I never ever soak hydraulic lifters. Simply because I want them squishy to set the preload correctly. Then I always, ALWAYS, prelube the engine before firing it to fill them. That’s another thing that can cause lifter failure is not enough preload. Effectively giving you lash in a hydraulic setup. This happens after machine work and the wrong length pushrods or not using adjustable rockers. Also, can’t believe no one has said it yet, but poor quality lifters seems to be a problem recently although I have not had that problem myself. I killed a hydraulic roller cam a year and a half ago and thought it was a lifter or spring problem. When I pulled it out of the engine I sent it to comp cams for analysis and they determined that the hardness of the cam wasn’t to spec and replaced it for free.
