The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Hydraulic Lifters bled down

I've pulled the 235 engine to detail it and in the process the Hydraulic lifters have bled down. It's on a stand and has been upside down and rotated every which way and now I can't get the valves to work to find #1 TDC. There's alot of play in the push rods that's why I suspect the lifters.
If I put oil in it and spin the oil pump will it be enough to get the oil back in the lifters or should I disassemble and fill the lifters manually like you would do in a rebuild?
Thanks for the help.

John

Do you know if your lifters have a hole in the middle of the pushrod seat?

If so you can do what I do to all the engines I work on that have hydraulic lifters with a vent hole. I grind a small groove from the center on the pushrod bottom out to the edge. Chev did this from the factory on 1950-52 PG engines to keep the lifter purged of air. The lifters may still clack for a few minutes but will self bleed.

This also cures high speed lifter bleed down problems.

If your lifters do not have a vent hole it would be best to bench bleed as outlined in the shop manual.

John,

My personal preference for finding TDC doesn't rely on the valves, but the timing mark on the flywheel.

When building a new engine, we would put the lifters in a coffee can full of oil for several days to "fill" them prior to installation.

I would think you could install the engine as is, and in the course of starting , it will automatically fill the lifters and the rig will run. It might take a moment to smooth out, but the lifters WILL pump up and things will be fine.


Stuart

Dave,
I haven't had the lifters out so I don't know if they have the holes. I do know that they were "springy" when you grabbed the push rod and pushed down towards the cam.(Now,I wonder how they beld down? L.O.L)I want to avoid pulling the rockers and associated stuff to get to the rockers but if I have to I will.

Stuart,
The flywheel is not on the engine since it's on a stand. I cleaned and painted the motor, put on a few chrome goodies and didn't want to get into the guts since the compression was great and it ran good. I'll try filling with oil and spinning the oil pump with it on the stand and then decide if further teardown in needed.


John

John,

I sure wouldn't think any additional disassembly would be required just because the hydraulic lifter weren't pumped up.

With a crankcase full of oil, a charged battery and all plugs removed, spinning the motor for half a minute should get everything where it belongs. For some reason, I think the lifters actually have to move in their bores to fill properly (?).

After installing the engine, you can find TDC, install the distributor, do a okie time and your ready for lift off

Stuart

Johnny,
you are worrying about nothing. If it ran fine before and had good compression, don't worry about it now. When you get it back together and ready to go, adjust them as per the tech section article.

Thanks guys I do tend to worry about dumb stuff. You're probably right Stuart about the lifters needing to move in order to get oil. I'll let you know what else I mess up when it goes back in the truck!

John

Johnny,just get it back running by the Decatur meet.. regards...Fred