Stuck lifters... HELP

OK, I'm pullin my hair out here:af:

Got a [documented] 300k mile bone stock 71 350, still in the car. All cyl's have good compression, so I have no need to pull the engine to replace the cam [2 flat lobes].

I'm really gettin mad, I cant get these @#$%$#@ lifters to come out the top.

I'v already busted 2 lifter removal tools, 1 cheap one, and one good expensive one.

I spent all day today trying. Had I known it was gonna be so much trouble, I woulda just pulled the whole sucker out, and knocked em out the bottom like usual.

Someone got a trick I could try?????

 

stuck

i have good luck with a pair of needlenose vise grips. the smaller ones. and a long skinny screwdriver. put the screwdriver in the gap in the grips and work up and down slowly. kinda rough on the lifter bores , but has worked for me. pat myers chas,wva

 

Darryl,

Tread carefully here. When can lobes "go flat" the cam will mushroom out the bottom of the lifter(s). You may not be able to get the bad ones out from the top, and if you do pull hard enough, you can potentially score the lifter bore.
I suggest you pull the cap off the oil pump and have a look at the end plate that the gears run against. If the cam lobe and lifter trash have not scored the pump cover, proceed with trying to get the lifters out through the top. But.....if the cover is chewed up, better count on pulling the engine, and popping the lifters out the bottom, and repairing the damage the trash caused.
Hate to pessemistic, but, don't want you see you tear up a lifter bore either. That lobe material has to go somewhere.

Regards,
Robin Sipe.

 

I have a trick that I use for just this type of problem.Now don't laugh,but I go to the store and buy a roll of gift wrapping paper(doesn't matter what design).You know the roll about 3 ft long?
Well,I unroll the entire thing and give the wrapping paper to the wife.Then I take the paper roll and slice it LENGTHWISE so I have two halfs,both 3ft long.
Now heres the tricky part! Work the stuck lifters up just enough that they get stuck in the lifter bores,then remove the camshaft. Then insert one half of the paper tube into the camshaft hole and tap the lifters into it.I use a telescoping magnet to retrieve them from the tube so I can leave the tube in the camshaft hole until all lifters are gone.The tube will keep the lifters from falling into the engine.

 

Cool.
Now that's a nifty trick:laugh:

BTW, it's a [girl] friends car, [not to be confused with girlfriend]
Did the plugs/points/etc to find the cause of the "miss" B4 I found the bad cam.
Drained the oil, and fired the engine dry for a couple seconds to make sure no bearings were knocking, everything sounded solid.

Pulled the oil pump apart, and surprisingly, just the usual wear, no scoring visible.

It's actually been very well cared for it's entire life. 300k miles, and the inside of the engine is clean, original timing chain still going strong! Just two flat lobes on the cam causing an anoying miss.

 

Using Al's trick, sounds like you will have "her" up and running in no time. (I will definately remember this tip.)

Robin Sipe.

 

Update: bad news...

Went out this evening to try the "paper roll" trick, pulled the cam, and a paper thin cam bearing came out and fell into the pan

Looks like I'll be pullin the whole engine tomorrow.

Hate the idea because at 300k miles, you just know everything else in there has got to be "worn paper thin", so I'll be replacing a whole lot more than just a cam...

Maybe better in the long run, she really likes the car, and was asking me if it was time for a rebuild... looks like it is

BTW, the 2 flat lobes were on either side of the bad bearing, Hmmmmm, anybody want to comment on that? Would the flat lobes cause the bearing failure, or vise-versa?????

2 day job turned into a week long one, gotta hate that

 

Darryl,sorry the paper rol thing didn't help you out,but look at it this way,whata great time to upgrade to a bigger camshaft.....and maybe headers........and ported heads are always nice

 

Just got off the phone with her,
She was asking "How much more horsepower will it have? Will it be able to burn rubber like it did 20 years ago?"

Really do wish this was my car, it's rust free and really cleeean!