Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Hollywood, FL
Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
Do hydraulic lifters need to be filled with oil before I can properly measure pushrod length? I submerged them all be for I installed them and then poured more oil on top before I rotated the motor. With the rocker arm installed will this give me the proper readings? I am having one hell of a time trying to find the right pushrod length. How long can this take?
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Bay Area, CA
Re: Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
Get yourself a length checking pushrod, or make one(extendable)
You cant have any plunger travel in the lifter to correctly measure geometry....in flat tappet world we would throw a solid in there and measure it that way, but you will have to gut the lifter and turn it into a solid for checking purposes...
You cant have any plunger travel in the lifter to correctly measure geometry....in flat tappet world we would throw a solid in there and measure it that way, but you will have to gut the lifter and turn it into a solid for checking purposes...
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Joined: Apr 2000
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From: In The Engine Room
Re: Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
As said above, the most important thing is not to put any pre-load into the lifter as it will skew your measurement.
Adjustable length checkers are the only sure fire way to get a proper measurement.
Adjustable length checkers are the only sure fire way to get a proper measurement.
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Hollywood, FL
Re: Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
What do you mean "gut the lifter" as in take it apart and then it won't move??? I am a bit confused. Is there no way to fill it with enough oil to keep it from moving?
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Hollywood, FL
Re: Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
Originally Posted by MachinistOne
Get yourself a length checking pushrod, or make one(extendable)
You cant have any plunger travel in the lifter to correctly measure geometry....in flat tappet world we would throw a solid in there and measure it that way, but you will have to gut the lifter and turn it into a solid for checking purposes...
You cant have any plunger travel in the lifter to correctly measure geometry....in flat tappet world we would throw a solid in there and measure it that way, but you will have to gut the lifter and turn it into a solid for checking purposes...
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,985
From: In a house by the bay
Re: Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
To make a solid, remove the internals, remove the spring from the assembly, flip the plunger over and reinstall. You may need to trash the plunger by way of a little grinding to make everything fit right. Haven't tried this with a stock LT1 lifter, so I don't know if the grinding is necessary or not.
-Mindgame
-Mindgame
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From: Hollywood, FL
Re: Do lifters need oil to measure pushrods?
Ok i found a thread from a long time ago about gutting an old lifter and cuting a bolt to lenght so that the cap just fit back in. i did that and it seemed to work well.
Only problem now is that i can't see a difference between a 7.25" and a 7.30" pushrod.They both seem to wear the ink right off the middle of the valve. the stock 7.20" i could tell was too short. Any ideas on which size to use?
Only problem now is that i can't see a difference between a 7.25" and a 7.30" pushrod.They both seem to wear the ink right off the middle of the valve. the stock 7.20" i could tell was too short. Any ideas on which size to use?
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