Jeep 4.0 lifters

GotWood

GotWood

Sayer of Fact
Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Location
Maiden, NC
I'm going to drop some new lifters and pushrods into my 4.0. Do I need to prime the new lifters or just lather then up with assembly lube.
 
I used a old dizzy and made a priming tool using a drill worked great for me on both valve jobs for my Zj! I also soak my lifters in oil over night before install. Hope this helps
 
Soak and prime like C.Berry said or soak and leave injectors unplugged, spark plugs out, and crank till oil pressure comes up if you feel lazy. Don't forget assembly lube on the cam and high zinc oil. Wiped cam lobes suck. Wiped lobes = mulligan, and not a free mulligan.
 
Motor is out in the stand. I'm not pulling the cam just replacing the lifters. Before you say it will blow up into a million pieces, I did the same thing in a 305 and had no problems.

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What happened to the old lifters?
 
a_kelley said:
Soak and prime like C.Berry said or soak and leave injectors unplugged, spark plugs out, and crank till oil pressure comes up if you feel lazy. Don't forget assembly lube on the cam and high zinc oil. Wiped cam lobes suck. Wiped lobes = mulligan, and not a free mulligan.
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If no unusual wear you should be fine using recommended break in procedure
 
I've heard it done every way possible! I learned from a guy that was a "sloppy mechanic" so to say on sbc engines theory is they have to fill up anyway why not save my oil pump the stress!? From what ive found tho it really depends on how you do your valve adj and what type of lifters you're using! They say don't soak bc it will make your initial valve adj vary by not allowing push rod to go into lifter bc oil is there it's personal and technical preference really lol I make sure I use a oil pump primer tho to get oil out of lifters so when I start up I immediately can go into breakin procedure and you still have all the lube on cam an lifters!
 
I soaked them and used assembly lube on the can lobes. It's a 4.0. I've seen people run them with no oil at all!
 
I prefer cranking engine without plugs till I get oil pressure. While cranking I can also check compression and timing. With everything correct engine should start and allow a fast idle to break in cam and lifters
 
After cleaning the motor, are these factory marks or something else?
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Those are factory markings to designate exact cylinder diameter. For example, C may be 0.005" larger diameter than A.

As far as oiling goes, fill it with oil and chuck a flathead screwdriver in your favorite drill. Make sure the oil pressure sender is installed and all other pressurized ports are closed off. Crack the oil filter loose (so the air has somewhere to go) and spin the drill. It'll get noticeably more difficult to spin when the pump is primed. Tighten the filter back up and you're good to go.
 
Since we're on the subject, I installed a rebuilt 0360 head. I have another 7210 head on the shelf. Which is better? I read that the exhaust ports are bigger on the 7210 promoting better flow. Any truth?
 
I finally got my ass busy the other night and fired the motor. Damn the lifters are noisy! I only let it run for about 10 seconds but it never showed the first sign of oil pressure. Should I just start it and hold the throttle to let it pump everything up? I did soak the lifters before I instead them. Am I just too scared?
 
GotWood said:
Why don't I have this problem when I change the oil? Is there that much oil still left in the block?
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The difference is you have lost prime in the oil pump when you replaced the pickup.
Water pumps and hydraulic pumps do a great job of moving fluid, but a crappy job of pumping air.

You could disable the ignition and have someone crank it over while you crack the oil filter loose. That may be easier than removing the dizzy for now. Somehow you have to get the air out of the pump.
 
Or take a old dist and remove the gear or a long flat blade and Chuck it in a drill and use it to spin the oil pump. I usually pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly or fill it with Lucas.
 
What I did was go to Harbor Freight and buy the longest flat bladed screwdriver they have. Its more than a 1ft long and it comes with a philips head as well for around $9. Cut the handle off, chuck it in a drill. I put a piece of fuel tubing that is slightly bigger than the screwdriver around it. Put the screw/drill onto the oil pump shaft and slide the fuel pipe down over top the oil pump shaft. The fuel piping keeps the screwdriver seated as you spin it. Spin it till you see oil seeping out around the connecting rods.
 
a_kelley said:
Or take a old dist and remove the gear or a long flat blade and Chuck it in a drill and use it to spin the oil pump. I usually pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly or fill it with Lucas.
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This is what I've always done I have one for 4.0 and 5.7 best thing to use bc it uses the housing as a sleeve so you prime rod isn't bouncing around in dizzy hole... with a grinder I made mine in probably 20 mins!?
 
YJJPWrangler said:
What I did was go to Harbor Freight and buy the longest flat bladed screwdriver they have. Its more than a 1ft long and it comes with a philips head as well for around $9. Cut the handle off, chuck it in a drill. I put a piece of fuel tubing that is slightly bigger than the screwdriver around it. Put the screw/drill onto the oil pump shaft and slide the fuel pipe down over top the oil pump shaft. The fuel piping keeps the screwdriver seated as you spin it. Spin it till you see oil seeping out around the connecting rods.
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How do you see the rods when the oil pan is on and full of oil?
 
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