Pic of lifters...can someone look at this?

stang1986GT · Mar 19, 2008

I'm fixing a blown head gasket on my 86 5.0, and I noticed that two or three of the lifters are sitting a little higher on each side...see the pic below:

Is this normal?

stangster50 · Mar 19, 2008

stang1986GT said:
I'm fixing a blown head gasket on my 86 5.0, and I noticed that two or three of the lifters are sitting a little higher on each side...see the pic below:

Is this normal?

yes.. they ride on the cam, and "lift" the pushrods.

stang1986GT · Mar 19, 2008

Jeez...what a dumb question...haha. I should have known that's what they would look like. I guess I thought the body of the lifter stayed put or something crazy like that. Been working too much...haha. Thanks so much.

Fast63 · Mar 19, 2008

no... the body of the lifter didn't "stay put"... The lobe on the cam is in the process of pushing the lifter up. It's imposible to ever have all the lifters down.

93GTosu · Mar 19, 2008

I'd be more worried about getting all that antifreeze out of the internals

did you have the "milkshake oil" or what?

stang&2Birds · Mar 20, 2008

stang1986GT said:
Jeez...what a dumb question...haha. I should have known that's what they would look like. I guess I thought the body of the lifter stayed put or something crazy like that. Been working too much...haha. Thanks so much.

There are no dumb questions.
STUPID people don't know that they are clueless.
SMART people know they need to LEARN MORE about something and they ASK.

_________
Joe
Taught Engineering for 8 semesters.

TokyoJoe · Mar 20, 2008

93GTosu said:
I'd be more worried about getting all that antifreeze out of the internals

did you have the "milkshake oil" or what?

I see like 2 drops. Have you never pulled a head before? If you can do it without a few drops of coolant please let me know. And that's what the first cheap oil change is for.

To the OP if you want, spin the crank around and put pressure on the lifter and it will give you an idea of whats happening.

85_SS_302_Coupe · Mar 20, 2008

Me personally, i'd buy new lifters. I don't know if getting antifreeze in them would hurt, but i think at the least antifreeze isn't going to mix with oil, and the lifters rely on oil to do their job. If they have bad oil, i can't see them doing their job right. Lifters are about $100 for Ford Racing replacements...when i blew a head gasket last summer i put new ones in mine just for good measure, and i was lucky enough to blow the gasket between the cylinders and not into a water jacket.

93GTosu · Mar 20, 2008

TokyoJoe said:
I see like 2 drops. Have you never pulled a head before? If you can do it without a few drops of coolant please let me know. And that's what the first cheap oil change is for.

To the OP if you want, spin the crank around and put pressure on the lifter and it will give you an idea of whats happening.

I've pulled heads before, i wasn't concerned about the 2 drops seen in the picture.

He said he blew a head gasket, some times that leads to milky oil. His question about lifters led me to believe this was probably his 1st head gasket. I figured I'd add my advice just in case he thought he could just throw new oil in and be set.

OP i'll also add to be sure and put the gaskets on correctly and to put sealant on the lower head bolts.

allballsmustang · Mar 20, 2008

i wouldnt worry too much about that coolant as long as its not that bad... the bottom end wasn't knockin was it?

Maryland Stang · Mar 20, 2008

TokyoJoe said:
I see like 2 drops. Have you never pulled a head before? If you can do it without a few drops of coolant please let me know. And that's what the first cheap oil change is for.

I was so paranoid about antifreeze getting into the engine that I popped the freeze plugs out, tilted the engine forward and sucked all of it out with my shop vac. Not a drop in the lifter valley.

5spd GT · Mar 20, 2008

stang&2Birds said:
There are no dumb questions.
STUPID people don't know that they are clueless.
SMART people know they need to LEARN MORE about something and they ASK.

_________
Joe
Taught Engineering for 8 semesters.

I like this!

To the OP, don't worry about antifreeze. Just make a couple oil changes.

daviszx3 · Mar 20, 2008

yea dont worry about the antifreeze i've done many intakes and headgaskets and once i get it all back together i've always started the vehicle and let it run a while to get all the antifreeze in whatever dirt that might have fell in the engine cleaned out then dump the oil

Fett · Mar 20, 2008

When I did my heads, I wiped out all coolant in the cylinder walls, and sprayed brake clean from the front of the valley to the back where the hole is, so everything was washed into the oil pan. After I put everything together, I poured in two quarts of oil into the engine, then drained the pan. Refilled and started it up.

stang&2Birds · Mar 21, 2008

Like people said, get cheap oil and do at least TWO oil changes.
1) Put engine back together, fill with cheap oil. Then, drain and replace filter.

2) Use cheap oil and filter, start car. Make sure your repairs are correct and the engine runs fine. Let engine get warm.

3) Drain oil, and throw away filter.

4) You should be convinced that your orig repairs are fine at this point. So, use your regular oil and filter.

As people said, that little amount of antifreeze didn't hurt the lifters. If you have the money, put in new *FRPP* lifters. At ~20 years old, those lifters do *not* have much life left. And, as you see, in addition to the cost of the lifters, it's ~$50-$100 extra (intake gaskets, oil, antifreeze, etc), and a lot of work to replace the lifters.

But, do NOT get the cheap cr*p they sell at the parts stores. Get FORD - FRPP. Mustangs Unlimited, Summitt, etc all carry the lifters.

FOUR EYES RULE!

http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/misc/Mustang1986_with_Mach1_springs/
_________
Joe

Pic of lifters...can someone look at this?

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