How to: disassamble lifters for cleaning

[Xeek]

when rebuilding the 4.0 yourself, its best to give the lifters some cleaning. sure you can soak them in whatever you want. but i found even after having them soak in new tranny fluid, diesel kleen, new oil, they still came apart dirty and gunky.

so this is a step by step to take them apart. minus taking the roller out cause i dont think that would be gunked up much. plus i couldnt figure it out.


this ones already been cleaned and reassembled

grasp the lifter and pull off the cap. try not to bend the 20year old tabs as they will break

cap is off

take pliers and grab the sides of the plunger, not the lip of the lifter body itself. and gently try to pull it out. it this doesnt work or the plunger doesnt stick out STOP NOW. dont damage the plunger by squeezing to hard

if you have problems, take brake cleaner, pblaster, wd40, anything really and do short bursts of the fluid into the hole shown. multiple short bursts work better then a constant spray, although a constant spray can work, the other way is easier.
make sure to hold the lifter upsidedown on a towel so the parts dont fly away.

once the plunger is out

now take a pick and try to grab the ball bearing and pull it up. if your lifter is gunky, spray some brake cleaner in there til you see it. if you cant grab ahold of it, turn it upsidedown and bang it on some wood with a towel over it to try and loosen it and bring it more to the top. im not sure if spraying in the hole again would help or not, i didnt have to resort to that.

now this is the 2nd plunger removed.

now turn it upsidedown again and knock the spring out.

now take the 2nd plunger and stick a pick in a hole on the bottom cap. and pry on it. BE CAREFUL, there is a TINY TINY TINY TINY spring in there, along with a bearing.

2nd plunger taken apart. please note when reassembling, but the spring in that cap first with the bearing on top. place the plunger on top and hold it together and turn it over then while holding the cap with one finger use a pick to move the tabs to lock it back in

everything disassembled.

now take everything and put them in a small cap or tub pull of new tranny fluid.
put the bearing, springs and plungers in soda caps or something and the lifter can go in the cap from the bottle of brake cleaner. use a magnet to fish out all the little parts when done.
soaking for a day should be about right.
DO NOT MIX AND MATCH THE INTERNAL PARTS BETWEEN LIFTERS.



REASSEMBLY: reverse procedure.

another note when putting it back together, hold the 2nd plunger with the spring on it and put it back in this way. push it in with you finger as far as you can, then grab a pick/stick and shove it the rest of the way. the point is to keep the spring centered on the pin. cause the spring is smaller then the hole in the lifter and may sit crooked and not allow the plunger to fit right.

after thats in, put the top plunger in. it will not go all the way in, it will stick out past the lifters lip just a hair. then put the cone cap back on to keep it from falling out.

during reassembly, make sure the plungers move. take a pushrod or something that wont damage the lifter and push down on both plungers to make sure they move nice and smooth



and i believe this is the definition of a collapsed lifter. i found for the ones i had to spray oil in the hole to get the first plunger out due to it being to low, this is what happened:

 

[jd4242]

I like to take the caps off and soak for a couple days in carb cleaner.they will come out pretty DAMN clean and come apart easier .good write up.one thing to add is when putting back in the motor you may have to switch them around little bit if some are tight. ideally you want them to go back in the same holes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000ABGA4E

 

[Xeek]

Whatever you use to clean is up to what you think is best. Brake cleanrr, carb cleanrr, seafoam, kerosene, tranny fluid, diesel kleen, or whatever! Whatever works best for you.

And of course put them in the same holes they came from. I was just making a detour from the haynes book. They say to keep track of what went where already. So hopefully you should already have them labeled.
If tjey do get mixed up, then yes, as long as thy slide in and don't need force to put them back in the bores in the block.

 

[wood1]

Nice thread dude. Great info.

 

[Dono]

subbed. Thx for spending the time on this.

 

[Xeek]

thanks guys.

 

[jd4242]

Whatever you use to clean is up to what you think is best. Brake cleanrr, carb cleanrr, seafoam, kerosene, tranny fluid, diesel kleen, or whatever! Whatever works best for you.

