Hi All,
loose. I have inspeceted the lifters and cam and they apprear to be in great condiction, except these two lifters do need to be adjusted or replaced. It is a 2.2 ltr overhead cam without turbo. Are these llifters adjustable and if so could someomne please let me know how. Any help would be greatly appreciatred.
Thanks in advance for any help provided.. John (SD, CA.)
These hydraulic lifters are not lifters. They are automatic lash adjusters and are not adjustable. You will need to replace them. Try to squeeze the adjuster and see if oil comes out of the small hole. When you release pressure it should start expanding again half way.
Semantics. Setting aside the part about being adjustable or not because that's a separate issue, lash adjusters do the same thing as hydraulic lifters, but are just in a different position in the lever (rocker) arrangement than traditional lifters.
"Lifters" are called such because they are between the cam, rocker, or push rod (depending on engine design) and the end of the valve stem - i.e., they act directly on the valve - they lift it. The "lash adjusters" are, typically, at the fulcrum end of a rocker, with the cam pushing the middle of the rocker, and the valve stem being pushed by the opposite end of the rocker, and therefore are not directly "lifting" the valve.
If I understand correctly, all hydraulic lifters are lash adjusters, but not all lash adjusters are lifters (i.e., the ones at the other end of a rocker from the end in contact with the valve stem are not directly lifting the valve, though without them, the valve would not get lifted by the other end of the rocker).
The non-in-line lash adjuster (as opposed to in-line lifter) is a nice concept - it gets the mass out of the valve motion (less tendency to float at high rpm) while still allowing hydraulic cushioning.
People (including mechanics and engineers - some knowingly, some out of ignorance) often refer to the lash adjusters as lifters, though technically you are correct - they are not lifters. And most people who do know the difference don't worry about the distinction because in most discussions, the difference doesn't matter. In a discussion in which it would matter, then it would be necessary to point out the technicality.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
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