So ST was of little help, but here on TGO we seem to be pretty budget minded and tend to have OE roller blocks that we like to build off of. I currently have a set of link bar Morel 5372’s in an 880 block. I upgraded the cam a couple years ago from the Howards I originally installed with the lifters to an Ultrdyne cam, has the HR lobes on it with a lobe lift of .353” and PAC 1218X beehive springs. I have a lifter that’s almost now constantly collapsed at some point anytime I drive the car. So now I’m looking to replace these with a set of Johnson 2110R drop-in lifters. I know I’m within the safety margin of lift to use the factory dogbones I have stored away and I’ll replace the high mileage spider with a new piece if I go this route. But if I’m shifting this engine at 6700-6800, am I in an RPM range that’s still safe to use the factory dogbones? I did notice Scoggin-Dickey sells a composite tray to use in gen1 SBC’s like the gen3+ engines use, but that puts me in the range of the cheapest of the link bar Johnson roller lifters. I only mention those because I’m trying to find this information on my own I see the LS guys have no issues running the 2110R’s at 7k and higher. Or should the link bar lifters be my go to for those kinds of RPM? Thanks for any help y’all may provide.

 

When i had a hyd roller sbc i turned 6800-7000 often and used ls7 lifters with factory dogbone and spider. With way more lift. You shouldnt have issues there as long as the johnson lifter can handle it

 

I would assume they can seeing that Johnson is a pretty premium USA made lifter. I would HOPE. Is there any consensus on who makes the current top tier street roller lifters?

 

In the ls world i hear johnsons all the time. Your lifters should be good they are a slow bleed and expensive. I was expecting a oem replacement but they are like 700$ a set so they should be good

i had run morel 4602’s in a dart shp block. They at the time were suppose to be the best out for a link bar lifter.

 

they are expensive but anymore what isn’t? To replace the ones I currently have is also $700 and they’ve proven themselves not up to the task. I hear good things about Johnson too, and instead of buying something cheaper, then buying the better part when they fail, I’ll just buy the better part first. It took a bunch of times but I finally may have learned that lesson. Buy once, cry once.

 

They are excellent. They are quiet and are stable at high rpm. I have them with axle oiling in my LS and it sees 7200rpm. Pushrod length is absolutely critical though, so much that I am running 15 different lengths in my build.

 

these are reduced travel, didnt think they were initially. .093” plunger travel, .035” +/- .010” preload. I may be setting these with a dial indicator. Y’all know if they’re as picky about oil viscosities as the newer Morel’s are? I run 10W30 VR1, and it doesn’t come any lighter. The Morel’s specify 5W40 max.

 

I'm running plain Jane 5W30 mobil 1. I could easily run thinner with the tight tolerances but oil pressure is perfect and I only drive it in the summer. Oil temps also keep it thin at 230 to 240 degrees in the hottest conditions. Going on 6k miles with this setup.

 

Dependent on what Johnson gets back to me with I’m now looking at the 2116SBR (small block OE roller, vertical link bar). Isky has the same lifter with their name on the box for $20 cheaper and Summit stocks the Isky part so I’ll have their customer service and rapid shipping as a bonus. In the end, since I’ll have to buy a new spider, if I get the 2110R, the price difference between the 2 would only be around $50.

 

serious clark?? Valves arent machined equal height?

 

Yup, as instructed by Johnson and Tony Mamo. The reduced travel lifters along with .038" preload range necessitates it to account for dimensional stack of the heads, lifter, valve, etc. I am sure I could have lumped some into groups and been fine dimensionally, but there wasn't any additional cost to have the specific lengths to get the same preload on every lifter. Total dimensional stack for my set-up was .014", so cutting it close if I just paired groups.

 

My BBC uses Crower HIPPO solid lifters (not cheap) that use a link bar. I spin the engine to 7600 RPM with no issues. My valve springs are also close to 800# open pressure so there's a lot of pressure on the lifters. Larger diameter and thicker wall pushrods help.

 

I haven’t intended to let this thread die but everything is just moving slowly. Johnson hasn’t answered my questions so I went ahead with the Isky 2077HYRT link bar lifters. In the past they were Johnson 2116SBR’s (essentially the 2110R in a tall body w/ link bar), I’ll find out tomorrow if they still are. Without Johnson responding to whether or not the 2110R’s are a long travel design and a minimal price difference once everything is accounted for, I played it safe and went with a link bar design.

 

Isky still selling the Johnson lifters and you can source them through Summit unlike the Johnson branded ones.

 

You’ll be fine with those. Interesting how iskys says good to 7500 as a limit. Those kinda things i always thought were too dependent on variables to draw a hard line and perhaps they just did a general guideline… cam lobe, valvetrain weights and stiffness, spring loads and oil type and clearances all have influence on rpm limit. Factory ls gms have spun that high and more, just gotta keep things light weight