removing oldsmobile lifters

ive been tearing down my 371 oldsmobile from my 58 and those lifters wont slide out as per usual. the shop manual says use some special blah blah number tool but obviously i dont have that. is there a simpler way to do this?

thanks

 

All of the specialty tool companies, like Lisle and K-D, used to sell hydraulic lifter removal tools. They were like a small slide hammer with two jaws that adjusted out and hooked the inner diameter of the lifter.

 

Autozone loans the lifter removal tool.

 

If you're doing a full tear down, stand the motor on end and spray the lifters with carburetor cleaner to remove the varnish. Spray them a couple of times a day for a couple of days. Turn the motor upside down and turn camshaft a few turns to get the lifters into the bores. If you can get at the lifter you can push them out with a punch or you can bend a piece of aluminum or steel to go between the cam and the lifter and use the camshaft to push them far enough to allow the camshaft to be removed. Once the cam is out, a wooden dowl can be used to tap the lifters out.

If you're not tearing the motor down, you can use a puller or a vise grip. You won't damage the lifters because they are much harder than a vise grip.

 

thanks guys, much appreciated.

 

Also worry a bit...they are probably just stuck by crud on the bottom walls, BUT it is always possible that they are mushroomed due to cam lobe failure. If any do not pull out fairly easily after a few days of solvent do not pull too hard...wait for further into the teardown when they can come out the bottom. A lifter wrecked by a cam lobe failure will pretty well destroy the lifter bore in block if you pull it out the top.

 

Read this, think about it then read it again. Bruce has been around a long time and he is not ****ting you one bit.

 

damn, i didnt even think about that. luckily they all are free so mabye ill wait until i i wrangle that cam out of there and just let them drop. thanks guys. your time and patience is truly appreciated.

 

All good advice! If the lifters persist to be fiesty and you can get the cam out with the engine still in the car try this. I have made a V-shaped trough out of sheet metal to push the lifters out the bottom and catch them. This will keep them from falling into the inside of the engine >>>>.

 

well the motor is out of the car so i dont think ill have a problem catching them with a magnet or a bucket of towels.

 

If you are not trying to save the lifters then just leave them stuck in the bore and toss the ***embly in the hot tank...varnish be gone...

.

 

I had the same issue with a 57 371 as a 13 yr old in the early 60s. Had to ask my Dad who was a mechanic. He put kerosene on them and worked one up and down quite a bit, and it pulled up further each time, and then out.

Then he went fishing, so I did the rest of them

 

Because of how lifter tools usually grab the lifter, if the lifter will be reused you need to be careful about damaging the lifter's small wire clip.