Ive got my lifters out at the moment, some are spongy some are hard. I did turn the engine over with a bar about 100 times with no oil in the sump tho... I wanted to clean them by soaking in carby cleaner like Tekky has, but im a cheap ass and have lots of parts to clean. Was going to just soak them in some 98 fuel. Is this suitable? Or should i go for something like Xylene or Toluene? On a side note i also wanted to pour some 98 over the top of heads with the cam covers off and cams out sump off to flush it, should be fine? Wont be starting for at least another month..
Cleaning it in petrol is fine. Doesn't need to be 98 Ron. Just bog stock fuel will be suitable for cleaning. You can clean the top end with fuel also. Problem with fuel for this job is it will mix with the oil and leave a film over everything. So will take a bit of flushing to get it clean. Apart from that, go for it.
The other problem with using fuel to clean an assembled engine is the really Big Bang it could make if not dried out properly. Clean your lifters in carb cleaner, works much better than fuel. Assemble the engine, put about 1/2 a litre of brake fluid in the oil and run it, do that twice getting it up to temp but not driving it, pour in some fresh oil with 1/2 litre of ATF and leave that in until the next service.
Used the old "site:www.aus300zx.com" trick to get more answers, ended up opening 3 of my soggy lifters by slamming them on a block of wood, i didnt like the idea of hitting them on a hard surface as the tech section sugested, as it could potentially damage the base of the lifters. I cleaned them out with carb cleaner and filled and bled the check valves. Now there nice and firm, should be fine considering the entire lifter isn't full and its an old engine... As far as the block goes im pretty pissed off, took the cover off for 5 mins and 2 Christmas beetles flew in!
What ever you do DONT fill the lifters right up. They should be slightly squeezy when you squash them. Filling them right up can make valves stay open after a rebuild and you wont be able to start it. ( IE: no compression)
OK I thought you said not to fill the lifter body full. But you've left the valves squishy? Looks like the lifter maintainence tech page needs some editing... It tells you to clean fill,squish,bleed and check for firmness before installing back in the body
Correct, There have been a few guys who really filled them up and they have had issues with the cylinder not firing cause the valves where being held open by the lifters. Best way to make sure this doesn't happen is to fill them so you can squeeze them about 3-5 mm. They soon fill with oil anyway once its started. Will just be a bit noisey at initial start up.
Ok, so Ive been trying to find a systematic approach to rebuilding the lifters. The tech section has some very wrong ideas in it about lifter rebuilding and cleaning. Things that come into mind are 1. He smashes the lifter on a plate of steel. A crappy wooden ammo box was fine for me and didn't harm the lifters at all. 2.He throws all the dissembled lifters together in a pot to clean! They should be kept separate and the whole lifter should go back in the same bore, as you would with pistons. Even if they're second hand and your putting them in a different engine keep the lifters separate. 3. He fills the lifters to the brim, bleeds all the air from them then lets them take as much oil as the spring will allow. This takes the lifter past its lash point and will keep valves open as Tekky has said. The best method ive come up with so far to fill all the lifters the same but still keep them springy and under the lash point is to: Fill the lifter cup to about the height of the spring. install check valve stem and use a screwdriver on the valve whilst pressing down to purge all air, make sure it hits rock bottom. Now here's the different part, while you have it rock bottom tip it upside down and shake out any excess oil, then tip back up the right way and let go. You should hear some air enter but if done right they'll all be springy under lash and well lubricated. On starting will probably be noisy for a bit but will fill, and as soon as it does that air will bleed out.
NOT mixing the parts up is not necessary. They will be fine regardless. I am sure they didn't select parts at the factory. Some lifters are very stubborn to get out. The metal block works for these and there is no damage. So be as careful as you wish. They are pretty tough. Don't overthink the filling up with oil. Slightly under filled is fine
+1 to the metal block, I've helped clean a set up and we had to smash them down hard on a flat metal bench. We also did each lifter individually so the parts didn't get mixed up. From memory we also put them back in the same spot they came out, could be wrong though...
Im sure when there new its ok but when theyve been bedding in over 250 thousand k im sure keeping them together helps.
Biggest single issue is selecting parts that haven't had the case hardening worn off the faces or on the plunger. I have had to use 3 sets to get a premium good set before. Must have done 10 sets of these by now. Haven't bothered with matching parts with lifters and had no problems. BTW I have 2 used sets sitting here waiting for rebuild if anyone wants more cheap. The wear faces are in good condition.
