How do I test lifters?

[s13redmon]

Well, I took my ca out to set it aside for a while till I could fix it and the car just wouldn't have it, my ka is rod knocking now... So its ca time again! But one of the things that was wrong with it before was a tapping and whirring sound, and it was definately coming from the head so I'm thinking it was a lifter but if there is anything else it could be I'm all ears. But how would I go about checking these lifters? Do you test them the same way as any other hydraulic lifters? Any tricks, tips or told-you-so's would be appreciated lol

[Frankenfourty]

A whirring sound could possibly be big end bearings. So you might want to check them as well.

[s13redmon]

Yea, i'm gonna replace the main and rod bearings and probably the piston rings while i've got it out and apart. I don't think its the rod bearings though because it sounds like it's coming from the head and I looked at the bearings about a year ago and they all looked brand new. I will definately check them out when I get them out though and see if that was the problem.

[yohnp]

if u got ur taking ur motor apart might aswell clean ur lifters

http://www.jappower.com/nissan-200sx-s1 ... rbish.html

[blownhemi]

While on the subject. Last night I went on to inspect and clean my lifters, and I've found that exactly 8 of them seem to be "stuck". (I didn't number them, so I don't know if they're all intake/exhaust). On the other 8, I can easily push in the valves, they move freely. But on these 8, I can't push them in, but I can turn the valves in their housings quite easily. 8-8, it's really suspicious, but I have NFI what this means. They were not stored the right way up, just shoved in a box. I cleaned them some with brake cleaner, and they're soaked in a diesel/gasoline mixture for now. I really hope this unsticks them. But what if it doesn't? I don't feel like disassembling them by hitting them with a hammer. I will break something...

Basically, this whole hydraulic lifter business is so foggy to me. Should the oil leak out of them, when not stored "correctly", as per FSM? What if they were upside down, and the oil leaked out? Shouldn't the oil pressure fill them up again? Should I fill them up (bleed them), before assembling? The lifters should set the valve clearance automatically, which I guess should mean they only need enough oil in them to close the gap, and no more. What if I overfill them when I bleed them, and they get too high up? If I need to bleed them, which oil should I fill them with? The mineral one for the break-in, or the semi-synth or full-synth for after?

[boost_boy]

If you can't or barely can push in the lifters, then those are the good ones. The ones that you can compress with your fingers are the bad ones. I've been down that road and it took me a while to figure this out. Now my engines are very quite and not missing a beat. You can try and take them apart and clean them and hope that they attempt function correctly.