I have the engine apart on my sons' 2000 Ranger with the 4.0l to replace the leaking intake manifold gasket. Because the engine was contaminated with antifreeze I opted to disassemble it to clean out all the gunk. My problem now is that the phenolic cups that press onto the top of the lifter are in bad shape and most of them aren't able to be re-installed. What are these cups for and does it seriously affect the valve train wear if they are not in place ? I have tried to find these as stand alone parts but it looks like they are only part of a complete lifter assembly.

 

Those are your valve guide seals...........Trust me, you need them.

 

This is a picture of the lifter with the phenolic cup attached. The pushrod sits in the metal "cup" that this surrounds. This lifter is shown upside down, so the cup is actually at the top.

 

My mistake, that's a new design to me.

 

No problems. This is my first go around with one of these engines and I am having to learn everything as I go along. I did a little more research and turns out they are push rod guides ? I really can't see what use they would be as they are very brittle and are are just pushed onto a small lip around the lifter plunger. So far I haven't been able to find anyone that will just sell the guides and I don't want to have to pay for new lifters just to replace the guides.

 

I'm sure they are there for a reason. I did a brief search and found a set of 12 lifters on ebay for $105. Not Ford parts but do you really want to pay Ford prices?

 

If the pushrod will sit in the cup on the lifter, you may just remove and discard the plastic bits. As a SWAG, they might just be 'assembly aids' to guide the pushrods into place when the engine is being assembled on the line. You use fingers, I hope, and can manipulate the pushrod into the cup manually. On the line, it might be a rather inept robotic device that cannot 'feel' the pushrod go into position.
Take a look and see if there is any function they perform... if you can't find one, I might be right.
I know that if you find the part number, you can get the plastic/phenolic 'hats' that go onto the business end of fuel injectors separate from the injector. They harden and break many times if they have to be R&R'd from the intake. A good parts guy can verify if the plastic piece is available separate. If you ask to see an aftermarket lifter, you might find they don't include the plastic piece, which would be reassuring.
tom

 

Yeah, I can't really see a whole lot of usefullness with these as guides for anything other than what you suggest (robot assy). There is a lifter rebuilder called Mizpah Precision Manufacturing that I am trying to contact and see if I can just get the cups from them. Thanks for the input.

Update:
Just talked to someone at Mizpah and was informed that these are indeed just assembly aids, not just for the factory, but for repairs as well. It is more or less just to hold the parts together until the lifter is installed. Because I have the heads off, it is easy enough to insure all the parts are there when I assemble it.