Cheap 4.0 OHV Lifters!

[Pollarican]

Hey,

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on these. Don't know if anyone has dealt with this seller, but 100% positive feedback, as well as quick and polite responses so far to any inquiries. Ordered a set a few min ago - should see them in 4-7 days (I hope).

$89.99 plus free shipping for a NEW set of 12

http://www.ebay.com/itm/26097364439...em=&sspagename=ADME:X:RTQ:MOTORS:1123&vxp=mtr

 

[HKUNZ]

Keep us posted! We've all got the tick, and it blows.

 

[jd4242]

Wow thats a great price but i would bet they are reman.at $30+ a piece new there price seems not even in the same ball park.also you can clean your old ones and they will work just like new ones.

 

[Pollarican]

They shipped them, FedEx returned them and said they couldn't find my address. The Company, Mizumo, called me and told me one of the lifters had been damaged in shipping and they would send another along with it. Two weeks after the order I receive a poorly packed box with 3 of the 12 lifters with cracked off plungers/ parts.

At this point, I don't want to use any of these lifters in my motor. I'm gonna send these back and clean up my stockers.

 

[BradR]

Wow, that is extremely unfortunate.

Now we know to stay away from ebay lifters!

 

[rngmStr]

bummers..............
I guess what they say is true "you get what you pay for"

Now we know to stay away from ebay lifters!

x2

 

[jd4242]

good way to clean them

For all us newbies out there....

The process is thus:

I kept my lifters in two columns, left and right columns in the order they go into the engine front to back while I did the following non-trivial activities.

1. Buy a can of carburetor and parts chem-dip ($30.00). You might be able to get by with brake cleaner, but the chem-dip sure makes them shine.
2. Get a small flat blade screw driver and pry the plastic push-rod guides off the top of each lifter.
3. Put the lifters in the chem-dip for at least an hour with the holes in the sides of the lifters facing up (lets the bubbles out).
4. Take them out and rinse them very well with water or whatever the directions on the chem-dip say.
5. Spray penetrating oil into the hole in the side of the lifter to force all water and other solvents out.
6. Get a piece of wood and use the edge of the wood to try and dislodge the first piston out of the top of the lifter.
8. Spray more penetrating oil in the hole on the side and in the top to lubricate the second piston.
9. Find a drift punch (flat nose) that will just fit down inside the second piston and not damage the one way bearing valve in the bottom of the piston.
10. Try to move the second piston by pushing down with the punch. If you can't move it.....
11. Find a nice flat hard metal surface (I used the anvil on the back of my vise).
12. Place a few layers of shop towel on the surface and bang away (making sure not to deform the top of the lifter).
13. If you get the piston to move then spray some more penetrating oil into the top to lubricate the piston again. (you might try a very small screw driver and gently push the bearing valve in the middle of the piston to release any vacuum that may be holding it). A nice can of rust-off or similar with a tube that can be inserted into the hole in the side of the lifter will allow you to spray forcefully into the side of the lifter.
14. Once you get the piston to move keep lubricating and moving it until it springs up and down fairly freely.
15. Use the block of wood and bang the lifter to try to dislodge the second piston. When the top of the piston exits the body of the lifter, you should be able to pull it out with your fingers.
16. Lay the cap, first piston, second piston/valve, and the spring on the bench for later cleaning and reassembly.
17. Put the lifter body back into the chem-dip and soak it for another 30 mintues.
18. Use brake cleaner or whatever to clean off all of the parts. Pay special attention to the valve in the second piston. I used the tube on the brake cleaner and sprayed in one of the side holes in the ball retainer to get out all kinds of tiny gunk particles (probably holding the valve closed).
19. Once all parts are clean, you can use light oil to reassemble. (I was using WD40, but broke 2 of my plastic rod guide (caps), so I went back to light oil. The WD40 appears to make the caps brittle. (Never put the plastic caps in the chem dip, and keep them away from strong solvents)
20. I used 3-in-1 oil to reassemble the springs and pistons into the lifter body. Then I snapped the caps back on and only broke two. So I'm off to the auto parts store to buy a couple of lifters...
21. jd4242 likes to soak his lifters in oil and actuate them to get lots of oil inside them before reinstalling them. I'll probably do the same.

