Has anyone had a collapsed lifter?

[Zero Signal]

I've been thinking about my backfiring and wierd exhuast note and the other day what I got on it, at about 2500 or 3000 rpm, it suddenly started a really wierd pinging type sound, but I could tell it wasn't pinging, it was more like the sound of someone shaking a bike chain or something. And I DO have a lift ticking somewhere. It's hard to pinpoint it even with the stethoscope but I'm certain one of them is ticking.

So can the lifters actually collapse? I'm not sure how it's even possible but I may remove the valve covers and rockers to see if one of them feels funny

On the other hand, my balancer is bad so my timing is way off (so maybe it was actually pinging). I guess I may wait on the new balancer untill I dig into the mechanical stuff. I had to turn the distributor to 30° base timing to get it to run smoothly so I KNOW the balancer has turned some.

 

[84convertablegt]

i had the opposite. i thought the lifter had collapsed, but it was overextending and causing a loud slap that was an annoying tick tick tick. I had my rockers shimmed too much so one lifter was reaching for the pushrod. Couldnt pinpoint it with a stethascope either, sounded like it was in the whole motor. but thats expected. anything in the lifter valley is gonna trick you because that sound echos all around under the intake and through the motor.

 

[Zero Signal]

If that is the case, I would probably find out by unloading the lifters and looking for play in a pushrod somewhere right? In either case, I need to yank the valve covers and figure it out.

 

[84convertablegt]

well have you recently done anything with the rockers? replaced them or something? or you could just see if something loosened up under there. you can try removing the valve covers and having someone crank the car with the coil wire removed and see if anything looks out of whack. if you havent replaced rockers or anything i doubt they are overshimmed. if you still think its a collapsed lifter after checking all of that, try 2 cap fuls of ATF in the oil. just pour the capfuls right into the pushrod hole in the head of the suspected lifter and run the car for a hundred miles or so. then change the oil. atf has a lot of detergents that can clear crap out of lifters and unstick them sometimes. but i tried this and it unstuck so much crap that i had a rear and front seal leak start. somethings to try though

 

[divit250r]

Yep, lifters collapse. That's why my car now has TFS heads and intake. lol I over-revved it (MSD was set at 6k on all stock engine) and collapsed one. When I got it out, it was easy to tell, as the plunger inside it just rattled up and down, and wouldn't hold a prime.

Scott

 

[cobra94r]

I had a lifter that wouldn't pump up and had the same problem. I am not sure when you noticed this but mine happened at a cold start up after it sat for a few hours. I drove it around the parking lot at work for about 15 minutes (at idle) and it didn't break free.

All I did was go to Wal-Mart down the street and baught a super lightweight oil and but it in the motor. Started it and again, drove it around the parking lot at low speed/idle. It broke free after less than a minute or two. Drove it home that night after work and changed the oil the next day...... Never had the problem again and that was about 50K mile ago.

Its worth a try and costs about a buck......

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Zero Signal]

Interesting. Which oil did you use then?

 

[BlackVert]

subscribing ... i have a ticking noise too that i suspect is a lifter

 

[cobra94r]

Actually I believe that I used ATF.

I suspect that the ATF thinned out the oil enough (and has good cleaning qualities) that it allowed enough oil to seep in. In all honesty.... It was only a matter of minutes before it broke free, the ticking stopped and the car ran properly on all 8 cylinders.

It is a 25 mile ride home.... Changed the oil the next day and never had a single problem since.

I would highly reccomend changing your oil right away to avoid damage or leaks. I had no choice to drive home or call my 'significant other' to pick me up from work at midnight!! She don't like to loose her sleep and is a natural red-head.... not a combination that I care to tangle with when she has to get up in the early AM!!!!

Good luck... hope this helps

 

[84convertablegt]

try 2 cap fuls of ATF in the oil. just pour the capfuls right into the pushrod hole in the head of the suspected lifter and run the car. then change the oil. atf has a lot of detergents that can clear crap out of lifters and unstick them sometimes.

This ATF thing sounds kinda familiar. anyway, dont use a whole bottle of the stuff, just a little bit like i mentioned. It works very well.

 

[5spd GT]

So would a lifter than can be pushed down a 1/4 of an inch be classified as a collapsed lifter? They go down more than the other...I can push it down by hand (with the pushrod)...it is different than the others...

How bad would this effect performance?

Runs good from what I can tell...