Jeep Buick 225 V-6 Odd Fire Lifter Orientation

[bryanb]

Anyone know if it is critical what direction the oil hole in the lifter faces on my 225 odd fire. I popped them out to look at the cam, I kept them in order, but did not pay attention to this. Any thoughts?

Thank you,

Bryan

[Moses Ludel]

bryanb...Thanks for posting!  No problem here, the lifter holes, as you can see, are recessed in the lifter body.  The lifter can rotate in its bore, and there is no "orientation" to the lifter, it will oil properly regardless of the lifter oil hole position.  Oil is pressure fed through the block on the horizontal plane in line with the lifter recess and oil hole.

You did the right thing by keeping the lifters oriented with regard to their bores and positions at the camshaft lobes.  This is critical, as you will need to install the lifters in their original bores.  Before installation, do not soak, fill or "pump up" the lifters with oil.  With used or new hydraulic lifters, simply lube the lifter bases and sides with engine assembly lube.  The engine will quickly begin oiling the lifters, and the hydraulic lifters will establish correct plunger heights.

Note:  When installing new lifters, do not fill them with oil or soak them with the plungers extended.  The fully extended plunger height can cause the lifter to open the valves too much while cranking the engine over, and valves can interfere with the pistons.  (Overextended and oiled plungers drop at approximately 0.001" per 4 revolutions of the crankshaft.  It's those first revolutions of the crankshaft/camshaft that could be damaging!)  Lifters should only be coated with assembly lube or oil at their bases and sides.  The plunger height (valve clearance) will quickly adjust once oil pressure reaches the lifters.  

It is safe, however, to install the lifters, pushrods and rocker arms and then prime the lube system to help fill oil galleries and the lifters.  Here, the valve clearance is governed by the installed parts.  On a Buick V-6, if the oil pump cover or pump gears are removed, priming is essential.  The oil pump cavity and gears should be packed with petroleum jelly to assure prime.  In your case, you did not remove the oil pump cover and drain the oil pump, so the pump should still be primed.  Simply lube the lifter bases and sides as you install the lifters in their original bores.

Moses

[bryanb]

Excellent, thank you Moses! I was fairly certain it didn't matter since they do rotate in their bores, but I knew if i dropped a line here someone would chime in. Now I can move forward!

 

Thanks again,

Bryan