Re: Lifter debate

[Steve <vrona@infinet.com>]

Scott Bermes wrote:
> 
> I recall a debate on this earlier a while back....now practically all say 
> to get them replaced and that noisy lifters can cause problems.  Now I am 
> confused!!

Okay, here is my experience FWIW.  I have an 86 4kq that I drive very hard on 
the street and on the track.  The lifters were loud when I bought the car 
with 86k miles.  I decided to live with it at first.  Then I started racing 
the car and the valve noise got MUCH worse after my first run of the day 
(about 45 seconds at the rev limiter).  My mechanic and I talked about it and 
decided it was worth replacing the lifters, mainly from a performance 
standpoint.  This helped a little with the noise, but no performance gain.  
This year we did an entire valve job, for performance reasons.  The bottom 
end has improved a bit but the lifter noise is still there.

Looking back, I would not do a thing if I was trying to cure the noise, it is 
always going to be there, IMHO.  On the other hand there is performance to be 
gained with a valve job, especially on a turbo car. I do not know whether it 
will make the engine last longer.

-- 
Sincerely,

Steven Verona, Vice President
DB-Net, Inc.   614-436-6565 ext 15

90 Porsche 944 S2, M030, Limited Slip (for racin')
86 Audi 4000 quattro (was for racin', now for the street)
91 Toyota MR2 Turbo (for sale)
91 Mercedes 350 SDL (for wife)
94 Fleetwood Coronado Motorhome (for travel)
87 Yamaha FZ700 (for thrills)
81 Kawasaki Drifter 440 (for the snow)
70 Honda Mini Trail (for the pits. Oh yeah, and for the kids)