Best choice for replacement lifters

I give up! I am going to replace the lifters in my 1990 YJ 258. I am replacing due to a clacking noise on start up which is lasting longer before it goes away and now sometimes reappears (although much quieter). I have tried all the cleaners and some seem to help a bit for a while, but then it gets worse again. YJ has 60k miles. I got it with 48k miles, but I suspect that previous owner had not been to religious about changing oil.

Any preference for lifter brand? JC whitney has Elgin brand. Good or bad experiences with these or other brand names? Also is it possible or even worth trying to change the lifters without pulling the head on a 258? Aloha Joe in Maui

Reply to
Joe
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Almost all lifters are made my a company called Johnson Tappet. They are simply relabeled for each company that sells them. Elgin, I am not sure about, but they may be imports. The Johnson number I believe you need for your engine is HT2011. Most of the companies that use the Johnson lifters keep most or all of the part number intact when they label them with their own numbers. Even the "generic" Summit lifters are made my Johnson Tappet, as are ,Speed-Pro, Melling, TRW, Crane, Federal-Mogul, etc.

Chris

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c

Reply to
L.W.(ßill)

Have you tried Sea Foam in your motor oil. I would do as bill has recommended and add some Sea Foam to the oil about a 100 miles before you change it. I use it a lot on the Big diesel truck engines when I service them on my job. It's the best cleaner I have found to date. And it does all that it says,which is pretty darn good. A lot of products lay down a lot of claims but this one works.

Reply to
JIM LAIRD

Yep, tried it before last oil change. It didnt seem to help.

Reply to
Joe

Reply to
L.W.(ßill)

Reply to
Joe

That is a large expense for a little noise. I understand it can be annoying, but normally that is all the noise is - annoying.

You say you have tried everything, but you have only gone 12,000 miles since you bought it. If you bought it two or three years ago, you simply haven't driven it enough for all of the stuff you have tried to even work. If you bought it 3 years ago, and tried each of the available chemicals, you haven't put more than a few hundred miles on any of them, and this is just not enough to given them a chance to work.

Normally, you put this stuff in and see results in a thousand miles, or maybe two thousand. But, those miles all come in a month, you don't put them on in a year so whatever is gunked up is still gunked up.

We don't know how old you are, but hydraulic lifters are new in my lifetime, and I am 50. There were cars being built that had solid lifters in them, and the only way to make them quiet was to adjust them tight enough that the rocker arm never left contact with the top of the valve, but very often in the attempt to quiet the lifters, a poor mechanic would set the valves so they didn't close completely, and this caused burnt valves. A little clacking is not a big problem. Certainly not a problem that warrants pulling the head. Now, if you needed to pull the head for other reasons, then by all means get some new lifters, but otherwise get out and drive some more.

Try some ATF in the crankcase, somewhere between a pint and a quart should do the trick. But you gotta get out and drive or the detergent can not clean anything out. I would normally suggest to put the ATF in about a 1000 miles before an oil change, but I think you should probably change the oil and use a quart of ATF instead of one of the quarts of motor oil. Get the oil as clean as you can. Then run it - don't park it, run it - for a few weeks or a month, and then change the oil again and use a full load of oil with no ATF. ATF is highly detergent, and it should clean the gunk from the inside of the lifters. Gunk inside the lifters is the most likely problem, mostly due to the age and low miles. You could have a lifter, or two or three, that are sticky from the affects of condensation that result from low engine temps and long periods of being parked. If the motor does not get hot enough for long enough to blow the steam out, then stuff inside the engine is going to corrode. If the lifters are corroded, then you will have a difficult time with them, but a sitcky lifter is much better than one that is adjusted too tightly.

Which, by the way, we have not even touched on yet. Are the lifters even adjusted properly? If they are not set propelry, they will make noise no matter how much ATF you run through them. I forget the spec, but I think you want to adjust them while the motor is at idle (this can be a bitch) so they are quiet, then add one-half turn. It has been a very long time since I attempted to adjust lifters, bit I seem to recall backing them off until they made noise, then tightening them down so they were silent, then adding one-half more turn to the adjuster nut. You can use a stethoscope to find the offender, but I would do them all. Maybe do the offender(s) first, then go back and do the others, even hit the offenders a second time just to confirm.

There is a procedure to adjust the valves that calls for feeler guages and cranking the motor around by hand. But to adjust the rocker arms on a moving motor, you will need to loosen all of the lock nuts first, then use a socket to carefully work on a moving motor. Obvioulsy, oil will be flowing so you will want to plan accordingly. The moving parts are a particular hazard, so you want to plan around that as well. Or, you could buy some feeler guages and a book that tells you how to do it on a static motor.

Reply to
CRWLR

On the contrary, I think your lack of driving IS your most significant problem. Maybe you should buy me a plane ticket and have me come over and do the driving for you. All I'll charge is some food and a place to sleep. I don't need much money if you are buying the plane tickets, gas, lunch, and the sea-side palatial estate. I'll tell you now though, I can only stay for a year or so, then I have to get back to the mainland.

Reply to
CRWLR

Gee, thanks for the offer.I get a lot of those offers here for some reason. Cheapest gas here is $2.62, so some restraint on driving may be required. Maui's area is 729 Sq Miles so you have to go around in circles a lot to get to 1000 miles. You would get really bored. I really couldn't in good conscious let that happen! But thanks again for the offer.

Aloha Joe

CRWLR wrote:

Reply to
Joe

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