340 Lifter failure, now what

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Wvbuzzmaster

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Decided to change rocker arms today on my 340 and check pushrod length. First pushrod I took out the hydraulic lifer fell apart... oh, and the pushrods are not 7.5" long, only like 7.4" long so thats my lifter tick and why the lifter failed I would say.... so now what... am I going to have to pull the intake or is there a way to sneak the lifters out thru the head?
 
Nope, time to pull the intake & while you have it off, check everything you can see. Do not remove the distributer, that way you can roll the engine over to inspect all of the cam lobes.
 
I have fished the lifters out without removing the intake,most times there is casting flash so you have to move the lifter over to the next cyl.It can be very time Consuming, I too would remove the intake because 50% of the time it takes longer to fish than just bite the bullet and take it apart...
I always remove all the casting flash on cyl heads that I do just in case I have to fish out a lifter...
 
If your engine is nice and clean with no built up varnish in the lifter bores, you can use a magnet stick thru the heads and pick them out.
 
Well... went back out and looked and there are three more lifters just like it on that side of the engine so thats intake off territory cause I am going to change them all.
 
You can get them out with a mopar specific tool. Rick Ehrenburg goes over it in the latest issue of mopar action magazine.

the best lifters are composite faced lifters, very expensive.
I would just buys new cam and lifter package. Alot less headaches breaking in new lifters with a used cam. Rick also goes over correct pushrod length and correct lifter preload in the last 360 aluminum head build of mopar action which was about 4 issues back.
 
The 'best' FT hyd lifters [ solids also ] in this day & age of cam/lifter failures are factory lifters [ or lifters at least 25 yrs old ] that have been re-faced. We have been re-facing lifters here for decades because of the high cost of new ones.
The problem was never the oil, but the oil companies saw an opportunity....
 
Bewy said:
The 'best' FT hyd lifters [ solids also ] in this day & age of cam/lifter failures are factory lifters [ or lifters at least 25 yrs old ] that have been re-faced. We have been re-facing lifters here for decades because of the high cost of new ones.
The problem was never the oil, but the oil companies saw an opportunity....
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What do you charge to reface a set of lifters?
 
I get somebody else to re-face the lifters because I do not have the equipment [ I am in Australia ]. Last lot I had done were $4 each. The finish is better than some new, brand name lifters I have seen.
 
Wvbuzzmaster said:
Decided to change rocker arms today on my 340 and check pushrod length. First pushrod I took out the hydraulic lifer fell apart... oh, and the pushrods are not 7.5" long, only like 7.4" long so thats my lifter tick and why the lifter failed I would say.... so now what... am I going to have to pull the intake or is there a way to sneak the lifters out thru the head?
Click to expand...
You will need to remove the intake.
There is a fair chance that cam has suffered some damage.
 
Yes. The best lifters. I wish there was a simple answer.
 
Good luck finding new lifters period....I'd call cam companies like Jones, Isky, Crower. They all use quality Hy Lift Johnson and MAY have them in stock. Real supply shortages now on juice lifters.

I' d get a couple checking pushrods to be sure you have the length you need.
 
Bewy said:
The 'best' FT hyd lifters [ solids also ] in this day & age of cam/lifter failures are factory lifters [ or lifters at least 25 yrs old ] that have been re-faced. We have been re-facing lifters here for decades because of the high cost of new ones.
The problem was never the oil, but the oil companies saw an opportunity....
Click to expand...
Agree I used a valve refacing machine
 
I have a handwritten note in one of my books that says Oregon Cams resurfaces lifters. I have a set of mopar oversize lifters I was going to have resurfaced. You can't buy them anymore.
 
Isn't there something about lack of zinc in current oil so you need to use an additive? This contributes to flat tappet cam and lifter wear. I only ever saw one cam with a perfectly rounded off lobe, that was a 350 Chevy in a 79 Camaro Z 28.
 
mopardude318 said:
Who makes a good solid lifter for a small block? I need a set.
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If you don’t need pushrod oiling any solid body solid lifter will work. But...you have to put every lifter in a lathe and run a dial indicator across the lifter to make 100% sure it has the correct radius on it. If you do that you’ll know the lifters are good.
 
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