Hey guys,
I decided to drop my pride today and need your help bad...I'm down in GA (to work on the truck) and I only have a few mor days befoe I have to leave to go back up to TN. As of right now, I have my heads at a machine shop (3 burnt valves)..
I need to have this thing ready for the heads when they come out of the shop..

Anyway, to the point...
I was looking at my lifters today in my engine...(didn't take any of them out). My question is: Are they suppose to be flush with the surface of the block? About three of them are slightly above the surface compared to the rest. When I first took the intake manifold off, I was checking the pushrods and those three didn't turn with my hand like the rest did. Also, today I was checking the travel of the lifters and those three didn't have as much travel as the rest. Now, I'm not a scientist by any means, but I started comparing numbers here and thought about the three burnt valves and the three lifters. Perhaps they go hand in hand, but I'm not sure which valves were burnt. I just got the news from the guy at the machine shop this evening.
So does this look like means for a lifter replacement? It wouldn't be a problem for me to go and buy them, but I can't afford the whole cam/lifter set right now. Just the lifters. Also, how can you tell if a lifter is bad, other then what I just described is wrong with mine (if that is, in fact, a problem).

Thanks, in advance guys for your help in this. I'm beginning to run out of time and I need this back together by this weekend.


OH, AND SORRY SO LONG......

WrenchBuilder
1978 F100 Ranger Lariat XLT

*Ford Evolution* coming soon...

 

some of the lifters will be above and some will be below the block, depends where the camshaft is. how many miles on this engine???? lifters are cheap, put them in now. also prelube them before starting the engine. thanks mudder trucker.

 

The cam lobes will determine how far the lifters are sticking up out of the bores. When the heads were on, the lobes would be pushing on some of the lifters. This is why you could not turn the pushrod. I would pull out each lifter one at a time and see if the bottom is nice and shiney. Look at the cam lobe also. Keep each lifter and pushrod in the same hole. I had one engine that didn't have a cam broken in properly. It had a pretty good loaping sound at idle. When I took it apart, One lobe was almost worn off.

 

Thanks for the quick replies guys...
I felt kind of stupid when I read the replies on why they were above the surface...should have known that. If someone had asked me that, I probably would have told them what y'all told me more than likely. But for some reason, when it comes to working on my own stuff, I get so paranoid about things working out okay, that I don't really think about how it all works. I'll try to get them out tomorrow one by one and look at them. Hopefully, they'll be okay...The head work alone will cost me about $150 more than I originally thought, so I don't really want anymore surprises popping up. Not that lifters are that much, but it all adds up eventually.

By the way, I've read on here about using RTV for the front and rear seals for the intake manifold instead of the seals that come with the valley pan. Are there any other things I should know before putting it all back together? My heads should be out of the shop Wednesday and I want to have everything ready by then, so I can put it all back together and test drive it around a little before I take it to TN this weekend. I can't afford to have to break it all down again to fix a leak here or there.

Again, thanks for everything.

WrenchBuilder
1978 F100 Ranger Lariat XLT

*Ford Evolution* coming soon...

 

Use the gaskets and put a dab of rtv on the ends.

 

I use 3M weatherstrip adhesive to "glue" the end gaskets down on the block. When the adhesive has dried it will keep the gasket from sliding around. I also use a thin film of engine oil or grease on the top of the gasket b4 manifold installation to keep the gasket from sticking to the manifold. You will appreciate this if you ever have to take the manifold off again. Use a drop of RTV or Permatex "Aviation form a gasket" at the corner joint.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-Sep-02 AT 09:11 AM (EST)]

That valley pan thing is something else. I was kinda stressing the fact that Ford used metal to seal between the heads and intake manifold. I have read that other people had gotten individual aftermarket gaskets or made thier own gaskets to seal at those spots, but I will go ahead and go with the valley pan and the seals. Especially since I went ahead and spent the $26. I'll also go with the tips y'all offered. Fel-Pro adds that I should use tack to go around the water jackets on the valley pan. Anyway, Thanks...I appreciate this site more and more everyday.

WrenchBuilder
1978 F100 Ranger Lariat XLT

*Ford Evolution* coming soon...

 

The proper way to check if your lifters are worn is to put a srraight edge ( I use a feeler gauge ) along the bottem of the lifter and see if it is concave or convex. If you can see daylight between the staight edge and the lifter, they are history, worn out, shot. The amount of wear on the lifter will give you an indication of how badly your cam is worn. Remember, the hard face overlay on both the cam and lifters is quite thin, so once that wears off, the cam will wear very quickly. A badly worn lifter will also indicate that you have had a lot of metal drifting around with your oil. Replacing worn lifters is pretty much a waste of time, because your cam will also be worn and will continue to wear quickly. If you find you have a very badly cam lobe, you would be wise to inspect, and probably replace the main & con rod bearings, as well as the cam bearings. Oil pumps don't like metal in the oil either, so have a good look at your pump also.
Sorry to give you so many negatives to consider, but always remember, if it's got wheels or hooters, ya gonna be in trouble!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 18-Sep-02 AT 10:53 AM (EST)]Thanks Red for the reply...IMOA siting negatives early saves for one big negative (labor costly) rebuild in the future...

Well, everyone, the lifters are fine....and I got the heads back today...$250.87 rebuild..all new valves and guides...so I'm off to put it all back together. I can't wait to hear the 'ole girl run when I first fire her up....:-) hopefully that skipping will be gone for good..

Wrenchbuilder
1978 F100 Ranger Lariat XLT

*Ford Evolution* coming soon...