Hey guys, quick question...
I'm finally going to have some time off of school to go home this weekend, which means I have some free wrenching time. I need to check and re-tension the cam/balance belt, but I am debating on whether to pull the cam tower again and swap some lifters. I have one, maybe two, that like to randomly go totally flat, clacking loudly. Usually they'll straighten out at least enough to go quiet if I rev past 3000 for a few seconds, but it's kind of annoying, and by the obvious workings of hydraulic lifters in general, it probably compromises valve lift on the affected valve at least when it does go flat.
So the question is, what sort of harm could come from leaving it in there versus swapping different used lifters to try to eliminate the problem, since it would end up being either the 3rd or 4th different lifter my cam has run on, depending on the lobe. Any metal part that makes that sound can't be good for the long term, and the German case hardenning has proved itself well with the last 3 or so mixups. I know in a perfect world the entire cam and all lifters would be replaced all at once at the onset of any problem, but the world ain't always perfect...
It's not a question of time, since I can have the cam tower off and back on during the belt job in less than an hour, but more a question of severity of the problem and risk. I wouldn't care if the cam disintegrated except that it would probably ruin the rest of the motor, as the cam has in excess of 160K on it and who knows how "in spec" it still is. It is the original from my old motor. Either leave it as is until I can find a lower mileage late cam, housing, and lifters in good shape (could be next summer, or as long as 3 years down the road), or swap lifters to quiet it down until I can find a better valvetrain. The late cams seem to have been a bit harder to find lately. They have a slightly better profile than the early part.
Any thoughts?