Joe Lluvia Avila

i have a 5.3 that needs to have 2 lifters replaced. is there anyway around not removing the heads to get this 2 lifters out?

nichoms

iTrader: (1)

Sadly no there isnt... heads gotta go

Joe Lluvia Avila

the thing is that i think it might be a lifter. lifter 5 and 7 will tick after the car has been running for a bit and is warmed up. my oil pressure gauge isn't working so i have no idea if i am loosing oil pressure (if i were, all lifters will tick). I don't know if the a few lifters collapsed but yet if they did then the would tick at all times. i'm narrowing it down to possible the oil is getting too thin that it isn't priming into those lifters.

what do you think?

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

I doubt that. I'd try cleaning them first. Pull the push rods out and spray the suspected noisy lifters with B12 Chemtool cleaner (trust me on this--it's the best stuff in a can I've ever used). Replace rods, rocker arms, etc to get it running again and see if they weren't just dirty or clogged. It's worth a try to avoid pulling the heads.

If it doesn't fix your problem, then you may just have to yank'em.

ijimmy

lifters do fail on these motors but usually are pretty rugged , what transmission are you running , the reason I ask is , I have had 2 ls engines , one mated to a turbo 350 , and another to a 2004r that the converter bolts just slightly taped the bellhousing on the inside , on the 2004r it went away , the turbo 350 on the other hand had to come out for some clearencing around the 10 and 2 oclock positions where the trany mates to the engine , myself and a "few" other mechanics were convinced it was a lifter

Joe Lluvia Avila

both the engine and tranny came out of 2004 tahoe. 4l60e. switch from stock stall to a 3200 circle d. when i put my hand on the coil while the car is one i can feel the tap/tick on the coil. when i swapped the cam i did not install new lifter because they looked to be in good shape for an 80k motor.

cam: 285lr 235/243 .614/.624 @ 113lsa
springs: PRC dual springs good up to .650 lift
Pushrods: comp camp choromoly 7.4"

nichoms

iTrader: (1)

Have you checked your torque specs on the rocker bolts? Did you torque them in the right sequence?

Joe Lluvia Avila

There are all torque down and in the right sequence. I'm going to check to see if the rocker arm trunion has any free play. it started happening after 4 passes that i did this sunday night.

COSPEED2

iTrader: (7)

You should not just replace 2 lifters. Esp since they are all pressurized in a row. If one or two go bad, you will have more problems with the rest of them.

We are running a special right now. 99.95 for the LS7 lifter set. Brand new. Free shipping. Check them out HERE.

But also make sure to check your rocker arms. Sometimes on the older engines, the side caps will come off and can make noises/issues very similar to lifter issues. If you want to upgrade your rocker trunions while you are at it (never a bad idea really) You can get the comp kit HERE and we may have some open box kits avail HERE.

Joe Lluvia Avila

Well i opened the valve covers. No collapsed lifters. The rocker arm trunion only has play side to side. It will slide back and forth. I had 1 loose exhaust manifold bolt and another one that wasnt as loose. Hopefull that was my issue cuz the loose bolt is where the ticking was coming from.

nichoms

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you may have solved it.

The rocker arm will typically slide side to side a little bit, that's fine as long as there isn't any up and down lash.

ijimmy

An exhaust leek can defiantly sound like a lifter problem