Happy lifter cleaning!!! Oh by the way, I ran into another forum where they were having a heated debate on what to call these things. One side called them Lash Adjusters and the other called them Lifters. Lifters works just fine for me

 

[Pollarican]

Upon closer inspection prior to calling them today - I realized I could just pop the top most pistons/ plastic rod guides back into place for the two that had come apart. The third one was replaced prior to reshipping to me. Everything seems to be 100% now, just going to inspect each one real close before going and installing them. I just wish they took more time packing them in something other than ziplock bags - bugs me out to think I've bought 100% new everything for the top end of my motor and if one of these fails - its all back apart again (I'm sure JD knows all about that one.)

If only my machine shop guy would move faster than a sleuth - lol.

 

[jd4242]

Upon closer inspection prior to calling them today - I realized I could just pop the top most pistons/ plastic rod guides back into place for the two that had come apart. The third one was replaced prior to reshipping to me. Everything seems to be 100% now, just going to inspect each one real close before going and installing them. I just wish they took more time packing them in something other than ziplock bags - bugs me out to think I've bought 100% new everything for the top end of my motor and if one of these fails - its all back apart again (I'm sure JD knows all about that one.)

If only my machine shop guy would move faster than a sleuth - lol.

100% new in a ziplock bag!!

 

[Pollarican]

Arrgh I know JD! Good looks on that breakdown of how to disassemble and clean them - After I read that I went into the garage with the mindset that I could somewhat simply reassemble them and that actually was the case.

 

[jd4242]

Arrgh I know JD! Good looks on that breakdown of how to disassemble and clean them - After I read that I went into the garage with the mindset that I could somewhat simply reassemble them and that actually was the case.

Just check them all with a pushrod and make sure the plunger goes up and down.then put some gloves on and soak them in oil wile pushing the plunger up and down.this will fill them up and they should get stiff.then install wile still filled with oil.they will leak down some after installed but they oil every thing when they do and some stays in there

 

[Pollarican]

Went to go install these today only to find that some are an uncomfortably too tight fit. I can't move them up and down in the lifter bore by hand like I can with the stockers - somr actually get stuck to the point where I have to wedge on them out from below with a long reach pick from the oil galley cutout above the cam. Is this normal? Do they have to break in or something?

Of course, I mixed up all the old stockers already - can't decide if I should clean up the old ones and gamble or spend a small fortune on new lifters.

What brand would be highest recommended? Sealed power?

 

[jd4242]

New ones will be tight,just switch them around the best you can.some will fit different.make sure the holes are nice and clean also,i take a fine scotch brite pad and make sure no carbon or anything is in there.they will wear in,i had two that was very tight.I've never had any.problems with sealed power brands.

 

[Anime]

Sealed Power is good stuff. It better be for ~$45 a piece.

If you want inexpensive lifters, that are still decent, Rockauto has the DNJ brand for $23.79 each if you buy more than 4. Still expensive for lifters, but about half the price of the Sealed Power. You can also use a Rockauto coupon code and get another 5% off.

I wouldn't put those cheap ebay lifters in a motor. As you've already seen, they are cheaply constructed. The metal is just as bad as the plastic, but you won't be able to tell that until you take it apart again when something goes wrong.

Unless there are issues with the stockers, I'd follow the procedures outlined above and rebuild those.

 

[Pollarican]

I would consider the DNJ lifters, but I have a feeling they are going to be the same as the ebay type - have you used them Anime?

As far as poor construction - Do you think these would collapse over time? I didn't pull an old or new one down past the first plungers. Does the design of these allow for easy failure?

I cleaned up the lifter bores with scotchbrite, and I got all them installed in their bores before. There's only one I would call very tight - the cam actuates it no problem and I can put light pressure on it to get it to go down after rising, but it's the only one I can't just lift up and pull out by hand. These appear to work the way they are installed, but if longevity of these is much worse than DNJ, I'd rather shell the money out now for those and cut my losses. I just feel sick to think about spending $450 on lifters - that was my whole paycheck for the past 2 weeks. I know you gotta pay to play but I'd like to put the money into any other expense when possible.

My motor so far:
- 91 Block, Honed for stock sized rings and tanked, New Cam Bearings/ Freeze Plugs
- Clevite Stock sized Main and Connecting Rod Bearings, all platigauged and showing .0015-.002 clearance
- Stock Pistons with New Sealed Power Moly Rings
- 410 Cam
- Cloyes Timing set with Guide/ Tensioner
- 93TM recast heads, with SI valves
- Smith Bros Lengthened Pushrods

Waiting on two piece intake gasket in the mail, and trying to figure this lifter situation out. After that, it's straight reassembly.

