lifters, valves, compression and such...
 

ok as some of you know im having a problem. ok first ill tell you how im pretty sure it happened. i was moving my truck to the other side of the driveway so i could get a rolling frame out of the shop. well i got it to the other side and it died from a fuel problem. so i went and moved the frame, cleaned the shop, and pushed the frame back in. well it still wouldent start so i went inside. well my mom got home (im 18, i split the rent with her) and told me to move my truck and i said it wont start and she said i dont care. i have crap in my tank so after it sits it starts(im fixing it when my fuel cell gets in). well i get in and it starts and by this time it had already been a Really bad day so i floor it and let off the clutch and spin all the way back to my spot and killed it. stupid i know and it wont happen again. well i went back out and started it and it was missing. well after setting the valves i discovered it has a flattened lifter(or a bad spot in the cam). im buying 16 new lifters and installing them tomorrow, but whats the odds the cam is bad too? i know its the number 5 intake lifter thats bad and also that its missing on 5 because i pulled the plug wire with no difference in running. anyways should i go ahead and replace the cam while im at it? im still quite new at this so any help is appreciated. now i know what happens when you do stupid things. anyways thanks ahead of time.
John

Re: lifters, valves, compression and such...
 

o and also should i run a compression test before i do anything? a friend said i should.
John

Re: lifters, valves, compression and such...
 

If you replace the lifters you must replace the cam. The agressive finish on the lifters will almost certainly cause the old cam to fail :(

Re: lifters, valves, compression and such...
 

Surely Billla is right, and the proper thing to do is replace the cam when replacing the lifters. But... I am assuming we're talking about hydraulic lifters and that the ones in the 350 are not much different in basic design and function than those in a 230L6. Some time about 1985 I replaced all the lifters in a 230L6 because a couple of them were not pumping up anymore. I did not replace the cam. That engine ran for 20 more years, never noticed any particular problem with the cam or lifters again. (It did eventually burn a valve and ran a couple years on 5 cylinders.)

So, bottom line, Billla is telling you the right way to do it, but the wrong way just might work well enough. I suppose it depends on the level of gamble your willing to take. In my case, mostly it was blissful ignorance, no one told me I should replace the cam too. Maybe if I were to do it over again now, it wouldn't work.

Re: lifters, valves, compression and such...
 

ROTF, L - too true :) Been there many times!

Re: lifters, valves, compression and such...
 

well guys i was outside messin with it today and i made a decision. i have to have something to drive right now so its going to the side for a while. it not a want at this point its a necessity, yall can understand that right? when i do get the money im just gonna bite the bullet and pull the engine and eaither rebuild or if i got the money then ill put a LS1 or caddy 500 in it. idk yet. but i gotta quit spending my money on this and just get something to drive. thanks yall.
John