The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Noisy 235 lifter(s)

I ground one offensive lifter and it did the trick. This was suggested to me by Tom Langdon who says this was done on all lifters of a certain model engine at the factory. It was his idea but he gave me credit for it on Inliners tech tip page. I imagine there would be no harm in doing both 4 and 5, personally I would do no more than you have to as each one you do will result in slightly lower oil pressure. I would have the valve cover bolts loose and jump out with a hose to listen after your next highway run.

Yes, the noise is from airated oil. I assume you already checked for air leaks on the suction side of your oil pump. At highway speeds the condition gets worse and after it returns to idle you only have a couple minutes to find the offensive lifter(s). The clearance you grind is a path for the air to escape without going into the lifter. Lifters don't like air.