Can these lifters be used after clean up. NOS SBC, the cam face side has NO rust (super clean), it's just the sides from the box. I want to save these since it's getting harder and harder (also expensive) to find good quality USA parts.
18 year old me would clean and use them. 46 year old me would bin them. You don’t want to have to be sleeving lifter bores sometime down the line and you’ve got to wonder what they’re like inside.
As long as it's just light surface rust, and not pitted, I don't see a problem. Just make sure to not use anything too abrasive to remove the rust. If you're worried about the internals, they aren't that hard to dis***emble and inspect them.
Well, from the picture it looks like there is some pitting. If so, I would not run them. But I would take one or two and clean them up. During the cleanup you don't want to introduce any **** to the internals. I would carefully dis***emble them before cleaning. The upside you can inspect the internals. As to cleaning, I would take a non-abrasive approach. I would soak the stripped lifter body in some white vinegar to remove the rust then rinse and spray with WD 40. Then you should be able to determine the surface condition. I would check any questionable areas with a magnifying gl***.
those are beyond being used, pitted to badly, if your worrying grab a set from summit or jegs about $110.00 a set of 16
I can’t see any pitting from the picture. I do see surface rust,,,,,which can happen easily on a polished surface . Easy to remove with scotchbrite,,,,,,as long as the face has no pitting . That’s the only thing that makes any contact with the cam . The barrel part only floats in the lifter bore,,,,,,and rotates fairly slowly,,,,,should never see any wear at all . Check them out and see how they are,,,,you might be okay after all . Tommy
I build engines every day for a living. If those were mine, I'd clean up the sides with scotch brite or 600 grit paper,cycle the plungers to make sure they work as designed,clean them up and run them. If you get talked into throwing them away, please send me a pm and I'll give you my shipping address and money for freight.
I'd use 600 grit wet/dry paper to polish the outside and see what those spots look like afterwards. If the rusty look is gone and no pits left, then I'd have no issue using them.
FWIW; If I was going to use something to clean those - I'd use *crocus cloth* , not sandpaper, since cc will not remove any hard metal. Will remove rust, babbitt/bearing material, hard varnish, etc, w/o damaging the surface. Use to polish crank bearing surfaces, etc. I'd carefully clamp them in a soft-jawed vice(plastic or wood protectors) & use long-ish strips of cc to work them over(sorta like a hand version of a belt sander). I used 1000 grit for cleaning up crank surfaces on ThermoKing ac crankshaft snouts. Didn't get a mirror finish, but close. Marcus...
That's what I was thinking, the push rod and cam facing is perfect and they slowly rotate in the bore. This is the reason for saving them, hard chrome on the outside is way better then new ones. These are for stock as I have others, but eventually these will be used in a motor. I'll take them apart to clean and inspect. There are some better and some a little worse, but got 2 motors worth. Thanks all.
yeah, I'd use them before using new ones. Actually, I'd sell them and use the proceeds to buy a complete roller cam setup (I sold a set of NOS solids in the GM boxes for $800 recently)
Same here, I would use them if the only other choice were unknown brand, white box lifters. The small rust pits will just more oil.
No matter what you plan to do with them, wet them down with some Gibbs or WD40, etc., right now. Maybe wrap them in some oiled paper towel strips. If anybody else has some or finds some, do the same sooner than later.
I understand the desire to go old on this stuff--I may be a bit obsessive; I just completed tracking down the last 2 NOS GM HL66's I needed to complete a set for my next build, (nearly stock BBC). I took each one out of their boxes, inspected them, wiped them with Gibb's, wrapped them back up in little wax paper squares I cut out on my kitchen table and I put them back in the box. When I get time, I'll dis***emble each for proper internal cleanup. They are currently tucked away in my bedroom dresser, next to my Mossberg shotgun. Never thought I'd see the day when this country would forget how to make flat tappet lifters.
I'd dis***emble each of them and put the parts in order so you can re***emble them with the original parts in each one. Then make a small metal tag with a thin wire to twist around the bodies for identification. Then I would set them in a plastic or gl*** container with a mild Citric acid solution in it. The Citric acid will dissolve the rust but not harm the metal. If you have an old used lifter, try dis***embling it and soaking it to test the results, and see that it doesn't discolor, but it will disolve the rust very slowly. I dipped an engine block in a bath of Citric acid and it removed all the rust inside the water jacket and left a mark written with a permanent marker untouched. So thats a non-abrasive way to get the outside rust as well as any that might be inside the lifter as well. Edit: I left the engine block soaking for about a month....don't think the lifters will take that long.
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