Re: 1941 super 8 locate bad lifters

Posted by Wat_Tyler On 2022/1/18 19:36:47

I seem to recall seeing something not all that long ago that said that new 356 lifters were purt-n'ar scarce as hens' teeth. And Google is nearly my BFF, so I looked for something about rebuilding hydraulic lifters. I found this:

This is a quote from Mr. David Vizard.

"Let's discuss cost savings on lifters. First, we all know that lifters cost money. Along with this we're also told that you must use new lifters on a new cam. At the risk of near-certain death by the hands of my friends in the cam industry, I have to say that's not quite true. I've used one set of lifters on as many as five different cams. The truth is, it's possible to recondition lifters yourself. The innards of a hydraulic lifter don't really wear out. Usually they become noisy due to dirt, preventing them from functioning as intended. Many lifters never get to this stage and all that wears is the lifter's face. I find it difficult to throw away a set of perfectly functional lifters that have worn only a couple of thousands off the face. To restore them to useable condition, I rub them, in a figure-eight pattern, on 100 grit emery paper on a flat surface such as a surface plate or a sheet of glass. About every half dozen passes I rotate the lifter a quarter turn. Whether we like it or not, this action generates a spherical radius on the lifter face. To check how things are shaping up, use a steel straight edge or a quality machinist steel rule, or best yet a precision square. By holding the lifter up to the light you'll be able to see the form taking shape. The edges should be about .001-.0015-in lower than the middle. Do not chamfer the edges of the lifter and do not put too fine a finish on the face as the coarser finish helps with rotation and break in. I have prepped lifters this way, which have subsequently run as many miles as could be expected of a new set."


I have read one of Vizard's books, and he seems (to me, at least) to understand engine theory as well as anyone else I have read and more than many. His explanation here seems simple and straight-forward. I pass it along both as an offer of help and as a filing system because I'm going to have some 356 sorting out to do and this way, this remedy will be easier to find.