roller lifter install direction

[grumpyvette]

Putting together this ZZ4 engine and wondering about the orientation of the hydraulic roller lifters....The lifter guides will allow installation in two directions.....There is a small oil hole on one side of the lifter....I was wondering if it made any difference which direction it faces...To the front, to the rear, or no difference?

there,s not a single cam manufacturer I know of that suggests using the factory link dog bone and spider retainer on the more aggressive performance cams ,or higher rpm applications, higher lift cams.
yes the factory lifters and lifter retention system is perfectly adequate below about .520 lift and yes it does mater , to the engines long term durability what cam lobe design and valve spring load rates and valve spring installed heights are used.

youll generally want to install hydraulic roller lifter's with the oil feed holes pointing to the rear of the engine,
but its not super critical as hydraulic pressure in the blocks lifter gallery,
oil feed passages ,
insures the roller lifters get sufficient oil flow facing in either direction.

the stock Chevy hydraulic roller lifters , dog bone and spider springs don,t always work reliably, ALL THE TIME with engines having over .500 lift or when spun over 6000rpm, its not all that rare for the lifter , AND retainer to bounce up to bend the retainer SPIDER spring allowing the lifter to spin sideways, in the lifter bore, resulting in a destroyed cam, thats why Ive suggested BRAND NAME ,AFTERMARKET RETRO FIT CAM COMPONENTS BE USED

IF youve ever wondered what happens in SECONDS to a cam lobe if the roller lifter turns sideways in its bore if it has the dog bone or link break...

http://www.summitracing.com/search/...d-length-checkers?autoview=SKU&ibanner=SREPD5
Proform Pushrod Length Checkers 66789 SBC 3/8" rocker studs

Proform Pushrod Length Checkers 66790 SBC 7/16" rocker studs

Proform Pushrod Length Checkers 66806 BBC 7/16" rocker studs
roller blocks have taller lifter bores, because roller lifters are taller, and a provision to bolt the lifter retainer spring, but they can be very easily used for the earlier flat tappet lifters if desired by simply removing the spider(SPRING RETAINER), keep in mind most roller blocks use one piece rear seals
lots of guys use the GM#12499225. LS7 Lifters with the spider(SPRING RETAINER) valve trains but over about .500 lift your at some risk of the sheet steel spider retentionspring failing to keep thedog bone retainers in place on some blocks
personally
I VASTLY PREFER / TRUST ,THE AFTERMARKET LIFTERS WITH THE LINK BARS A BIT MORE after seeing several OEM dog bones loose the lifters

IDEALLY THE OIL FEED HOLE in the ROLLER LIFTER FACES TO THE REAR of the ENGINE AS THATS the source of the pressurized oil flow,
but any liquid under pressure like the oil in the lifter gallery oil passages should in theory still flow through the lifter feed holes from either direction.

 

[87vette81big]

Howards again Grumpy.
In the back of my mind for future builds and others.

 

[Grumpy]

IDEALLY THE OIL FEED HOLE in the ROLLER LIFTER FACES TO THE REAR of the ENGINE AS THATS the source of the pressurized oil flow
but any liquid under pressure like the oil in the lifter gallery oil passages should in theory still flow through the lifter feed holes from either direction.

Grumpy....I have to wonder about this statement....When I pre-oiled my L31R engine, the oil came up through the push rods starting with #7 (oil filter side) and progressed to #1....From there it crossed the engine to #2 and progressed to #8.

Just my observance; not an argument

if the oil flow came through the push rods as you primed the engine, in that order your rear cam bearing may not be correctly indexed/installed incorrectly, BOTH the front and rear cam bearings feed oil across to the other lifter gallery when the front and rear cam bearings are correctly indexed to the lifter gallery oil feeds

DON,T INSTALL THE FRONT OR REAR OIL GALLERY PLUGS TOO DEEPLY, OR YOU WILL RESTRICT OIL FLOW
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...all-tools-install-info.1479/page-2#post-35245

THE REAR CAM BEARING AND MAIN OIL FEED CENTER OIL PASSAGE AND BOTH LIFTER GALLERY'S ARE FED FROM THE REAR MAIN BEARING AND OIL PUMP THRU THE GROOVE UNDER THE REAR CAM BEARING AND HOLES INDEXED IN IT, ALONG WITH THE READ MAIN CRANK BEARING FED FROM THE CAM BEARING DIRECTLY ABOVE AS ARE ALL THE MAIN BEARINGs

THE FRONT CAM BEARING ALLOWS OIL FLOW TO CROSS OVER ANND FEED BACK DOWN THE OTHER LIFTER GALLERY

NOTICE THE FRONT BEARING FEEDS OIL FROM BOTH SIDES