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prime lifters or no?

O

outlander

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Columbus,Ohio
Gonna be firing up a fresh rebuilt 4.0 tomorrow and before I drop the lifters in should they be soaked in oil and pumped up or no?

ill be spinning the oil pump with a drill to prelube the motor before first fire so wouldnt that prime the lifters?

I heard horror stories about hard lifters bending a push rod or holding a valve open on first start after a rebuild.
 
Im gonna soak them in oil and prime them.
My mechanical experience is saying its better then running them dry.
I feel like all the stories about bent push rods from hard lifters is from the chevy guys and guys that have to set valve lash.
 
I always turn my motors over by hand, many revolutions before I ever try to start them. I've seen guys build a motor so tight they can't turn it over by hand, they tend to self destruct.

I've always coated them in Moly assembly lube or soaked then in synthetic oil (I have some 5 weight). I'm more leery of scoring a cam than I am of lifter issues. I've seen a bunch of guys destroy a cam shortly after start up on a worked over engine. I've been using the same can of blue moly assembly lube for thirty years, a little goes along ways.
 
I remember years ago I rebuilt a 2.5 jeep and didnt prime the lifters and had one that would never prime....good thing lifters on a 2.5 can be replaced without taking the head of...
 
You can prime them.. it won't hurt if you don't as long as you prime the engine before firing. Which you should do any how. Coat the sides of the lifter with some light assembly lube or oil. Coat the cam journals with assembly lube. Coat the cam lobes and lifter foot with the grey moly lube.
 
Exercising the lifters a few times is a good idea, you never really know if they have been assembled correctly or there is some flaw. I've had a couple come apart on me, maybe the retaining ring isn't seated just right or something else is wrong that slipped through quality control.
 
I know of a guy who used to be an A&P mechanic. He is anal to the point of one by one, disassembling new lifters and cleaning them in a pan of mineral spirits. He says you would be surprised at the debris left in the new lifters.

Is that anal? Yes.

Do his engines start up and work without fail? Yes

YMMV
 
Oh man thats attention to detail....
im not that OCD and a bit on thd lazy side sometimes.On this build
I threw caution to thd wind and didnt plastigage the rod bearing clearances (hope it doesnt haunt me)
I did do the mains though.The machine shop that did the work is reputable and they've done work for me before

also noticed the chilton manual talks about taking a new oil pump apart and checking its clearances with a feeler gauge.Gambled on that one too....
 
Does memory serve me correct, in that valve lash was set a "zero"?....
One way to keep from bending your push rods.

YMMV=? Not YMCA ? Or YWCA ?
 
Valve lash is clearance between the rocker arm and valve tip. Clearance, which is used on a solid lifter camshaft. 0 lash is no preload, no clearance. Since the stock configuration and what most people use in the strokers is a hyrdaulic lifter there is preload. That is compression on the lifter past 0 lash. usually .030-.040". Has nothing to do with bending pushrods unless you really screwed up.

I use to take lifters apart and clean them. Many lifters had a bit of dirt in them, but that is more prevalent with EDM holed solid lifters. The Hylift/Johnson lifters I currently use on the 4.0L always come clean and I have stopped taking them apart. They are the best lifter quality wise for out engines.
 
I've rebuilt a 70s' Ford Mustang II fastback V6 171 cu. in. a few years ago. Using a feeler gage set valve lash without any problems. In my garage is a 4.0l l6 awaiting a rebuild, unfortunately it has a #6 shredded piston skirt. What do think of aluminum rockers with roller ends as a performance +? 505 Performance had a set I'd consider. I'd also consider a supercharger. Turbo charger?

YMMV, results of time money and effort. Homework. And wheeling?....:arrowl:
 
Talyn said:
The Hylift/Johnson lifters I currently use on the 4.0L always come clean and I have stopped taking them apart. They are the best lifter quality wise for out engines.
Click to expand...
That is good to know.
 
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