replacing lifters, please help.

Yes you need to drain the coolant before you pull the lower. You dont have to disconnect the fuel lines. Once the 4 bolts are removed that hold it on the lower you can pop it up off the injectors and swivel it out of your way. I would get a book on rebuilding ford small blocks if I were you. This is a good time to change the PCV screen in the back of your lower intake.

Only drain the coolant if you don't mind dumping a gallon or so of it right down the lifter valley and into the oil pan.

YES - DRAIN THE COOLANT!

Once the intake is off, there are two bolts right in the middle of the lifter valley that hold down a piece of metal called the 'spyder' - you'll know it when you see it. Remove the bolts, the spyder comes out and that will free up all the 'dog bones' (8 of 'em) that keep the lifters from rotating. Once they're out of the way, just pull the lifters out.

Some heads interfere with removing 1 or 2 of the lifters - not sure which ones do. If you have those heads - you got it - the heads have to come off to get all the lifters out.

I'll let others tell you what to look for on damaged lifters - mine have always been fine or brand new.

When installing hydrolic lifters is there a certain way they must be installed (or I should say clocked)? I know that the roller part of the lifter goes to the cam, but each lifter has an oiling hole in the middle of it. Which way must that little oiling hole face. When I change my cam it didn't seem as if there was any pattern as to where the hole faced, but I put them back in as I found them.

Thanks,

Mario

I don't think it matters much Mario - if you're concerned note how they come out and put them back that way.a

Thats what I have always done, just curious.

Mario

yo

Sounds like you are running Hydraulic Roller Lifters , and if you are , they should be self adjusting ... HOWEVER , if they have the " support " make sure it is setup to the wear pattern on the cam I.E the way the old ones were " . Sounds like n00b stuff but i've seen too many guys have spun lifters and wore out cams lol....

With flat tappet lifters you have to keep lobe/lifter together; that's not an issue with roller lifters. That's why used roller cams get sold by the thousands WITHOUT the matching lifters.

Michael Yount said:

With flat tappet lifters you have to keep lobe/lifter together; that's not an issue with roller lifters. That's why used roller cams get sold by the thousands WITHOUT the matching lifters.

Click to expand...

And also why there is no break in on a new roller cam as I understand it.

I did this job in December, and it's a pain. Once you get the intakes out of the way, you have to remove the valve covers. Remove the rocker arms, and pull out the pushrods. Some of your rockers will be pushing on a valve. You have to put a socket on the crank bolt inside the balancer and rotate the motor until those rockers are not pushing on the valves. Once you have all the pushrods out, pull the spider. DO NOT bend that thing. Take the 8 dogbones out and put them aside. You want to have your new lifters soaking in fresh oil before you put them in. Pull your old lifters, and look them over. Any signs of wear are a bad thing. One of mine had the bearing on the roller go bad. The roller siezed, and had rubbed a flat spot into it by rubbing the cam. The cam was fine luckily. Once you drop all 16 lifters in, replace the dogbones and spider. Put all your pushrods back. Start putting rocker arms back, except for the ones that would be pushing on a valve. Get all the others back on. Once again, rotate the motor until the uninstalled rockers can be put on. Make sure the rockers are torqued down properly. Get a clean rag and wipe down the lifter valley for any debris or coolant that may be there. Make sure all mating surfaces on the block/heads are free of old gasket. Get the lower intake gaskets, and lay them into place. Use blue RTV sealant, and follow the directions with the gasket for setting them in place and adding RTV to the corners. While the gaskets are setting, you can change your PCV screen and valve. Reinstall the lower intake, torqueing the bolts gradually in a stagger pattern. Once the lower is in, get the fuel rails on, and all the heater hoses. Reinstall the valve covers with new gaskets. Get the upper intake on, and get the distributor back in. Make sure all connections, hoses, and what not are secure. MAKE SURE you bolt the fuel rails back to the lower intake. Many guys forget, and they pop out and burn your car to the ground. When you pulled the dizzy, you should have made a mark on it to remember where to place it more or less, and where the rotor was pointing. Also, any time you rotate the motor, you MUST put the dizzy back in place so it moves with the cam. Put the dizzy back where it was, lining the mark on the dizz with the mark on the block that you made. Do a double check of the motor, making sure everything is secure. Start the motor, and run it for no more than a minute. The shut it down and do an oil change on it. Once you have fresh clean oil in the car, and a new filter, fire it back up. Get a timing light, and re-time the car to make sure your marks were exact. Let the motor warm up, and retouque the valve cover bolts, and anything else that may loosen up. Check for leaks, noises, or anything else weird. If you don't have any problems, you should be OK. One tip- if you get new lifters, spring for some new FRPP hardened pushrods while you're at it. Can't hurt, and they're like 50.00.

Here's the thread I had when my lifters crapped out: http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=522533

Another question. With a flat tappet cam, can you put new lifters in with a used cam? Or do you have to use the lifters that where run with that cam?

Thnaks,

Mario