for the lifter is kind of big to go down a return in one piece.
Also did you have a tick?

 

I believe that you can not just replace the clips, most likely your cam lobes and lifter surface is shot ay which point you will need to replace the cam and lifters. If this is the case, plan on a new timing chain set and oil pump gear set cause the y will be warn based on your mileage.

 

no ticks whatsoever. her motor ran like a top. I really hated to even tear it down. but it was losing a little water and I didn't want a bigger problem to raise it's head. when I lifted the head off I put the push rods in a little of a bind. I know be careful not to bend them. and that is when the clip I found popped out and laid on the valley. but then I notice 3 more missing all on the same side(passenger). so I don't believe these were missing prior to my lifting the head off. my concern more than anything is this:

1: did the clips slid down the valley and go in the cam? or did they shoot out and are not in the motor at all?

2: if the went into the motor, can I get them out by dropping the pan.

3: can the oil sump even pick one of those up, is the screen big enough/ do I even need to worry about them.

4: can I remove the oil pan on this car or is the diff and other crap in the way?

 

so I did a little looking around and it appears that small block chevy lifters have similar sized clips. and they are only 4 bucks apiece, so it won't break the bank to just buy the whole lifters and replace the clips out of them

 

I think in another post Savannah found new RR lifter on rock auto for $7 ea.

 

so I picked up three replacement lifters.. should I replace the entire lifter or just the clips.. I don't see any problems with the old ones and the motor rand smooth and quiet...