 

[Anime]

I have not personally used the DNJ lifters, no, but they are sold by Rockauto - and they don't sell junk without a warranty. DNJ probably doesn't make the best lifters either, the actual name of the company is DNJ Engine Components and DNJ actually stands for 'Domestic N' Japanese', and from what I've seen, their packaging doesn't state the country of origin, so their stuff might just be China-made as well. But at least their parts have a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty. I doubt the ebay parts have anything.

I don't know about collapsing. Even factory lifters can collapse, but it's rare. My concern is simply the quality of the materials and whether or not they will even hold up in the engine. Lots of the cheap junk is just made so you can put an engine together with it and have something that will work for a little while longer so you can sell it.

I wouldn't put much faith in 99 dollar lifters when a real quality set is several hundred dollars. It's true the lifters for the 4.0L are overpriced, but you already have a factory set and if none of them are bad in any way, there's no reason whatsoever not to clean and re-use them.

Clevite also sells the lifters as well, though I'm rather sure they are exactly the same part from the same manufacturer as the Sealed Power. Heck, the ones from DNJ may even be from the same manufacturer just with a whole lot less markup and not paying for the brand name.

It's your motor and it'll be your time and money if anything goes, so you'll have to decide if you want to pony up for new brand name lifters, re-use the originals, or risk it with the ebay specials. The ebay ones may work out great and hopefully you'll never have a problem. Me personally, if I was doing a nice build like that, I would either stick with the original lifters or just go for the brand name stuff. I'll be taking the motor apart at some point down the road, and my plan is just that, simply re-using the originals unless there's issues or a collapsed lifter or two, which would make me consider just buying new ones. Rather than buy cheapos, I'd just try to get the best deal I could on a set, using online discounts and coupons, or going to Napa and seeing about what the shop pricing would be on a set.

 

[jd4242]

I agree.if nothing was wrong with your stock ones just clean and reuse them.there probably nothing wrong with the ebay ones but lifters are one of those things that alot has to come out to get to them.you getting new rockers and springs?didnt see them on the list?you can get away with a single spring for that cam even though it calls for dual,but i would use new springs not worn ones that came out.

 

[Pollarican]

Anime - Stock ones look good as far as I can tell - The roller turns nice and free on the bottom, they fit the bores perfect with no scoring - I just can't get the plunger to move at all on any of them.

I'm trying to Contact Mizpah Precision Manufacturing - The company apparently does nothing but rebuild lifters and they have a $7 a piece charge for our ht-2244 lifters. Everything I've seen searching about them seems to be positive.

JD- Forgot a few things:

- New Sealed Power Rockers, SP Single Valve Springs, Valve Seals
- Melling High Volume pump

 

[jd4242]

Anime - Stock ones look good as far as I can tell - The roller turns nice and free on the bottom, they fit the bores perfect with no scoring - I just can't get the plunger to move at all on any of them.

I'm trying to Contact Mizpah Precision Manufacturing - The company apparently does nothing but rebuild lifters and they have a $7 a piece charge for our ht-2244 lifters. Everything I've seen searching about them seems to be positive.

JD- Forgot a few things:

- New Sealed Power Rockers, SP Single Valve Springs, Valve Seals
- Melling High Volume pump

Any reason you only went with the 410?

 

[Pollarican]

I was worried about passing Smog mainly, but also due to the fact that the Explorer is more offroad built, and I'd like to help it pull a trailer a bit better/ go for a little more economy with the torque boost from the 410.

I really should start a build thread, but in a nutshell:

Had a 1991 EB - 6 inch skyjacker, 3 inch body, Disc brake rear with matching master cylinder, 4.56 front and rear, E-clip elim w/ Spicer joints, M50D-R1HD from 2003 Ranger brand new, and a couple other bolt ons. Lady made a left in front of me past August across a 2 lane green light, I hit her with the back tire to avoid killing her and flipped the 1991 at 50 mph. What I could say to that lady!

Got the truck back around January, and bought a black, rust-free 1993 EB (Blown Trans) for a bit under $800. Putting everything from my 1991 into the 1993. Endless amount of work! Rebuilding the motor while I have it out because, minus the t-case, the rest of the mechanicals of the car have less than 15,000 miles on them (Axles, Trans).