Converting hydraulic lifters to SOLID lifters - HOW TO

[PrOxLaMuS©]

Alrighty...

I went ahead and purchased the parts needed for the solid lifter conversion. I purchased the time-sert inserts.. and a spare P90 and I used the solid lifters.

I soon found out.. after starting the engine up... that it sounded like a freakn diesal.. and yes everything was adjusted properly to spec.. hot and cold.

Well here is one thing NO one ever mentioned about the solid lifter conversion. The hydraulic camshaft has a different shaped cam lobe.. and is designed to smoothly ramp up on the hydraulic lifters.

When you use the solid lifters on the hydraulic camshaft.. the hydraulic camshaft "slaps" the rocker arm.. which creates noise and wearing of the rocker arms and camshaft lobe.. maybe more. (Thanks BRAAP for the info)

This means you MUST use the solid lifters as well as the solid camshaft! MUST!!!

But here are the pictures of the solid lifter conversion.. which is now deemed a complete and total waste UNLESS you convert to a solid camshaft..

This is a picture of a P90 SOLID head..

Hydraulic lifter on the left.. Solid on the right with the insert

This is a picture of the HYDRAULIC P90a head.. notice the countersink in the lifter threading? This is why you need the insert.. in addition to the diff diameter in the lifters.

I went ahead and grabbed my old hydraulic lifters.. and bought 4 little plastic tubs from Home Depot for $3.00.

-1 tub was the disassembly tub and i drained all the oil in there

-1 tub was filled with Toulene and i washed the parts for a few minutes

-1 tub was also filled with Toulene but was the "clean" tub to remove any excess oil/gunk and was free from contaminants.

-1 tub was full of Automatic transmission fluid

I then assembled the hydraulic lifter under the ATF since it is a detergant, but is still able to lubricate the lifter so I dont have a dry start.

(one note.. when you full the lifter up with oil, and drop the spring in, you can not push in the piston with the ball and spring built in. I used a small screwdriver to push the ball down onto the spring, which allowed the ATF to flow through the piston which allows the lifter pivot thing to slide down all the way)

I started the car up.. it ticked for a few minutes and then stopped.

Overall this was not the way I had hopped.. but I was able to fix the ticking problem and I learned that you CAN NOT simply switch the lifters.

for more information on how to dis-mantle and assemble the hydraulic lifters, please check out this link http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=115760

[PrOxLaMuS©]

the next pictures and descriptions are thanks to cygnusx1 over on HYBRIDZ

Well, mine is not a daily driver and I have a 280Z motor sitting right here so I took the risk of damage and popped the cap off the lifter.

PARTIALLY DISASSEMBLED

The easiest way to do it is to grab the ball tip in a vice. With the lifter upside down. Use aluminum jaws in the vice and wrap the ball with tape or cloth to avoid damage. Get a wide flat tip screw driver and push down on the edge of the cap and gently tap the end of the screwdriver with your fist. Work all the way around the cap a little at a time and it pops off. The center section (piston) then slides right out. Look down into the lifter body after flushing it out with some solvent and you will see the top of a spring ball valve. I filled the body with solvent and pushed down gently on the ball to let the solvent get into the lower part of the lifter workings. I will do this to all of them and let them soak in a bath of solvent for a couple of days.

I am not sure if this is the end all solution but it's mildly fun.

At this point I understant how the lifter works but the thing that baffles me, for now, is where does that ball-spring valve at the bottom of the body lead to? There are no bleed holes anywhere near the bottom of the housing?........EDIT: AHAA!

I get it now.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/HydraulicLifters.html <----this helped I will post more pics after lunch. There are more parts to this story.

Continuing on:

I picked up a gallon can of chem dip parts cleaner and will disassemble and soak all the lifters tonight.

Part two of disassembly.

Pictures should speak for themselves. Hint use the back end of a Sharpie to pull out the bottom lifter piston. Pull VERY slowly and twist after you cram the sharpie into the piston.

I roughly measured about 0.0005" clearance between the body and the piston.

THANKS Cygnusx1 !!