98+ 5.0 lifter guides made of nylon?!

[tinman_72]

So I have the intake off of a donor '99 5.0 that is going into my '73 F100 and I see these goofy-@$$ plastic thingies where the lifter guides/retainers are supposed to me. After a little searching online I find that this is normal for '98 and up. Seems really cheesy to me. How long do these things last? I am replacing them with real retainers for this motor but my daily driver is a '98 5.0, currently with 160K miles. Should I be worried?

 

[fastpakr]

From the little I read about them, they don't seem to be a problem. Mine are somewhere around 250k for what it's worth.

 

[tinman_72]

That eases my mind a little. I plan to clean up the top-end that is off this motor to put on my daily driver. I will probably go ahead and swap them when I do that.
Does anyone know if the retainer plate will work with old school retainers or do I need the whole kit?