I have a 396/375 SS that i am slowly trying to restore. This car is suppose to have a solid lifter cam but since I'm not the original owner I'm not sure if its been changed somewhere along the line. I was trying to adjust the valve lash but the lash would change if I pushed down hard on the pushrod side of the rocker arm. I wasn't happy with the way it was going so I opened up the engine and pulled a lifter. The lifter has a oil hole on the side, which I believe both would have. It also has a C clip on top which I'm not sure chevy lifters had. So I took the lifter and pusrod to my bench and put some hand pressure on the pushrod to the lifter plunger and saw some oil come out of the side oil, bleed hole? Its been 30 years since I've worked on these things so I'm asking you guys who do this all the time. I think there hydraulic any opinions. Motor is still open should I look for anything else.

If the top of the lifter can be compresed it is hydraulic. Sound like someone took the solid cam/lifters out and converted to hydraulic cam.

Thanks for the response. When pressed down on the lifter i really coludn't tell if it was going in I just saw some oil weep out the side hole. Would I be able to push the plunger down alot by hand if it is hydraulic.

Thanks for the response. When pressed down on the lifter i really coludn't tell if it was going in I just saw some oil weep out the side hole. Would I be able to push the plunger down alot by hand if it is hydraulic.
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Not by hand unless you happen to be a 900lb gorilla :D
Put it in a vise with a bolt or something against the plunger & tighten the vise
If it is hyd as you tighten the vise it will collapse & a lot of oil will come out.

Take the removed lifter and place it in a container of oil. Be sure to cover the entire lifter with the oil in the upright position or pushrod end up. Us a push rod to compress the lifter.( use a double folded rag in the palm of your hand so as not ot leave a sunken hole in your hand ) It should pump up and squirt oil if hydraulic. Another hint that it is hydraulic is the snap ring retainer om top of the push rod/ lifter cup. Solid flat tappet and roller tapped lifters just have the push / rod lifter cup floating there. Nothing to retain them. Lash/ Valve spring Preload keeps cup in place.

Take the removed lifter and place it in a container of oil. Be sure to cover the entire lifter with the oil in the upright position or pushrod end up. Us a push rod to compress the lifter.( use a double folded rag in the palm of your hand so as not ot leave a sunken hole in your hand ) It should pump up and squirt oil if hydraulic. Another hint that it is hydraulic is the snap ring retainer om top of the push rod/ lifter cup. Solid flat tappet and roller tapped lifters just have the push / rod lifter cup floating there. Nothing to retain them. Lash/ Valve spring Preload keeps cup in place.
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Put it in a vise as I recommended it is much easier.

If it is full of oil already you are going to be there a while trying to compress it by hand unless it is junk.

And the above information is incorrect.
Solid lifters most certainly do have a snap ring holding them together just like a hydraulics' do
Some have a cheesy wire clip & the better ones have a real snap ring.

Thanks Guys And the answer is HYDRAULIC

Thanks Guys And the answer is HYDRAULIC Special thanks to wolfplace, placed lifter in vice and it pumped oil and went in, Nice and simple, I like simple! Thanks again

My Engle solid rollers dont have retainer clips nor did my old Lunati solid roller lifters. Can't say I have ever seen a solid lifter with retainer clip to retian the lifter push rod cup. Could be a newer thing. Bought my Engle solid rollers in 1994 and had them in my 505 since. Had them rebuilt this last rebuild by Comp cams. New wheels, axels, bearings.

My Engle solid rollers dont have retainer clips nor did my old Lunati solid roller lifters. Can't say I have ever seen a solid lifter with retainer clip to retian the lifter push rod cup. Could be a newer thing. Bought my Engle solid rollers in 1994 and had them in my 505 since. Had them rebuilt this last rebuild by Comp cams. New wheels, axels, bearings.

what did they charge you for rebuilding or going over the lifters?

i have a set and im curious

Hey Pete;
A friend of mine changed from a solid to hydraulic cam when he rebuilt his 396/375, he said he was tired of always adjusting the valve so he went to a hyd. cam that was close to the solid cam specs, the car was only used for cruising and the noise was driving him nuts....... I on the other hand rather like the sewing machine sound of a solid cam/lifters, I guess I'm kind of old school... :thumbsup:

Hey Pete;
A friend of mine changed from a solid to hydraulic cam when he rebuilt his 396/375, he said he was tired of always adjusting the valve so he went to a hyd. cam that was close to the solid cam specs, the car was only used for cruising and the noise was driving him nuts....... I on the other hand rather like the sewing machine sound of a solid cam/lifters, I guess I'm kind of old school... :thumbsup:

if you dont put many miles on a solid lifter cammed car you dont have to adjust very often, i know a friend who just re-set his valves after 5 years

he puts about 500 miles on it a year

Camp cams charged me 165 to rebuild my engle solid rollers. Not all of them needed work. Many of them did though. I run Engle solid roller lifters,push rods and rev kit. Harland sharp roller rockers, Comp cams lash caps,and a jomar machine pro series stud girdle. Find the stud girdle helps greatly with keeping things lashed correctly. Before the stud girdle things did to open up over a few weekends abuse.

Hey Jim I agree with you I like the sound of solid lifters myself. I am going to pull the motor this winter to actually see what I've got here. I will be putting the stock, mechanical, cam & lifters back in. Once in there I'll see what else has been changed. I'm slowly bringing the car back to stock.

Hey Pete;
Glad to hear that, what year is the car? and in what part of N.Y. are you located?

Jim its a 68 Coupe that I bought about 20 years ago. Its a #'s matching SS 396/375 4speed car. The car was worked on prior to my purchase so there are many things incorrrect. I just recently decided to bring it back to original but I want to get it back to stock or as close to possible, e=bay, oem's & repro are in the game plan for the missing parts. So far its working out, I'm going to get the car 100% corrrect and then do a ground up restoration. The car has been garaged since I've owned it so there is very little rust. I've decoded most of the car the only thing I'm not sure of is if it has the M21 or M22 trans, from everything I've read the only real way to tell is to open it up. I'm located on LI.

Pete;
post some casting & serial numbers of the tranny, maybe I can help you.

Hello to all,

I'm sorry to add to this thread when the conversation seems to have ended...but the topic was exactly what I am looking for. I have a 1970 Malibu with original 350 and 2bbl carb. How can I figure out if I've got hydraulic or mechanical lifters? I need to adjust a ticking lifter and I understand the adjustment is different for mechanical vs. hydraulic, so I want to be sure which it is before I start adjusting.

Secondly: I'm sorry if this sounds like an ignorant question....if I decided I wanted to replace my lifters, is it essential that I change the camshaft as well? I'm sure it is the smart thing to do, but I'm wondering what, if any problems could be introduced by changing lifters (and maybe even pushrods) without changing the camshaft.

Lastly: If I decided to change the camshaft, can I do it without removing the engine? It seems like there ought to be enough room to pull it out the front of the engine (with radiator and grill removed)...but would I need to change the cam bearings as well? I'm sure that's not possible with the engine still installed.

Thanks for any advice, and sorry if the answers are obvious to everyone else.

A 350 2 bbl will have a hyd cam stock you need to find which lifter is making noise to do so you can listen with something that will act as a stethoscope or or get clips to divert the oil that will shoot out of the rockers with the eng running and find the scoundrel by hand try tightening the offender by tightening the nut 1/4 turn you may need to see if that lifter is collapsed also if you can push the plunger down when the eng is off the lifter is bad or the other possibility is the lobe of the cam is going flat and then you are sol. Aloha Mike