Replacing lifters in 265 hemi - as easy as it seems?

Hi again all,

I'm keen on replacing the well worn hyd lifters in a 265 hemi 6. I have
a moderate level of mechanical knowledge/ability and just want to make
sure I don't get caught out (screw up) with this task.

Do I need any special tools? The engine has removable side plates so my
guess is all I need to do is:

Remove rocker cover

Remove rocker arms and pushrods

Remove side plate from engine

Remove lifters - can I just hook these out with something like a bent
piece of coathanger wire?

Reassemble etc...


Just seems a bit to easy to be true, that's all.

Also - was after people's opinions on using moly grease when installing
the new lifters during reassembly. Also on any recommended "run-in"
procedures, if any. I have the Gregory's manual but they at times tend
to be somewhat vague.

All help appreciated

 

I can't speak to the other aspects (don't know the engine), but I find
that one of those telescoping magnets (the ones with the good strong
magnets) works great for plucking lifters out of their bores.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Basically yes,..with a few things more,..if they wont come out, its probable
there is varnish coating them on the sump-side. In this case,..and it
happened to me with a Valiant Taxi which had done a lot of miles on LPG, you
may need to butcher them out with vice-grips using a back and forth twisting
action. Hope that's not the case tho. The other thing is to prime the new
ones by immersing them in new oil, then using an appropriate activator (I
used to use an old large phillips screwdriver ground into a hemisphere shape
on its end) push down on the little piston about 10 times.

Jason

 

Hi,
I don't know this engine, but I recently did replaced
cam/lifters/timing gear in my 253 VH Commodore.

I immeresed the lifters in *clean* engine oil (I know it sounds obvious
but you never know...).
After I put them in, air bubbles came out of both holes in the
lifter(s). I left them over night. I didn't pump them.
When installing them (as well as the cam) you should use a generous
amount of assembly lube. This is crucial for the first 30 seconds or
so of running the engine.
When it comes time to start the engine, make sure there is petrol in
the carby and water in the cooling system and it will start first time.

I recommend replacing all rocker arms and saddles at this point, as
they are not expensive and need ot be in really good condition to
warrant being kept.
You might also consider replacing the cam, as if you ever decide to do
this in the future then you'll have to replace the lifters again, no
matter how 'new' the lifters are.

 

The 265 Hemi is an Australia-only engine AFAIK. Were they sold
elsewhere for marine or industrial purposes? Is there ANY commonality
in this thing with any "normal" Mpoar powerplant?

 

Believe it or not, when Chrysler decamped from Australia, they sold their
factories and remaining spares etc to Mitsubishi. Now being possessed of
Japanese efficiency and an abhorrence of anything remotely resembling US
styling and engineering, they threw out all the Aussie Valiant/Centura
documents. Now no-one except possibly some old guy or two floating around
the place has the mail on the R&D of the Aussie Valiants and their "Hemi"
6s.

The largest was 265 cu and when optioned up to run in the R/T Chargers, ran
triple side-draught Webers and a decent exhaust. These cars turned in a 14.1
sec quarter and at the time just beat the Ford 351 GTHOs over the 1/4, tho
the GTs had a higher top-end on the straightaways.

AFAIK, the Hemi 6 was a local design. It was a big engine physically with
beefed-up internals compared to other 6s. They were virtually unburstable
engines with legendary endurance. As to the combustion chambers, they did
not have the original Hemi chambers as the US V8 did,..but they used angled
valves.

Jason

 

One of the best things I ever bought for my toolbox. That and a 3 pronged
pickup tool.

Fraser

 

Don't know too much about the 265 I6, but on American Chrysler v8s its
much better to use either a lifter removal tool that has prongs that
catch in the top of the lifter when you press a button, or a magnet. In
fact its good to have a magnet for when (not if) you drop a lifter :-/
Also, not all engines have enough clearance around the pushrods to let
a lifter pass through, and I don't know if the 265 does or not.

If you have room, its really that easy.

Use engine assembly lube, and treat it as though you were breaking in a
new cam- run the engine for 20 minutes at not less than 2000 RPM when
you first fire it up with the new lifters to let the lifters bed to the
cam lobes without damaging the hardened surface on either the cam or
lifters.

 

I agree about the three prong pickup tool - we called them
"fart-grabbers" in the Navy. And grandkids love them - great for
hitting the cat and for fishing for coins in a 5-gallon water cooler bottle.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

hitting the cat? where did your kids picked up such cruel habits?

 

Oh NO! Please don't tell PITA!! LOL!

We're talking playing with the cat where the cat grabs it, etc. Geesh.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

He didn't say hitting the DOG. He said "cat."

 

I always found that a tool like this

hhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hydraulic-Valve-Lifter-Removal-Tool-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43996QQitemZ4613621956QQrdZ1ave



is the easiest way as long as there is room to pull them up through the
head.

 

Most head castings only have a small hole for the pushrods. The extractor
tool will work provided the lifters are'nt varnished in at the bottom.

Jason

 

Most *CHEVROLET* heads have a small hole for the pushrods. Big-block
Chrysler head castings have a large opening for each pair of pushrods,
and the lifters come out with a ton of room to spare.

I've never had the valve cover off an Aussie 265 Hemi 6, so I can't
speak directly to that one.

It would take an awful lot of varnish to be so thick that you couldn't
work the lifters out with a bit of up-and-down yanking on the extractor
tool.