Dumb lifter

[nm9stheham]

Just one of those engine stories here.... My son's 340 started having one of the new Crane hydraulic flat tappet lifters ticking in less than 1k miles. It quickly progressed to where it would reeeeeally tick badly for a few minutes on start up, and would seemingly get soft when the oil got good & hot. You could even hear something a bit different in the even cylinders' exhaust. We pulled the valve covers to inspect a number of things, and did the usual pressing on all the rockers at the pushrod end. Found #2 exhaust lifter loose as a goose.

I wanted my son to see how a bad lifter felt so we kept pushing down on it and saying guy things like "Yeah, that lifter is really gone man" and other 'hey-aren't-we-great-mechanics' stuff. With no new lifters in hand, we buttoned it up and went on to other things, with a call to Crane on the 'to-do' list.

Well, dontcha know, then next time we start it, that lifter is as quiet as they come. Hunh? This thing went from banging at start up like a Maxim machine gun to 'all quiet on the western front'. Not a peep. Still smooth after 40 miles and no problems hot.

So, maybe we pumped a piece of grit out of the way effecting the check valve when we pushed that plunger way down dozens of times? I dunno, but that is a new one on me. (Now that I have written it up like this, it's bound to come back....LOL)

 

[autopar3000]

so we kept pushing down on it and saying guy things like "Yeah, that lifter is really gone man" and other 'hey-aren't-we-great-mechanics' stuff.

That's some funny **** right there!

 

[Inertia]

If you do have to replace the lifter, you can fish it out the opening in the head with a magnet ( cuz it's fresh and no varnish), without taking off the intake. You may have to loosen an intake bolt a coupla turns if it extends into the opening.

 

[nm9stheham]

Well, we have Edelbrock heads, so no such joy.....

 

[moper]

You probably just freed up the particle of something that was not letting it work. Crane uses a pretty good lifter.