Quoted from the Oldsmobile forum: ------------------------------------------------------------------ About 3 years ago now, Johnson Tappet went out of business. Johnson Tappet supplied OEM and aftermarket companies with the finest quality flat tappets (and hydraulic roller tappets) available. The second company was Eaton. Eaton supplied a big part of the balance of the market. The third company is Stanedyne. If you bought a light (1 ton or less) diesel pickup in the early 90's, you know the name Stanedyne. They made the worst diesel pumps in the world. Well, their tappets ain't a damned bit better. Stanedyne bought Eaton. About 3 years ago. So now Stanedyne supplies about 99% of all flat (both hydraulic and solid) tappets and hydraulic tappets. One of the biggest problems is the fact that Stanedyne has failed to even keep control of the finish on the bottomof the lifters. But they've also had trouble controlling the clearances inside the lifters. Now you know why most lifters you buy ain't worth a damn. A good company bought the Johnson Tappet business. Unfortunately, the buildings are on top of about 75 years of improperly stored and disposed of toxic waste, and the equipment was mostly worn out. Whether they'll be able to make anything out of it I don't know. _________________ Alan K. Roehrich Grant's Custom and Racing Automotive
:jd: My lifters came in today from TA. Still no heads or cam, but I got my timing set, oilpump/timing cover and lifters I trust TA, but I am now concerned. I can call them tomorrow, but can anyone say for certain what brand lifters TA sells? This reminds me very much about an argument I had with the local parts place last year about lifters. I had some head trouble, but it was simulating a lifter problem. I wanted a few lifters on hand, naturally, before I pulled the intake! I asked for Buick lifters for a V8, my engine was a 455. Parts person said, "We got GM lifters" I said I didn't want GM lifters, I wanted lifters that met Buick's spec All the same, they tell me. Heck no! I tell them. Oh yeah, no difference, they say I went down there with my trusty calipers and demonstrated how varied the diameter was on their lifters. They flat out wouldn't beleive it made any difference:af: Hopefully, my new lifters are A-OK. Can anyone confirm or deny?
Lifters..... Chris, all I can say is IF I have a lifter problem (after buying 2 sets, both designs from TA) I'll be getting rollers and from somewhere else.o No:
Just went through this issue. We ordered the new billet solid lifter from crower with the new CoolFace oil feed to the cam lobe. This new lifter is micro polished to a mirror finish and is very hard. You can use this lifter on several cams with no reuse issues and they can also repolish. We are using the Edge orifice oiling to maintain max oil to the crank. Very costly!! $332.00.
It took three full sets for me to make one good set. I called Mike at TA and even he agreed that disassembling and cleaning all the components of the lifter was a good idea. Once you've done that I recommend you install them and all your valvetrain(leave intake off), then (two person job) use an oil pump priming tool while you slowing rotate the engine, this will fill and pressurize the system, check your lifters the next day to see if any have collapsed, you can pull those back apart and try recleaning them. Very time consuming, but I'll never install another lifter without doing it.
I've posted a pair of photos at: http://www.realoldspower.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12371&start=15 that show how to tell who made your hydraulic lifters. I'd post directly here, but I don't have ready access to a photo-hosting site.