And of course put them in the same holes they came from. I was just making a detour from the haynes book. They say to keep track of what went where already. So hopefully you should already have them labeled.
If tjey do get mixed up, then yes, as long as thy slide in and don't need force to put them back in the bores in the block.

Just adding to it:who is that hand model you hired!!!GREAT WRITE UP

 

[Xeek]

haha. i had to pay that model $10/minute!! between all the pics and do overs i spent over $150 on those sexy hands hahhahahaha

 

[jd4242]

haha. i had to pay that model $10/minute!! between all the pics and do overs i spent over $150 on those sexy hands hahhahahaha

Hahah great write up tho sure it will save people alot..the springs can be made at local shops or just get some from jy and pick the best out.I've never seen a pic of one collapsed like that,heard but never seen

 

[Dono]

After a night of the lifters sitting in varsol, and tonight trying to get the first piston out with wd40, I gave up. I tried 3 lifters, and couldn't get any of the pistons to move.

I think I need a bowl of carb cleaner. These things are in really gummed up.

 

[jd4242]

After a night of the lifters sitting in varsol, and tonight trying to get the first piston out with wd40, I gave up. I tried 3 lifters, and couldn't get any of the pistons to move.

I think I need a bowl of carb cleaner. These things are in really gummed up.

Was they out the gunked up motor or your motor?wile they are soaking try and push the piston up and down,it will suck in cleaner and should free it up

 

[Dono]

Yes, these are out of the gunked up motor.
I'll try to work the piston some more. I can't even push the pistons in. They dont want to budge.
I can sure see why this motor was making noises.

 

[jd4242]

Yes, these are out of the gunked up motor.
I'll try to work the piston some more. I can't even push the pistons in. They dont want to budge.
I can sure see why this motor was making noises.

May need to take an old pushrod,put it on the piston and "tap" on it a little.or soak longer.

 

[Xeek]

Is there any lip sticking out past the lifter bore? If you can get needle pliers on it and twist it bCk and forth. Try smacking the lifter on a wood table with rag over it at an angle(obviously not flat or the pistons wont come out).

Get a big wnough container to submerge the lifter in standing up. And roll the lifter on its roller in fluid/cleaner.

Or just keep trying bursts of cleaner in that hole.


I had junkyard ones that put up a fit like that. They eventually came out

 

[Dono]

What I did was set a socket on the end of the lifter that is large enough to let the piston come out, and flipped the lifter and socket upside down and knocked them against the cement a few times (Socket on the bottom, of course.

W have lost 2 springs, and a ball bearing. I quit for the night.

My issue is re-seating the clip that holds the spring and ball bearing. I cant seem to get it inserted straight.

A work bench, a clean area, and some warmth would probably have helped.

Anyway, Im glad these are practice lifters. Im a 'bit' frustrated.

 

[Dono]

edit...The small spring and bearing go in the shallow end of the piston, just like Xeek said below.
I just sprayed some WD40 on to the ball bearing to clean the old oil out of there without pulling the bearing, spring, and retainer.
Id highly recommend everyone with their heads off do this to each lifter to make sure they are ok.

 

[Xeek]

Lol. Just to be clear. I wouldn't even take the piston apart. Just spray brake cleaner through the holes on the bottom. Should clean it out just fine. I just added the process for the hell of it I guess lol

As far as putting it back together. Place it on top. Slide one side in first. Hold piston with thumb and middle finger. Hold cap with index finger. Take the pick and push in on another side until it clips in. Then do the other side. If one side pops back out, try again. Practice without the ball and spring in it if you need to lol

 

[Xeek]

Are you putting it back on on thw wrong side by chance? There's a shallow end and a deep end on the piston. You want the shallow end for the clip.

 

[Dono]

These lifters are so bad, even the ball bearings and springs were gummed up.

I think I'll stop, and just do the basic clean and check with the lifters without pulling that small spring and ball bearing out.

 

[Xeek]

Lol. Ill just remove that step. Apparently I'm the only one that has luck with it. Not really needed anyway lolol




Take a pick and clean the inside rim to get the gunk out. Might be why it wont go back in.