The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Lifters and Oil Passages

I have a 51, 235. It sat for 22 years so I'm going thru it . I'll probably just change the rings since the journals looked good. My questions are do you think there is a chance of the oil passages being gelled up and how would I tell? Also I can't get the lifters out. They move up and down ok but I can't lift the out of the block. Shouldn't they just lift out? They don't look like anything in the shop manual. They have flat tops with some sort of spring holding the top center cap on. Could they be hydralic? Thx guys.

You sure the engine is a '51? Does the engine have dippers or spray-lubed rod journals? I don't think hyd lifters were ever put in a splash-oil engine. Others will have more info, as I know the 54-62 engines really well.

chip

I just went through the same thing with the 235 in my 61. The lifters are hydraulic, and have a square clip just inside the top that holds the cap in. They would move up and down easily, but I could not pull them out, and was afraid to tear them up by using pliers or some other makeshift method. I bought a hydraulic lifter removal tool (they called it a tappett removal tool) and it was money well spent. The head of the tool functions like a puller, expanding and grabbing the inside of the lifter where the clip sits. You then slide the rest of the tool down through where the pushrod goes and attach to the head and tighten. The tool has a sliding metal hammer which you use for vertical force to remove the lifters. They were still very hard to remove, but I would have never gotten them out without this tool. Good luck!

Hydraulic lifters were first used in 1950, and were only used on power glide cars.

You can't tell a hydraulic from a solid by the snap ring as they both use snap rings to hold them together.

Dave------what does the snap ring hold together on a solid lifter? On my lifters the ring holds on a cap. Upon removing the cap there is an inner cylinder with a small ball bearing, a bearing holder and a spring. The lifter body has a hole in the inset portion of the side. The solid lifters I have seen are one chunk of metal.

Apache, thats a classic description of a hyd lifter. I've never seen a solid lifter with a snap ring/keeper, unless it was a wacko setup to locate the pushrods in the lifter cup.

Back to the original post- Whats the block casting code on this engine in question?
Whats the application, car or truck? Is the engine original to the chassis?

2 or 4 valvecover bolts? Short or tall pushrod cover? What size is the fanbelt, 3/8 or 5/8 wide?

chip

The snap ring on solid lifters only holds in the pushrod seat. I aggree with Chip, you have hydraulics.

Yup, sure enough. My lifters are hyd. I called a mechcanic friend of mine and he came over and pulled them out. However, he scored 3 of them. Is this going to be a problem? The engine # checks with Inliners as a 51 235. gotta run. More later.

Glenn.

Glenn, I'd check at NAPA. New lifters aren't that expensive. Probably would be money well spent. I replaced mine and used a little assembly lube after soaking the new ones in oil per the instuctions.