The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Lifters, pushrods, and oil - Oh my

It all started with a cracked head. (The truck's, not mine.) In my search to find a cheap replacement I found another (frozen) 235 engine to use for parts. We got the head off the donor and onto the patient yesterday and when it came time to reinstall the pushrods we noticed that the two sets are different lengths. Hmmm. Both the donor and the patient have 3837004 blocks and 848 heads. Luckily a search here taught me that because of the different lifters installed in 235s the pushrods can be different lengths:

[img]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-7/772736/lengths2.jpg[/img]

Now, the question: Do I want to put back the hydraulics that were already in my block or use this opportunity to drop in these funky looking solids? Past replies here seem to go about 50/50.

What's the best way to clean up these hydraulic ones? Soak 'em in solvent?

Lastly, all of the pushrods in my engine have holes running through them - except for one. The lifter on that one looks just like all the others. Should the pushrod have a hole in it or doesn't it matter?

As you can tell, I'm trying to get away cheap - a full rebuild isn't in the budget right now. Thanks for all of your help!

The donor:

[img]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-7/772736/donor.jpg[/img]

The patient:

[img]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-7/772736/patient.jpg[/img]

Thanks,
Keahi

Use the lifters that have been running against your camshaft, and don't mix them up from one position to another. Each lifter has established a running fit with its respective camshaft lobe, and if you swap things around, the cam will go flat in a matter of just a few miles. The cam-to-lifter fit gets established in the first few minutes of running of a new assembly, and doesn't need to be disturbed for the entire life of the cam/lifter combination. If you want to clean up the lifters, use clean solvent like mineral sprits, and dismantle, clean, and reassemble the lifters one at a time to avoid mixing up parts. Better method- - - -assemble the engine and adjust the valves, then run a can or two of Bardahl, Casite, or other lightweight solvent-type additive with the oil at a fast idle for a few minutes, then change the oil and filter again.
Jerry

Thanks for the help! I like the idea of running something through with the oil to clean everything out.

Keahi

hey keahi...
my name is jim akuna, i own a 53 chvy 1/2/ton 5-window and am in process of rebuilding her...i live in whitmore just outside of wahiawa, would to sit down w/ ya and "wala'au" about these trucks...gimme a call on the coconut wireless if you're on o'ahu, 621 8123...
aloha
ranger 53

Aloha Jim! I just sent you an e-mail.

Keahi