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[ninobrn99]

sucks bro!! im going to be doing the same thing at the end of the month its gonna suck! what did the lifter look like? how do you know it was broke??

[GatorSS]

OK HERE'S THE UPDATE!!!!

so my buddy an i crackopen the valve cover on the passenger side to see that rocker #2 is EXTREMELY loose. So we inspect the pushrod; it's fine. Inspect the rocker; it's fine...oh shit...gotta keep digging-it was a broken LIFTER! it took us like 6 hours of unscrewing, unbolting and digging....we had to take off the manifold covers, the intake and the headders to finally reveal a single broken lifter. It sucked that we had to do all that but it was better than being charged 700+ in time/parts to have the pros do it.

i've learned a lot about this engine just in doing all of this...

Congratulations on finding and fixing the problem on your own. What a great lesson learned. As I've always said, an education will cost you...one way or another (a lot of time or a lot of money or a lot of something).

Good job!

[third_shift|studios]

sucks bro!! im going to be doing the same thing at the end of the month its gonna suck! what did the lifter look like? how do you know it was broke??

ok, to test if it's the lifter or bent rod:

1) tear down to expose the valve train.

2) giggle each rocker arm. There is minimal play in each, but the one(s) that rattle(s) the most will be a "problem spot."

3) just to ensure the others are cheked, "Fake-start" the car by just twisting the key on/off in a fast motion DO NOT START THE CAR!!!!! you just want to get that first "pop" of the engine then kill it. This will move all the valves without sending oil through the whole engine. Repeat step 2.

4) remove the "problem-spot" rocker and rod. Wipe off the rod and roll it on a piece of glass or other perfectly flat service. If the rod oscilated while rolling-you're in luck, buy a new 7.400 inch rod.

5)If it rolled smoothly, put it back in and do a "rocker-or-lifter" test by putting a "non-problem spot" rocker in place of the "problem-spot" rocker. If the "non-problem" rocker shifts wildly, then you know you have to dig further and replace the lifter. If it doesn't shift wildly, then the original rocker from that spot is broken.

6) To get to the lifter: remove the air intake/manifold cover. BE WEARY OF THE DELICATE "OIL-PRESSURE SENDING UNIT" JUST TO THE BACK-RIGHT OF THE MANIFOLD!!! Also, there are a few electrical connections and hoses back there. I believe there are 10 screws on the top of the manifold-you can unbolt/remove the front 6, the back 4 are too-long to remove. After all hoses and electricals are out of the way-we left the gas line connected, it wasn't a big problem-lift up on the manifold and begin to pull it forward slowly. Inspect any snags that stop you so that you don't rip anything out. Be careful-that's all i can say, and take a breather if you get frustrated.

7) remove the valve train, the exhaust manifold and header.

8) Inspect the lifter(s) from the "problem spot(s)." In a side-by-side comparison a broken lifter will pour oil out and have a deeped indentation where the push-rod seats.

Good luck, this is a very exhausting/frustrating process that can be done with a lot of patience. DON'T FORGET: you will need to replace the header bolts and the head-gasket. New bolts are to be torqued to 22 ft-pounds.