So, I received my new Isky EDM'd lifters today and started inspecting them. Is is normal for the foot of a iron lifter to have small imperfections? I can catch my finger nail on the EDM holes but I can't on the other small imperfections.

Also, the box says "Hardenable". Presumably, then, these are not hardened. Should they be?

Dan

Is it possible that these imperfections might be from Rockwell testing? They press a small point against the surface until it pierces it.

I don't think so 67, the imperfections are not uniform. I can see them with my good eye but cannot feel them. It almost looks like small voids from casting - dark spots, but I can't feel them. A magnifying glass makes indicates that they don't seem to have any depth.

Can anyone shed some light on the "Hardenable" question?

Dan

I had some imperfections with the crane hyd lifters I bought this winter. There were 3 in the box with chips out of the sides, very small chips . I took them back and got a new box, all looked good in there.

I bought a solid set from Competition Products, these lifters are GM and they don't see any failures with them
. These GM lifters look great and have the good snap ring design. I know exactly of the surface you describe and have seen it on a few sets. Almost looks like a forging pattern showing.

I noticed the same thing in some lifters that had 10K miles on them. Long story short, I spun a lobe after 10K miles and replaced them. I don't think you need to worry about it. Just use plenty of break in lube and follow the breakin instructions. You know, 2K rpm for 20 min.