Got a 305 that Im replacing the lifters on for my sis. They seem to be REALLY stuck. Any tips or tricks on removing them?
I've had luck tweaking a cheap pair of snap ring pliers to grip the little clip in the top and pull them out. I've also heard of someone taking out the spark plugs so the starter would sping the engine fast enough to kind of pop them out. Don't know how true that is though lol. I haven't personally tried it. Aside from that, try to clean up any gunk with carb cleaner, then hit 'em with PB Blaster or some WD to slick it up a bit. That's about all the tricks I know of... -Chris
Try squirting brake cleaner around them & working them up & down...repeat...etc. If you are working on an engine in the car, you can try squirting the lifter bases through the drainback troughs over the cam. Tedious, but eventually you'll get them out. I have upon occasion pulled out the snap ring & removed the lifter internals...then you can get a bigger vice grip on the lifter body. Once you've used vice grips already (unsuccessfully)...be careful to avoid driving the lifter body back into the lifter bore accidentally...you will probably damage the lifter bore, and your ego.
Sounds like you are doing a top end repair. If so, the suggestions above are the way to go. Clean off all the sticky on the bottom and work them out. If the block is out, push them all up enough to clear the cam, pull the cam and push them out the bottom...
Pull all the lifters up enough so they stay and cut a slot on a cardboard or pvc tube shove it in the cam tunnel after you pulled the cam out,tap the lifters down so they fall in the tube slot .Otherwise you risk scarring the lifter bores pretty bad thus effecting oil pressure and lifter rotation.
Snap ring pliers to lift them up and visegrips to pull them out .You will have to twist back and forth
I second this. The lifters are sticking because of the varnish build up on the lower part of them. The top works really well, and you just tap them into it after removing the cam.
Don't use brute force if solvent and the KD tool cannot move a lifter. The #1 failure point on SBC is cam lobe failure...this rapidly destroys bottom of lifter and often there is actual damaged steel shoved over the lower edge blocking removal. Force will drag that through the bore and gouge hell out of it. If removal seems reall hard, get engine upside down and just get lifters up enough so you can pull cam and move lfters down.
Her is what I use to do . I just spun the cam till all the lifters are up , then pulled the cam . Now carefully use the magnet on the long spring and go in thru the cam bearings and tap them out one at a time . The magnet will hold one lifter very easily . This is much easier than trying to pull the damn stuck lifters . RetroJim
Chris why are you changing the Lifters??? If its noise ,There are other reasons for this. Without making a War and Peace novel here. Please make sure you are not doing all this work for nothing. You might change the lifters and still have issues. You should never have to change just the Lifters. Aftermarket Hydraulic lifters nowadays really ****. Watch what you buy. Research this. Talk and listen to your trusted engine builder. My friend owns a Engine shop and stuff like this comes along all the time. You could end up wasting time and money.. You can PM me and we can talk if you want good luck Luke
The Jalopy Journal
