The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Hydraulic lifters? Good/bad?

I am going over the "new" 235 I am about to install in my truck. The engine is a 1959 and has hydraulic lifters. The engine has been sitting for a few years in my basement and I am sure that the lifters have leaked down.
Question: How do I tell if the lifters are any good? I have heard that you can press down on them but the ones that are in the engine don't press down.(I tried with them out of the block) I haven't tried to tap them with a hammer. Should I? I never ran the engine but was told that it was working fine just before I bought it. Again, how to tell if the lifters are any good.
Thanks. Don

Don,
If the lifters are not compressing it could mean acouple of things. One-they have not bleed down, two -( more likely)the oil that is in them has turned hard and caked. Hyd lifters don't really go bad.Sometimes the spring will get weak and then the lifter should be replaced. Most of the time they just need cleaning. You should take them apart and soak them in carb or parts cleaner for acouple of days. Here is a link on how to do it.http://chevy.tocmp.com/1959_60shop/59sms0802.htm Hope this helps.
Glenn,

Blacksmithdon,

Hydraulic lifters are no more problematic than any other engine component. Put the engine in and run it...hydraulics don't have a 'pull date' on them.

By the time you install the engine, fill it with fresh oil and crank it several times to get it running, the lifters will be full and ready to go.

Stuart

Thanks guys. Also,cool site GEC52.

I,m with Automarc. Put it in & start it up. They adjust themselves. If you have them out you can tell how worn they are buy the patern on the bottom. When they are new they are slightly concave. After they have worn in good they are flat. If the bottoms are convex the cam & lifters are worn. If you do take them apart to clean do not mix any parts. They must go back in the same body.

Ok, Time to call me stupid!!!First, the lifters are obviously concave on the bottom so that is good. Here comes stupid: I now think/know they are solid. I can't press them down because there is nothing in them. I assumed that because there was a hole in the side and one in the top that they were hydraulic.
Here comes stupid move #2. I took the 848 head off of the block when I got the engine a few years ago. I put the push rods in a safe place WHICH I CAN NO LONGER FIND! I have no idea which rod length to use. Is there a chance the rods from my 261 with the 848 head will work? I am putting the 848 head from the 261 on the 235. I just don't want to torque the head down only to find that I need a different rod length. Any opinions will be appreciated.

OK, I gotta disagree here- - - -or maybe we're not using the same definitions. Lifters need to be "convex", higher in the middle than at the edges, so a straightedge will rock slightly when placed across the bottom of the lifter. A flat bottom, or a low spot in the middle means the lifter, and the corresponding camshaft lobe, is worn out.

BTW, I'm in Dellrose, about 20 miles from you. I've been tinkering with these old bolts since the mid-1950's.
Jerry

Just gets worse and worse. Oh well.
Sounds like I will need a new camshaft and lifters so I might as well just get new rods to match. Then there is the rear main seal as long as I've got it apart.
Jerry, we should get together. I'm teaching (for the first time ever!) at the Lincoln Co H.S.--welding. It's like herding cats and a lot tougher than running a smithing business or re-building a 235. Don

Jerry, Why the tag HOTROD LINCOLN ?
I've got a 58 that I TRING to restore .
Geroge Hood

George, I use the handle "Teach" on every other internet forum I'm on, since I teach high school auto mechanics, but it was already taken here. After I've had a few cold ones, the song "Hotrod Lincoln" is my favorite karaoke tune!

Don, both my kids went to LCHS. I ran the auto shop at Pulaski Vo-Tech (now Tennessee Technology Center) for 5 years, from 1985-90. I run the auto shop at McGavock High School in Donelson, TN. now. I'm building a shop at my farm in Dellrose, getting ready to retire in a year or two. Drop me a private message with a phone number or an email.
Jerry

Sorry about the mixup in definitions.

Don,
The pushrods for my hyd 235 are 11 1/4". I got a new set at Napa. They were $3.50 apiece. Be sure to specify the year though. I don't know if they change.

Glenn,

Don, I have a complete "ran when parked" 235 in a 1959 3800 series 1-ton flatbed. The truck will never see the road again, as I'm slowly parting it out. I think the head is cracked, or possibly it has a burned valve. It was missing on one cylinder when I retired the truck. I parked it back in the late 80's, so it's probably stuck by now. If you want all or part of the engine, get in touch. I know there's a full set of pushrods there.
Jerry