Are there any differences in the hydraulic lifters for roller rockers vs. stock?
I am hearing some ticking in the new franken motor and was curious. The engine was fresh but had roller rockers and Edelbrock heads on it before I got it. I may be pulling the intake back off and going with some new mellings I have.

 

No difference in lifters. You should verify the roller rockers are adjusted properly as that may be the source of the ticking noise.

 

Thanks for that Kenneth. I should have been more clear. It has stock push rods and rockers with Ga heads on it now. My mind thinks that maybe the lifters were pre-set to the rollers rockers after some time run, and haven't yet adjusted to the stock valvetrain. I haven't run the engine for more than a minute at a time. It is on a stand and I would have to put a radiator and water through the block to run it any longer than a few seconds at a time.

 

My understanding is the lifters should pump up almost immediately when they get pressurized oil (as in right after the engine starts up).

I originally thought it may be due to a mis-adjusted roller rocker. It still could be a rocker issue with factory style rockers if the lifter preload wasn't correct, which can happen for various reasons. Of course, it could also be the lifter itself.

 

If you pulled the Edelbrock heads and went back with stockers and stock valve train with a performance cam you may have a mismatch in parts. This has been covered a few times in the past with the result being push rods that are too short.

 

Thanks Eric. Most were tight when I torqued down the rockers, but a few seemed loose. I don't know how long it had been run with the Edels on it, but the engine was clean. And yes, I went back with factory pushrods. I found a deal on some NOS turkey trays, 2 @19.95 each w/free shipping through Pep Boys. I believe they have 4 left if anyone needs one. I am going to pull the intake and put the melling lifters in and go again I think.

 

Well, if your push rods are the wrong length, then new lifters won't help. Before swapping lifters, try measuring the lifter preload on the existing setup to determine if the push rods are OK or not.

 

Some lifters are just noisier than others.
My present valve train is LOUD. I adjusted it numerous times before I just started to live with it.

-pete

 

Well, as you can see, there are some differences in these sets of lifters.
The one on the right is a stock Mellings, and the one on the left is a who-knows-what that was in it. The oil bore is bigger and recessed further down in the body than the stock unit which made the push rods a little short. I was able to get a little dribble out of one push rod using my drill on the oil pump. On a side note, my spit hole for dist shaft kicks butt.

Wish me luck, I'm going back in with the Mellings.

 

Is there a difference in height?

 

None at all. But as I was going through the 4 boxes I have, I see a discrepancy
in eight vs the other 8, dadgummit. Check this out, supposedly, same-same.
Not the same, they are like the others that were in the engine, bigger oil bore and recessed a little further, arrge.

 

Wow, that is weird! I better check mine, I have a brand new set in the box from Summit but haven't opened them yet.

 

I purchased a "rebuilt" olds engine one time that had three different makes of lifters in it.

Being the curious gear head, I took them apart. The major difference was the holes in the metering disc. One didn't have a hole another had two holes and another had four holes in the disc.

 

WTF is about all that can be said, but there it is.
I was able to correspond to a fella this morning and
procure a set of 8 of the smaller holed Melling units for 19.95 shipped.
Went in the mail today, report forthwith... I have 8 available with the larger holes...heh,

 

Lifters came in today and it's back together. I can sleep now, knowing it's oiling.
Sounds a heck of a lot better too. I think it's gonna be a sweet streeter.
If you buy nos lifters, make sure you soak in oil and make sure the plungers are working. Some of them were stuck so I made sure they were all working before putting things back together. The best I can figure is they had solid lifters in it
with the Edels and roller rockers. The lifters I pulled out would not 'plunge'.

 

Glad you got it together. I've never run across that.

 

I had never come across anything like this either. I'll clean it up, spot paint
and slide it back against the wall, and start work on the 442. I have a lot
easier time with the engine stuff than I do with body work and that sort of thing. Still waiting for my body guy to come by and have a look.