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  #1  
Old 09-12-2003, 08:27 PM
pentastarguy pentastarguy is offline
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Question soft lifter

well, just replaced hydraulic lifter on my 340, after the engine started rapping this afternoon. i pulled rocker cover and narrowed the suspect noisy lifter to number 3 cylinder. first i pulled and cleaned number 3 intake which looked normal. next i tried to pull number 3 exhaust lifter but what a job! it was stuck in bore and would only rotate halfway in either direction. after pulling the guts out of it, and probably 2 hours later i finally got it out . the bottom of the lifter was pushed up in and had a circular wear mark on it. like almost to the point of the bottom of the lifter being broken. the cam lobe was hard to tell if there was damage as i was looking down through the head. i left the intake on and used my trusty magnetic tool to extract the lifters. now a coupla questions. has anyone had a lifter go soft in the foot like this so rapidly?, less than a thousand miles on the lifters, and is there probable damage to my cam lobe? i gave it a good 5500 rpm ride after i got it back together and it sounds quiet and pulls hard like it should. federal mogul lifters by the way!
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Old 09-12-2003, 09:33 PM
Billydelrio Billydelrio is offline
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Do you mean a circular wear pattern as if the lifter was rotating while the wear took place? If the lifter was rotating, then there will be a concave wear pattern on the base of the lifter. If the concave shape extends to a sharp edge of the lifter, then the cam is junk. The Cam lobe could have survived if caught soon enough, but a person would have to see the lobe to know. Drop another lifter in the hole and measure the max and min of the lifter stroke and then compare to a known good lifter movement. If the movements are the same, the cam could be okay. I would not think so after your description in the first post.
If the lifter was not rotating, then the cam will be junk.

If the cam is junk, I would strongly reccomed a complete cleaning of the inside of the engine. It seems that the number of cam/lifter failures is increasing lately.

Billy
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Old 09-12-2003, 09:37 PM
Billydelrio Billydelrio is offline
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Now that I have pulled my head out of my butt, I can see that you have replaced the lifter and ran the engine. I would keep an eye on that one. If it goes south, then you have a cam problem also and more metal in engine. Good luck.

Billy
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Old 09-12-2003, 10:32 PM
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cuda66273 cuda66273 is offline
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Who can play Taps.....sorry man but you killed the cam for sure.

I'll go back and race at Woodburn if you get 200 miles out of it.

...and all that missing metal in the bottom of the lifter...guess where it is....

Text book example of dirt in the lifter bore stopping it from rotating....Please don't shoot the messenger
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Old 09-13-2003, 01:59 AM
rustycowl rustycowl is offline
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Most likely new cam time. Check for free movement of the new lifters in their bores. Hone if necessary. Do not use grease on the lifter bore/sides of the lifter. Use lightweight oil on the sides of the lifter/lifter bore. When you fire it up, check for pushrod rotation. If the lifters and pushrods are not spinning, THE CAM/LIFTERS WILL NOT LIVE.
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Old 09-13-2003, 03:16 AM
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perfmachst perfmachst is offline
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hello, If the bottom of the lifter is concave, then lobe and lifter are gone. when new, the bottom of the lifter has to be convex. always lay a straight edge on lifter bottoms, hold up to a light, the bottomwill touch in the middle only. I think it's time for a new cam and lifters. good luck did you run motor at 2500 RPM when you first started it?? run for about 10 -15 minutes ? this is how to break in a cam and lifters.
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Old 09-13-2003, 08:26 AM
pentastarguy pentastarguy is offline
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Thumbs up soft lifter

thanks for the great replies! well, am headed out this morning to go for a spin. am hoping to hear nothing but sweet sound of 340 cubes pulling in unison. as soon as the lifters pumped up when i fired it up, i went for a 3 mile ride and had the car up to 3 or 4 blasts up to speeds of 80 to 90 m.p.h. when i got back home the motor sounds as quiet as it did when i built it 3 summers and 7000 miles ago. cuda, i hope you are wrong about the 200 miles....grin! i will keep you guys posted. remember, this is no chubby assembly but one tough mopar piece of work. i am hoping i just got a bad lifter(soft material) and with any luck i caught it in time.
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Old 09-13-2003, 10:50 AM
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cuda66273 cuda66273 is offline
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I'll let Woodburn know if they can add my $3K a year back in their budget...

Got my fingers crossed for you..
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Old 09-13-2003, 08:12 PM
pentastarguy pentastarguy is offline
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Cool

well, got aprox. 55 miles on car today, so far, not much noise.....thought i heard a few ticks...all too familiar. you know ,.........tick, tick, tick, ....then let off the gas pedal,...then nothing, quiet! got real brave then stomped on her real good......same old reliable result, reving like no tomorrow, shift the torqueflight, squawk the new goodriich t/as, then proceed up till my choice of shift points. oh yeah, i changed oil and filter of course early this morninng,.................stay posted.......either will go or blow.........
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Old 09-14-2003, 03:58 PM
John Kunkel John Kunkel is offline
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Using a magnet to remove hydraulic lifters isn't a good idea.
A strong magnet can magnetize the internal check ball and prevent it from seating properly.
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