Re: Sticky Lifters-Diagnosis

["Rik DesJardin" <rik@domain.elided>]

A couple things you can do to check if the valves are working; Do a
compression test. If a valve is stuck there will be very low/no compression
on the affected cylinder another thing is to remove the valve covers and if
you push very firmly on the valve springs you can depress the valves, doing
this you'll be able to see if they are working properly and you'll be able
to compare valve movements to help identify a problem valve. If it's lifters
you might be able to identify a bad lifter by pushing down on the rocker arm
on the pushrod side and see if one lifter feels different than the others,
chances are it will be difficult to identify a bad lifter. Typically if
lifters are a problem you'll want to replace them all and replace the cam
too. If the noise varies from start-up and when it's warm or sounds kinda
like a percolator coffee pot I would lean toward a lifter problem. If it
doesn't necessarily change in pitch or intensity I would guess it's
something else. What about connecting rod or a main bearing knock?
Rik