Lifters

[1redcummins]

Hello,I have a 86 2.3 ranger. I am having some lifter tick pretty bad when first starting the truck. It does not do it all the time, but now that its getting colder its getting worse. I would assume that it is just by chance to where the cam is on which ever lifter is failing when I turn it off. Anyways I am going to purchase new lifters, and I have noticed that the cam on a few lobes have what I would think is pretty aggressive wear on them. Should I buy any particular cam or would like a Napa lifter and cam kit do fine for me?? Thanks in advance and if their is anything else I should know about doing this please let me know!

 

[tomw]

If you are going to replace the cam & followers & lifters, you might consider having the head done at the same time. Or not.
The followers must be put back into the same spot they came out of as they 'marry' their respective cam lobes. Swap them around, and the result is quicker wear, from what I hear.
The lifters are removable and cleanable. You can figure out which ones are causing the noise by walking the firing sequence, 1342, and putting each cylinder at TDC, the bleed the lifter by pressing on it with a hammer handle or rag. The ones that tap will squish easier and quicker than the ones that remain silent. It is a lot less moolah out the door to replace a lifter or two, and should take a lot less time and effort. A question that comes to mind is how many miles on the engine? Do the valves possibly need some attention? How does the rest of the engine work? Does it burn oil? Smoke? Date loose wimmens? Drink? If it is solid, then a new cam/lifters/followers may be a good investment. It may make more sense to just replace a few noise makers, and call it a day until you want to do MORE than just the cam/etc.
You could get later model roller cam & followers, but the valve stem diameter will limit choices. See the 'specifications' post at the head of this section for details. The roller followers will handle the ZddP-less oil now sold better. You can use some diesel rated oils to get back the ZddP that has been removed or lessened. Some say the springs are not hard enough to worry about follower/lobe wear. I plead ignorance, but did consider getting a roller cam setup and swapping it in... I will wait until stuff starts making noise, I guess.
tom

ADD: the roller cam from a boneyard is also a decent thought instead of a new cam/follower/lifter combination. The rollers won't wear the lobes, so the cam should be 'like new' if you went with one of those. Plus, it's likely less $$'s than a full set of new stuff.

 

[1redcummins]

Thanks for the reply, to answer your question, no it does not smoke, knock, or consume oil. It runs like a top all the time and idles great. The motor does make a swishing noise at idle especially when its up to temp. Kinda like a bearing going bad in a alternator. But I have ran it with everything off and it still makes the noise. so i figured it was the cam shaft making some noise. The truck either has 26000 miles on it or 126000 on it. Im leaning towards the 26 because the man that owned it drove it 5 miles to work and back and it has sat for at least the last 7 years. It is 100% mechanical I have been through everything from a new gas tank and pump, to plugs, gaskets, seals, clutch you name ive replaced it. PARTS ARE SO CHEAP FOR THESE! haha. Anyways I think I will use your advise on just changing the bad lifters for now! Thanks!!!

 

[XLTsplash]

I used Quaker State Defy oil in my older engines because of it's high zinc content.

 

[tomw]

I intermittently get a little bit of lifter tap, but my truck will sit for several days at a time. The noise goes away withing about 5 seconds, so I don't worry about it. I realize there is a bit of collision, but the effort to swap the lifter(s) is not worth it. It may be more than one, and I might do all the work, replace one or two, and still have it occur on one of the other 6-7 lifters. I'd sooner swap in a roller cam. Supposedly worth a few horses and removes the 'shear' of the cam followers that is the hardest wear point in the whole engine(I suspect).
AND, you never know ahead of time whether the new one you install might be a leaker out of the box. Frying Pan. Fire. Jump at your own risk. Heh.
tom