I have had a lifter in my 360 top end rebuild go real fast. Now I am in the process of replacing it. What are the main reason this happens and is replacing the lifter a big job. DJ

 

What do you mean by a lifter "going fast"? Is it noisy? There are push-rod length problems that may be the source of your noise, so I would not rush into replacing the lifter until you have done a thorough trouble-shooting.

Replacing a lifter is possible with only removing the valve cover & rocker assembly, but it takes a special Ford tool. If the lifter is new and you do not have to deal with any engine gum, you may be able to cobble up a tool to lift it out & replace it. Some positions are easier than others to deal with.

 

well I just rebuilt the engine top a few hundred miles ago and was driving awhile back on the highway and heard what sounded like a real bad stuck lifter. I got home pulled the valve cover and started the motor and found that tha pass side rear lifter was the problem. I pushed on the push rod and could collapse the lifter. No other lifters would do this on that side.Thans why i figured I need the new lift.

 

Good description. It does sound like you got a lifter with a bad check valve or perhaps just a foreign object causing the check valve to leak. (You might be able to disassemble the lifter and "fix" it. This is your choice as one lifter will not cost that much.)

The rear lifter cannot come through its pushrod hole - profound statement! You need to pull the lifter up out of its bore in the block about half the length of a pushrod. Then you need to snag it sideways to pull it up through the nearest larger opening near the center of the intake manifold. This will be easiest if you remove all the rocker-arm assy, sheet metal, & pushrods on that side of the engine.

The Ford tool is an internal, expanding collet, but you probably can get by with a home-made tool. Your new lifter should slide out pretty easily because there is no gum built up to make this process difficult. (Be thankful for small favors.) Hopefully you have an old lifter to practice on. (You will potentially be buying ONE new one, so do that first if the old ones are long gone.)

Once you have a lifter to practice on, you need to cobble up a tool that will fit down the small pushrod hole and grip the inside of the lifter. I am thinking of a hardwood dowel of proper length and diameter that would be a jam fit in the lifter bore. Another possibility is some tubing, with the end upset or slit & expanded. All you need is enough friction to slide the lifter up out of its bore. (A magnet tool MIGHT work, if everything is sufficiently slippery.) (You can start the process by rotating the crank until the lifter is lifted up in its bore by the cam.)

The next step is equally tricky: you need to remove the lifter from the first tool and pull it up through the hole. There are tools magnetic and mechanical for retrieving parts from tight situations. The kind I recommend you buy has four claws that expand when a button on the other end of a cable is pressed. (Most large auto parts stores should have these tools.) You might also be able to make some kind of loop in a piece of stiff wire.

Going back in will be just the reverse of the above - if you get the old one out, I think that you will get the new one in OK.

This will take some patience, ingenuity, and coordination. Only you can decide if it beats pulling the intake manifold. For only one lifter, I would go for doing it with the manifold on. For sure, you want a lot of light on the subject. (Maybe take off the other rocker cover for a cross-illumination.) At the rear of the valley, you should not have any problem if you drop the lifter, as there is no where it can go.

 

Thanks so much/ I will take a close look at it when I get home as I still have the valve cover off and the ropcker assembly off. I had planned on taking the intake off but if I dont have to man that would be nice as my son Is dying for me to take him to lil league baseball peractice in our 53f-100.