How does a person check the pushrod legnth with a length ckecker when using hydraulic lifters? With solid lifers you can just turn the engine by hand, but how do you get the hydraulic lifters pumped up? Anyone know? I suppose I could prime the engine, and then hook up the starter to it and spin it a while until the lifters pumped up, but I am hoping for an easier way.

Please help.

 

use a set of soft springs

 

If it's an engine that has been run and there is oil in the lifters then you can just remove the stock rocker and the lifter will automatically pump up to it's highest pistion (by sucking oil from the upper chamber to the lower adjustment chamber and the lifter will stay pretty solid at that height (assuming you don't apply full valve spring pressure to it like what would happen at max lift). A static length checker like the kind that just pushes down over the rocker stud this will be plenty solid to to the checking. If it's the type were you cycle the valvetrain through a full revolution then you will need some light tension "checker" springs like ede describes.

If the engien hasn't been run then the lifters won't have any oil in them and will compress very easily- even overcoming the light "checking" springs. Best to drop in a solid lifter on that valve and then add .100" to whatever length you get (solid lifters have the cup about .100" lower than a fully pumped up hydraulic lifter).

 

What would be an example of some "soft springs" and where could I get a set for this purpose?

--Tom

 

I bought a set of soft checking springs at ace hardware.
But even those would overpower the spring in a hyd lifter when there's no oil in the lifter.
A solid lifter is best. If you don't have a solid lifter, you can get a used hyd that's in good condition or buy a new one from Jegs for $3 and fill it with epoxy to make it solid.
Thats what I ended up doing.

 

So just a generic spring to add tension from the hardware store. ok....

I plan on "pumping up the lifters" (which are still in the block, I am trying to not have to remove the intake manifold etc. if not needed) by just cranking over the starter a bit to make sure that the lifters have enough oil in them. Then check with the adjutable push rod.

I'm hoping that this will work...as ede and damon suggested.