I was thinking about buying a used cam but the guy mixed up a couple of the lifters graemlins/sad.gif

Is it possible to identify a wear pattern with a high power microscope? If I have to buy new lifters then it's not even worth it. I'll just buy new cam/lifters.

Thanks

No way to tell which one goes where. At a minimum buy new lifters for the old cam. It would be a whole lot better idea to simply buy a new cam and lifters though.

How many miles are on them b/c you can still use everything if the lifters still have the "newness" foot curvature on them!

My Buddy that put the -151 cam in my 350 motor at 1200 miles back in the spring of '67 used my original lifters and everything was fine..

But the guy's are right about using new ones for better peace of mind unless you are really bucks down.. pdq67

Someone told me of a method to figure out where the lifters go:

1) Randomly place lifters back into the engine

2) If the cam goes flat, then you didn't get all 16 in the right place

Seriously, I just got a whole new set of lifters (arrived today!) shipped to me because I mixed up a few when I took my engine apart last week. Stupid me, I tilted the engine stand without removing the lifters, and 4 of them fell out and got mixed up! I know where the other 12 go.

Anyhow, a new set of lifters is cheap insurance, next time just don't be an idiot like me.

-Bob Cunningham

I'd recommend getting new lifters even if they were kept in order. The reason is the lifter bore locations. Each block is unique and it is highly unlikely the bores are in the same location. This means the lifter are not going to ride the cam in the same location. It is pretty much the same as putting the lifters randomly on the lobes. My 2 cents.

I'm sure I'm gonna get jumped on for saying this but...
Lifters DO NOT have to go back on the same lobe.
They don't know what lobe they came off of contrary to what all the cam companie$ would tell you.
Yes they do get a wear pattern. yes if they are high mileage and WORN they need to be replaced.
How do you know they are worn?
You take 2 of them, put them face to face, see if they have a crown left. If they wobble against each other you drop em on a lobe, ANY lobe. It will never make any difference.
If the lifter has a crown to it, the lobe has a taper, the lifter can rotate in the bore. It will work flawlessly.
There SHOULD be a film of oil between the lifter and the cam, so the lifter should never see the cam lobe.... Not that this is ALWAYS the case.

I've reused low mileage cams without regard to lifter placement and got LOTS of miles from them.

I have a friend who races Stock class NHRA. 5 time record holder. He pulls the lifters out of his motors, checks them, puts them back on any lobe, in any engine...

Now,
If the lifters have a definite wear, so that there is no crown, they should be replaced regardless, and the new lifters would provide peace of mind.
Lifters are cheap so do what you have to so you can sleep at night.

On this topic-

I was talking to my local machine shop buddy today, and he said that he never puts a new lifter on an old cam- if he has to replace either a cam or lifter, he always replaces the whole shootin' match.

Can you put new lifters onto a cam that's already broken in?

I've done it before, but was I just lucky?

-Bob Cunningham

Running a used cam with used lifters is one of the things you do that don't tell people about,unless it works out good :D
Had a buddy of mine that used to mix/match Olds 455/425 cams/lifters and he never had a problem..he would check them as Jake mentioned,and if they wobbled,he'd use GM EOS and some cam lube,and do the normal break in procedure as if it was new cam.I used to cringe everytine he did it,but again,he didn't have any problems.

Thanks for the info guys. You think a lifter with 10k street miles would still have a crown?

Buy New cam and lifters, cheaper than you think. Then sell the old crap on EBAY, you'll probably come out ahead. My 2 cents graemlins/beers.gif

What jakeshoe says makes perfect sense to me. I always go over each lobe and lifter with a strong magnifying lens before I install it, even on new pieces.

My $0.02

ive seen one person in my life do the cam and pick up used lifters off the shelf and put them in his pontiacs. i used to make fun of him and he would always tell me look its a used motor and these are used parts theywere ment for each other.

on the other hand i have transplant a cam before to another block and it went flat in just a few minutes of run time.

ive also bought used cams and lifters and not had problems.

ive even bought new cam and lifters and during break in have seen those new lifters not rotate at all. and would have to stop and replace them with singles from the parts store and then see them rotate like they should.

all i do now is make sure they rotate if there spinning im happy.

Originally posted by ddeennis:


all i do now is make sure they rotate if there spinning im happy. Hoe do you know if they rotate?

pull the valve covers start the motor use a flash light and watch them spin looking down thru holes in heads and were ever if i cant see the lifter then i watch the push rod rotate. if the lifter dont spin the push rod wont

Yep,
A GOOD machine shop will ALWAYS hit the lifter bores on the block with a small dingleberry hone to deglaze them, and knock any burrs off.
Usually this is done while the block is sitting in the hone. You have oil running over everything. Hone block, hit the top of the bores with a cone to taper the edge slightly, hone the lifter bores, tank block...

The engine builder/installer should check for proper lifter bore clearance. Be sure a lifter freely moves in the bore, up and down, and upon startup, all the pushrods should spin.