sold to hyd lifters
.............Yes u can, but y would ya......some guys just change the lifters with out changing the cam.....kim.........
Solid lifter cams utillize a "clearance ramp" that is a long, slow, acceleration ramp that is there to gently close up the 18-thousandths, or so space called "valve clearance" that is necessary to deal with the unequal expansion rates that the different metals that are in the valvetrain, have, as the engine warms up. All solid lifter cams use these clearance ramps.
Hydraulic lifters are designed to take up ALL the slack in the valve train, and operate at "zero lash."
This means that if you install hydraulic lifters in an engine that has a solid lifter cam, that "zero lash" lifter will start trying to open the valve ON THE CLEARANCE RAMP... not a good thing.
Holding the valve open such a small amount can cause a "blowtorch effect," and allow still-burning combustion gasses to damage the valve and valve seat.
There's no way around this, that I know of.
So, it's just not a good idea to run hydraulic lifters on a solid lifter cam.
In addition to possible engine damage, the performance would be less, because you'd have a lot more duration with hardly any more flow... not a good thing, either.
Running solids on a hydraulic cam is possible, but iffy because without clearance ramps to close up the gap, you're hammering the cam lobes pretty hard, when they try to open the valves. That can produce a "flat" cam in short order...
I'm sure there are people who have gotten away with this (running the wrong lifters,) but it's more likely, I think, that problems would occur.
