Robert Henriksen

I'm working on replacing the driver's side bank of hydraulic lifters in my '96. I started w. the exhaust (lower) set of three, which was pretty straightforward. Put a new gasket on the valve cover when I buttoned it back up.

Started removing the driver's side intake valve cover, and thought it would be at least a little easier; removed all the HVAC blower & plumbing stuff, and saw I only had about 1/2 as many bolts holding that cover on. But discovered that last bolt, lower side & all the way forward... yikes! There *might* be 1/2" clearance between the hex key-style bolt head and the tub.

Does anyone have any tricks for dealing with this? I thought about putting a jack under the engine, removing the engine mount bolts, and lowering the engine a bit. But it looks like I'd need to go down more than a fraction of an inch to do any good, and then at that point I'm faced with pulling the rear sway, mufflers, and god knows what all else.

Before I take a cutoff wheel & try shortening a perfectly good hex key down to a nub, does anyone have any clever ideas for dealing w. this clearance problem?

thanks,

RNH

John D.

If you are going to R&R with the engine in - you can lower the engine a bit (NOT A C4, unless you release the drive shaft/tube!!!). You'll need to also remove some of the cross bars, the sway, etc. Also if you do that - watch the oil lines, PS lines, fuel lines as they come into the engine compartment, wiring harness, etc. It's then easier to remove the engine cooling tin side pieces and work from under the car.

I sort of considered doing the same - but then, just simply removed the engine instead....

John

Robert Henriksen

Man, you beat me back to the keyboard by 9 minutes.

I found a second 5mm hex key, and went ahead & chopped off most of the short end 'till it was almost a nub. Then used a wrench over the long end for leverage, and was able to loosen the bolt all the way, 1/83874th of a turn at a time.

As I suspected, the bolt's too long to actually get out of the cover, so I'll need to pull the cover loose first, being careful not to loose the bolt down in the darkness.

thanks!!

John D.

Well - here is something else to think about (with the right side, especially).. How are you going to get a torque wrench onto the rocker shaft without removing the cooling tin..??

Best to ya!!!

John

Robert Henriksen

My godaweful collapsed lifter racket is definitely coming from the driver's side. I'm replacing the driver's side lifters.

I'm trying really hard not to think about the right side lifters.

Buttoned the left side back up last night, swapped the track pads (rear axle, anyway) out for Textars, and will fire it up sometime today & find out if I've replaced one horrible noise with any others.


And before anybody nags me, yes, I'm going to swap the front pads, too. That end just isn't in the air right now.

Rick Lee

Pull the engine! It's not that bad. We did it in about 3 hrs. last Sunday (albeit after prep work). I can't imagine doing intake lifters with the engine in.

Robert Henriksen

Thanks for the encouragement - when something drives me to it (right side lifters, power steering pump, clutch), I'll tackle that w. a friend. Not feeling up to doing that solo just yet.

User 4621

Find a 5mm ratcheting box end wrench like those made by GearWrench, then jam the little piece you cut off into the bolt and use the wrench on it.

Sword_of_the_Spirit

Any other tips or tricks for lifter replacement while in engine? This thread is over 8yrs old, so I'm sure there are experiences to share.

Thanks,

M.

nsully

I did this some time ago but I recall that removing the engine tin gave reasonable access to all of the lifters. It was also a great time to replace the plugs.
Be prepared for quite a racket until the new lifters pressure up.
Neil

John D.

Here is my Lifter DIY - just so you can see what it will entail..

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-1995...air-101-a.html

John D.

Sword_of_the_Spirit

Yeah, I looked up all that entailed 993's and their lifters. It doesn't seem too difficult, biggest thing is getting motivated to start. I have that subscription and the full service manual on the way.

Thanks,

M.