Draining oil from Lifters

SCrazy

SCCoA Member
Is there a good way to absolutely get all of the oil out of a lifter other than taking the thing apart. I'm going to be setting up the valve train this weekend and really really don't want to go through the hastle of pulling them apart. Heck for the $7.50 each for new I would rather go that route than disassembly.
 
Why do you need to get the oil out? I don't mean to stir the pot ... I just don't understand what you are trying to do.
 
I have bled them down using a home made fixture to hold them in an arbor press. In my case it was easy to do because I have a stress gauge so I set them up at 500lbs and just let them sit for awhile. Then I would just watch the gauge and when it stopped dropping that's when they are empty.

You'll have to do it 2x to get it all out because when you release the press a little bit might suck back in. It's not much, but when you are trying to set clearance to .020 or so then you need to be accurate. Also, make sure that the galleys are empty before putting them back in the motor because those suckers will actually draw oil out of the galley if there is any in there.

You can do it in a bench vise also, but it's not as fun.
 
I have bled them down using a home made fixture to hold them in an arbor press. In my case it was easy to do because I have a stress gauge so I set them up at 500lbs and just let them sit for awhile. Then I would just watch the gauge and when it stopped dropping that's when they are empty.

You'll have to do it 2x to get it all out because when you release the press a little bit might suck back in. It's not much, but when you are trying to set clearance to .020 or so then you need to be accurate. Also, make sure that the galleys are empty before putting them back in the motor because those suckers will actually draw oil out of the galley if there is any in there.

You can do it in a bench vise also, but it's not as fun.


Crap!!! I was fearing something like that.
 
Ok, I went back and re-read the XR7 Dave instructions for lifter preload, and now I think I understand.

You just want to be dead sure that the lifters are empty so you have consistency in their stiffness for when you set the preload.

Makes sense, then.

I did it without emptying the lifters and it did work well for me. But I think my car lives a much less demanding life than yours.
 
Brian,

Are you setting the preload more then stock, like .020 or so from the bottom of the lifter?
 
i did headgaskets on 2 tbirds without draining them with no probs but if you must i would take them apart its not that hard

ralph
 
Do you have adjustable rockers or are you using shims and longer pushrods to achieve that tight adjustment?
 
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