Need Input on Used Roller Lifters
 

I have my motor out of the the truck and on a stand to do some work. I installed GT-40 heads and 1.7 Crane pedestal rockers over the weekend. Before doing this, I had removed the hydraulic roller lifters, soaked them in mineral spirits for a few hours, blew them dry with compressed air, and then soaked them in fresh oil for a week. I put the lifters back in the block, and then a few hours later after mounting the heads, I torqued the rocker arms to spec. All rockers hit recommend spec within 3/8 to 3/4 of a turn. Everything good so far.

Afterwards, I happened to push down on the pushrod side of one of the rockers. With very little force, the lifter compressed about 1/4". I'm talking very little pressure from just my finger. A couple of others ones felt like this too. Several hours later, I came back, turned the engine over by hand a few times, and checked them all again. Most of the lifters seemed to have bled down and could be compressed by pushing on the rocker arm with my thumb, but they were not as soft as those first 3. Several lifters were still rock hard.

So, here is the question - is it normal for lifters to bleed down that fast and be that soft? Also, is it normal for some lifters to stay "pumped up" that long?

Also, I was under the impression that putting them back in the exact location was not important for roller lifters since they don't develop a wear pattern like flat tappet lifters. Since installing them, I've been told that they need to go right back in the spot that they came from. Did I screw up there?

You're doing fine. I completely tire every roller lifter apart on my '95, 351w, 212,600 miles, with seized engine that sat for several years.
Cleaned them really well, reassembled them, checked preload, they were fine. They did almost the same as yours. Some bled down, a few more than others. I made sure that I did each lifter individually, and put it all back together before working on another one.

As long as the lifters appeared smooth, the rollers weren't damaged and scuffed up, and the top of plunger that the pushrod sits in wasn't wallored out, your good. We're the guts inside smooth? If there was any scarring inside, that lifter may bleed more than others and may need swapped.

You really have to work the lifter with oil several times to get the little air bubbles out, or they will bleed down some. If you have done that already numerous times, then that lifter may be worn internally. Roller lifters can be swapped around on different lobes or cams, just not flat tappet lifters.


Don't sweat it!

Thanks for the help.

I did not disassemble them. I will take a couple apart and inspect them. Externally they seemed fine. Rollers looked good and spun freely. Top of the lifter and pushrod ends did not show wear.

Before tearing stuff back apart, I decided to prime the oil pump with a drill to see if the suspect lifters would firm up with some oil pressure. That did the trick. They firmed up nicely. I feel pretty comfortable with them now. Thanks for the help, timbersteel.