Lifter Bushings

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Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
4,765
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102
Location
Nashville, Tennessee
My Car
1973 Q code Mach 1
Who is using them and who has installed them?

If you installed them did you use any locktite?  My belief is it is not necessary as they end up burnished into place and the bronze expands faster than cast iron, so is unlikely to ever move.

But I'm ready to install a set in my current build and want to be sure before it is too late to learn something new

Any thoughts would be appreciated, especially if they confirm my beliefs LOL

 
My son was using them in his 89 Fox body he was racing.   Worth doing if racing or using an extreme high lift cam. This is something I would get done by a professional machine shop.  The bushings are pressed in and no loctite is used.   Saved his engine when a lifter blew apart.  Oil pressure dropped some but the engine stayed running ok with no other damage.   Replace the bushing and lifter and he was up and running again.

 
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It is done.  I drove them in and finished reamed them today.  The kit from Denny Wyendorf is very easy to use.  I did not use Locktite and the instructions do in fact say to install them dry.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ajw7ZQQFqnUdUh9x7

 
It is done.  I drove them in and finished reamed them today.  The kit from Denny Wyendorf is very easy to use.  I did not use Locktite and the instructions do in fact say to install them dry.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ajw7ZQQFqnUdUh9x7
Glad you got it done.  Nice photos.  I have to laugh.  Reminds me of my younger days when I would sit working on a set of heads in my living room watching tv.  :biggrin:

 
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you would think someone would do like Isky use to for the flatheads. When you put radius tappets in a flathead you had to install keys in each lifter. They loaned the drill fixture and special long drill. When you sent back you got deposit back. No reason for everyone to have to buy the tools. 
I would think the only time you would need to do is if wear was so much that you loose too much oil around the lifters. We use to hone oversize and order oversize lifters. I guess that option is also gone. We have a local race shop that makes cams and lifters I will have to see what it would take to get a couple thousandths oversize. 

When we Kart raced I used a roller burnisher to size the rods to perfect size withing .0001" and was easy. We had roller burnish tools to size bushing in transmissions we built so that you did not have to hold the bore size so close when you bored. The burnish tool leaves a mirror finish also. 

 
Well since the weather in Tennessee is so damn hot, working indoors allows me to keep everything clean and myself comfortable.  Getting it out of the house as a complete built motor does require a certain amount of finesse though.

Don, that is the kit I used.  It works very well, and everything is piloted so it stays true to the original bore.  I estimate, that if done all at once the entire process is about 2 hours.  Denny sends a couple extra bushings with his kit in case you mess one up.  In that case on a bare block, just drive it through and do it again.  I only damaged the 1st bushing as I didn't have the reamer positioned completely in when I started.

I also tapped the block for oil restrictors, again, with a good tap and patience it adds an hour or less to the build.

I know machine shops will do some of this, but they also charge accordingly and while you could ruin a block by getting overly aggressive, it is a low risk and I like being the one that actually does as much of my work as possible.  I'd rather build an engine than drive (sick isn't it)

I have a few more blocks and will build one more as a spare for my Mach 1 motor and the final one looks good enough to run with rings and bearings and a dingle ball honing.  Might add bushings to it as well.  Once you have the kit 150.00 for bushings and 2 hours work is a nice investment in longevity

The 1 piece rear main seal cost me 200 + tax at the only local place I can find that will do it and they took 2 months to get to it.

I do have to take it outside for the next step of a final wash,  gonna have to either get help or man up and do it myself.

 
I would think the only time you would need to do is if wear was so much that you loose too much oil around the lifters. We use to hone oversize and order oversize lifters. I guess that option is also gone. We have a local race shop that makes cams and lifters I will have to see what it would take to get a couple thousandths oversize. 


Wear in the lifter bores is an issue with Cleveland engines due to the angles of the pushrods, so it's a must-check item that the bushings make easy to correct. There's also the core shift issue and for higher effort builds, the accuracy of the bores in relation to the cam itself. The true bonus with the bushing is the ability to restrict the oil to the top end of the engine. IIRC, most recommend an .060" feed hole. Combine this with restrictors in the feed to the cam bearings and all those Cleveland oiling issues are gone. Also, as Kilgon noted, if you have a valvetrain failure, you don't lose much oil pressure. 

 
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Looks cool. I love the engine inside the house. I don't know how my wife would have felt about it. I have been able to bring seats and parts to work inside with A/C and TV, but not the block.

 
My block is cleaner than your dirty old seats  ;)

One of the other advantages of the bushings is that cavitation/turbulence in the oil passages is virtually eliminated when the lifter isn't going up and down 100 times a second into a passage with a 1/2x1/4 slot

 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SoQ19oUwkEaHTodKA

Engine is slowly getting together.  Lunati Roller Rockers came in yesterday and I spent a few hours mocking it up only to find I had to cut all my guide plates to get optimal roller tip to valve contact.  After lots of minor adjustments it looks good on all valves.  Gotta run out to the shop I work out of and grab my tunnel ram and check distributor clearance, but that is an hour round trip, so it may wait for the weekend.  Tonight I install the oil pump and pick up and check clearances for the pan.

Dropped my timing cover off at the sandblaster along with some Moroso tall steel valve covers, will all be powder coated Cobalt Blue.  Motor color is yet to be nailed down, but I am leaning towards cast blast at this time with a clear coat to make it easy to clean.

 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SoQ19oUwkEaHTodKA

Engine is slowly getting together.  Lunati Roller Rockers came in yesterday and I spent a few hours mocking it up only to find I had to cut all my guide plates to get optimal roller tip to valve contact.  After lots of minor adjustments it looks good on all valves.  Gotta run out to the shop I work out of and grab my tunnel ram and check distributor clearance, but that is an hour round trip, so it may wait for the weekend.  Tonight I install the oil pump and pick up and check clearances for the pan.

Dropped my timing cover off at the sandblaster along with some Moroso tall steel valve covers, will all be powder coated Cobalt Blue.  Motor color is yet to be nailed down, but I am leaning towards cast blast at this time with a clear coat to make it easy to clean.
Good job! It starting to look more like an engine again. What rocker girdle are you using? What is your valve lift?

BTW, I can't help noticing that the dumbbells have not been moved :whistling: . You better start working out :biggrin:

 
Cylinder heads are my dumbells!  I installed the oil pump and pick up last night and just hand tightened the pan in place with 2 bolts.  Rotating the engine on the stand is starting to require a bit more strength.  I may go pick up my intake later today and mock that up too.

Jomar pro model  stud girdles  Very nice product, but requires more time to adjust valves as they tend to move when the girdle is mounted.

Lift is relatively mild, .610 IRRC  I just find with the girdles, I rarely have to readjust valves.

for my initial adjustment I tightened everything down to zero lash on the base of the cam lobes, then backed them off 1/4 turn which put me within a couple thousandhs of my final setting-ya gotta love solid lifters for ease of set up.

 
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Looking good. I am sure it will look awesome in the Mustang. Do you have a scoop on your hood or just a hole?

I am surprised you used bolts instead of studs for the heads, or at least that is what it looks like from the pictures. What is the CR?

 
It is actually going in my 29 Model A Tudor  It is nearly 40 inches tall!

Compression ratio is . . . high  12.3 is my calculation

As to head bolts instead of studs . . . I am running a relatively mild cam and went cheap-they are ARP bolts though.

 
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