Well, the 454 has a broken lifter. Less than 1000 miles on the engine. The bottom of the lifter broke right off on #8 intake. The face of it looks fine (pulled it out of the oil pan) and the cam looks fine. Pulled the head, no signs of the piston or valve hitting at all. Why would this have happened? Defective lifter maybe?

adjusting the pre-load incorrectly, and bottoming out the plunger could destroy it.

The foot of the lifter is friction welded to the body, so basically the weld failed and the foot fell off.

I'm thinking that bottoming the plunger might wear out the lifter, but it shouldn't wipe the bottom off and deposit it in the oil pan.

Is there any possibility that the lifter was edge-riding the cam lobe? Radical cam, lifter bore not where the blueprint says it's supposed to be??? (probably not, if it all looks as good as you claim.)

I think your lifter supplier owes you big time. No way would I re-use that cam, and I'd inspect EVERYTHING else actuated by that lifter.

What does the lifter bore look like? Damaged?

The lifter bore looks good. The cam is not that radicle, Its a UD 288/296 H10. Comp cams hyd lifters. I doubt incorrect adjustment would cause the bottom to shear right off. it didn't wear, it just broke. the face looks great. the cam is ruined. the broken off lifter was riding against it and scored it. The lifter bore alignment looks good, just a little off center of the lobe. all the rest of the lifters and lobes look good.
so, maybe the weld failed on the lifter. It was also suggested to me that there may have been a casting flaw resulting in too much porosity of the lifter. Does that sound feasable?

Funny, but I don't buy welded foot hy- lifters so somebody is gonna have to SHOW ME!! I'm from Missouri...

I would figure the body is a heat-treated one piece that is made on a screw machine and then centerless diamond ground both inside and outside but I have been wrong before???

And I'm not trying to start anything b/c I really want to know if they are made welded two-piece???

I know some stock valves are..

pdq67

Well damn if you're gonna make me work..... If you just go and pick up any factory GM lifter you can see the parting line between the face and the barrel. I'm pretty sure they don't glue them on... The face is hardened, the barrel is not so hardened, Is that technical enough for you??

Well damn if you're gonna make me work..... If you just go and pick up any factory GM lifter you can see the parting line between the face and the barrel. I'm pretty sure they don't glue them on... The face is hardened, the barrel is not so hardened, Is that technical enough for you??

graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Ken

Yes, the face is welded to the lifter body on most, if not all, hydraulic and solid flat tappets. The plunger bottoming-out is not a possibility in this case. Hydraulic lifters work on the old theory of "you cannot compress a liquid" therefore the engine would have bent or broken a pushrod before it would have distroyed the lifter body.
I would suspect a faulty lifter. With the recent shortage of lifters in the US, there has been a lot of junk coming in from off shore sources.

Either way, that sucks, sorry for your loss graemlins/sad.gif

Scott

OK!!

I will go out in my garage tonight and look in my coffee can of hy- lifters and see if I can see the mark..

Thanks..

pdq67

pdq67,
Look very closely and you will see a change in color, about 3/8" up from the lifter face. This is where the pieces are joined.

pdq67,
Look very closely and you will see a change in color, about 3/8" up from the lifter face. This is where the pieces are joined.