Z28kingg

I want to know who has had issues with damaged lifters on an LS1 when upgrading cams, and who upgraded and were fine.

I am upgrading cam to 215/224 .551 .551 15LSA cam and I'm recieving controversial advise as to whether it's necessary to spend an extra $800 to have the heads pulled to replace the lifters.

Respond if you've done this and were fine, I know there has to be people out there.

I don't have the time to do it myself.

Thanks!

unit

You should be fine just to replace the cam without replacing the lifters with that cam. You should upgrade the OEM valve springs with springs better suited to the cam. I did heads, cam and lifters without any issues but many here do the cam without removing the heads and without issues.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

Depends on the age and mileage of the OEM lifters. Under 50-60k, I would say you are fine. That being said I went ahead and replaced mine with only 17k miles. I figured it's cheaper to do it the first time rather then have one fail and be tearing the motor apart a second time.

the404man

If you do, make sure to look over the old cam lobes really closely.. any sign of pitting or scaring and replacing is a must..

peace

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

Yes, plus the cam you are putting in isn't that agressive so unless there are sign of an issue it should be OK. Also make sure you use good springs.

How many miles on the car?

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

I am 90% agreeing with the low miles no trouble theory. But I would like to share three thoughts for discussion.

I have taken apart some older engines that weren't super high mileage and the lifter trays were a bit brittle compared to the new ones I was installing. This can just be heat cycles, pure age, older was different material..maybe not mileage related per se if you get my meaning. The trays keep the lifters from spinning.

GM has standardized on a slightly different lifter design(the "LS7" lifter) and it is supposed to be better/more reliable.

Even if the cam looks good coming out, there is a wear pattern. This wear pattern will transfer to the nice new cam. So look at the old cam and ask yourself if you want your brand new cam to look exactly like that in a few miles.

Both of the above items require pulling heads to change but both together can likely be had for about $150.

You could always pray to the voodoo chicken that your installer accidentally drops the lifters because the trays are old and won't quite hold the lifters up..then they are pulling the head(s) on their dime/hour. Ok that was catty...but funny.

Z28kingg

Has 89k miles. Kind of pushing it..

moekluse

iTrader: (2)

Id take the time and replace the lifters if i were you. Its a good time to open it up and check everthing out. I would definatly replace lifters. Ive had some go bad at 50k and ive seen some live past 250k. My c5 has a big cam in it and hardened pushrods as well as harder springs. Stock lifters that came with the car in 98. Mine are fine but im building a turbo 5.3 motor to put in its place

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

I put a cam in my truck over 20,000 miles ago and now it's up to 192,xxx miles on the stock lifters.

Most of the GM lifter failures I have seen were with surprisingly lower mileage. I lean more to running what I know is working as opposed to risking new parts which seem to be somewhat hit or miss.

If I were to replace them it would be with Morels and not LS7s.

Cstraub

iTrader: (1)

When 2 metals are in constant contact and constant motion they will develop their own wear pattern. This pattern under a scope will look like hills and valleys. The hills on the lobe are valleys on roller. When they meet the inter connect.

In the 80's early on in hyd roller cam sales the aftermarket had no lifters to sell so customers were told they did not have to change out lifters. This was the start of " You don't need to change out lifters". Well it's bad info and you run a risk of the cam or lifters going flat if you don't change out the lifters. Those with high mileage lifters run a bigger risk of something going wrong.

Yes, Yes I know people get away with it and in our society we call them lucky. Those that don't get away with it saved $200 to $800 on the front end but now are spending big $$$ to fix the destruction. We call that Unlucky.

Whatever brand you choose and or price point....change out the lifters.

farmington

iTrader: (14)

put my 224r in at 50k miles 5 years ago, car just turned 65k. no issues with my original lifters.

Taxman20

iTrader: (11)

Personally I never replace a cam without new lifters. Ive seen too many cams go flat because of the lifters. Roller lifters seem to be more forgiving, but I wont take the chance. You can get lifters for less than 100.00 so why not do it? Its just a little more labor.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

All good advice but it's more than $100 because you also need head gaskets and head bolts in addition to the lifters themselves.

Still not much money, the extra labor of pulling the heads, cleaning the block/threads, and install with the engine in the car is considerable though so it's understandable why some of us want to be lazy lol

Typically though yes I would prefer to replace them but as stated in my previous post I would use Morels and not ls7 lifters.

Z28kingg

Alright you all convinced me, I guess I'll have the shop replace the lifters and throw some 243 heads on there while I'm at it! More expensive but like everyone says I'd rather do it right the first time. Plus those heads will complement my set up nicely. Speaking of heads, any suggestions on where to buy a good set of used 243's? I've been checking eBay, any other suggestions?
The shop I'm going to will port and polish for a fair price, so used will work just fine.
Thanks!

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

Ask thechef on here about not changing the lifters while the heads are off.... see what his response is.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

If the heads are off its a no brainer lol

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

Awww Jeebus! I sold two sets...THIS WEEK. 799 is identical casting FYI. Sometimes don't sell as well because they don't have the (sales)sex appeal of 243s.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

That's what sucks about Chef's case, heads were off for a blown head gasket. He didn't want to touch them, had the heads hot tanked, valves lapped and redone, decked, and new springs out on while they were off.... I wanted to do the lifters but budget didn't allow....

Now the heads are coming off again, after a broken pushrod and collapsed lifter, and it's an unknown why #7 has 0 compression and the other holes all have 200 plus.

dailydriver

I've damaged the factory CAM with destroyed/spun/collapsed factory lifters, does that count for this poll?