Lifter trouble...
 

Background

For the last few months I've had that tell-tale clicking noise, tried an oil additive i was told 'might' fix it, taken it to a mechanic pretty familiar with the LS motors and agreed with what I believed it to be, a stuck/broke/something lifter. After getting quoted $2k labor for the job, and after reading a few install guides (mainly the Ls1howto guides), I decided to do this myself (friends helping, ofc). I also thought, that while I'm in there, might as well do a cam swap as well (It's on my to-do wishlist, plus the malfunctioning lifter probably has damaged the stock camshaft anyways).

Car in question is a 1998 Camaro Z28, M6 w/ 93k mi and mild boltons (air lid, exhaust, you get the point...)

Few Questions...

Since I will be taking the heads off to get to the lifter trays, I know this makes the process a bit more invasive, so is there anything more to it other than just combining the two guides from ls1howto appropriately?

I'm looking at the TSP cam package w/ 228R 11?LSA(thinking 112, but not sure) and the TR package w/ 224/224 112LSA. Is the R in the TSP stand for reverse split? or reflected ie 228/228?

The two lifter sets I have in mind are the comp camp hydraulic and hydraulic "R" lifters, can't seem to find a measured difference between the two other than "R is for high RPMS", anyone know? I'll probably end up going with the "R" anyways because the price difference is so little.

I was told that since I am close to 100k, might as well replace the timing chain and have the heads inspected by a machine shop (is there something i can see with my eye/basic tools to tell me if i should do this?). That got me thinking... is there other things i should look for or pay attention to or replace (cheaply) while I have the valvetrain practically removed?

Yes, this will be the first cam install I've done, and the first major engine work I've done for that matter (I'm currently going to school for BSME and worked with other mechanical things during my life so I'm not completely clueless), so any other general advice/suggestions that pertain to this kind of work is welcome.

Other questions possibly to come...

You have to change out the rod bolts on a 98. It's like the first thing you need to do before you start changing out your setup. Definately your weak point right now. A site that might help you out is www.installuniversity.com.

You probably don't want the "R"s - they have a very narrow pre-load tolerance such that adjustable rockers (pricey) are needed.

Really? in most posts I've read here and other places the stock shortblock can handle 400+ hp provided you don't rev it over 6000 often, which I don't intend to, and I don't expect anywhere near 400 until I get just about the entire car upgraded, and by that time I might just end up buying a built motor anyways. I guess most people tend to keep adding power to engine, but I'll be plenty happy with the 350?-ish hp the engine will make after the swap... For now...

The logic behind you point is valid, and thank you for the heads up, I didn't know this was a problem with my engine until I started googling. I wish that I could do this the "right" way and upgrade chassis, then brakes, then suspension, drivetrain, and finally motor but the lifters need to be fixed, so might as well.

Also, isn't changing rod bolts a PITA without a nice shop lift because of the oil pan? And when changing rod bolts I've seen it recommended that you resize the rods which in turn recommends that you rebalance the motor which I don't have the tools, money and know-how to do

Thank you, that is just the info I was looking for.

You might replace the rockers with new ones.

just changing the rod bolts changes the weight of the rotating assembly, but not enough to matter, so resizing them wont change it that much. trust me. its only about .001-.003 depending on how bad your rod is.

and i do reccomend resizing the rods.