383 Lifter Bore Honing

[cr8crshr]

Yesterday I pulled the 383 out of my project to begin tear down and swap of components to the replacement 383 I now have. On installing the lifters every one was slightly snug except for one which would not completely seat to the cam lobe. Inspecting with my finger, there appears to be a slight and very small ridge at the bottom of the lifter bore...cam side...that is causing the lifter to not fully seat upon its respective lobe. I am wondering if after removing the lifters and the cam, can I hone this particular lifter bore without having to do all of them. When I say the other lifters are snug, they will accept the .904 MOPAR lifters but when they came out of the first engine they were slightly looser. When I rotate the cam now installed in the new motor, all the lifters ride up and down smoothly on the lobes...except the one that isn't full seated...so I know that all will work correctly, and I was able to spin the lifters with no interference when in their bores. Just this one lifter bore that needs to be given a slight hone. I am re-using the cam and lifters...after a complete inspection of the Cam and each lifter...as I only have an hour and a half total run time in the first motor and there is absolutely no adverse wear on either the Cam Lobes or the bottom of the Lifters. Cam and Lifters are by Hughes of which I have used on my past builds with the same results. Thanks in advance FBBO for any responses. Tools are always good to have so if anyone knows of a good kit to get then please advise...cr8crshr/Tuck

 

[mopar367]

I would say yes, it is fine to hone the one lifter bore that needs more clearance. I had to hone my oil pump drive shaft to fit in my bushing when building my 440. Why mess around with the other lifters if they work fine,right?

 

[snakeoil24]

If you have wear at the base of lifter bore inspect it. If it looks like burnt oil then use a brake cylinder hone, also mic the diameter of the lifters make sure the size is correct. Use lube withthe hone and only a few turns. It might be damage from an over heated lifter that wore uneven.

 

[Budnicks]

Tools

if it's only one bore, can you get some inside measurements, inside micrometer &/or dial bore gage, hone it & measure to check your clearances, a brake cylinder hone tool on a electric drill may be enough...you can rent or buy cheaper ones at Graingers possibly or Summit Racing or Harbor Freight Tools {probably Chinese stuff}

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some are cheap some, are really pricey, they range all over the map in prices... even a local Napa parts store or whom ever you go to, might have them...

 

[Hemirunner]

http://www.goodson.com/LBB-CR1-906_dia_Lifter_Bore_Burnishing_Ball_for_Chrysler/

 

[IQ52]

Are we going to hone a lifter bore on an assembled short block?

 

[bm02tj]

If they do they are asking for possible trouble with grid and filings

 

[Hemirunner]

That's the beauty of the Goodson lifter bore tool. No honing involved. Obviously, it should have been checked beforehand, but stuff happens.

 

[Meep-Meep]

What I would do is identify the actual cause of the stickiness and deal with it. This may be difficult and will require some very careful observation but in the long run it's the best way to fix the problem without possibly damaging the rest of the bore. If you just attack the bore with a hone you will likely remove material that shouldn't be removed because the hone will just follow whatever path is established by that defect. Your problem could be a burr that will be removed easily with a scraping tool. An old triangular file with the tip ground down to a point resembling an arrow head makes a great tool. And by identifying the actual cause of the defect, and if it's small enough, you can scrape it out in place using a little grease to control the chips. Honing will make a mess with grit that you won't be able to control.

 

[69a100]

Good points meep- I just got back in from the garage looking things over. I got the lifter in the bore with a little hand work, I don't know what or how I did it. Even took it all the way out and put it back in. Looking over all 16 of them I did notice that on a couple of them, if you pull them 1/2 way out and put them back in that when the bottom of the lifter hits the bottom of the bore like there's a little hang up of a lip which I assume was part of the problem with the lifter in question? I must say that the bottom of the bores have a sharp edge on them. The taper trick would be the ticket here but being at the bottom of the bore it'd be very hard to get in there and do that. But turning the cam, the lifters go up & down as they should and all buttoned up will also have the spring keeping things in place.

 

[Meep-Meep]

It does sound like a burr from the bottom, which can be cut (with the tool as described above) through the top of the bore. Have Crate hold a vacuum hose in the bore while you do it. It's important to not have the lifter hang up at any point in it's movement because as you well know, lifters rotate as they go up and down, which is caused by the taper on the cam lobe and the crowned lifter surface. The interface between the lifter and cam lobe for the purposes of providing rotation seems to be fairly weak, meaning some dirt or a burr can stop this rotation fairly easily, and all it has to do is not rotate for one or two cycles and you establish a wear pattern that you may not recover from - and that leads to a flat cam very quickly. Take the time to clear any defects from the bores and carefully check the fit dry.

 

[cr8crshr]

Thanks Meep and 69a100...Figure that is the way to go. I'll update tomorrow and on Wednesday as my Brother has AF duty the rest of the week and weekend so he is out of town. Gotta have my go to guy to keep me legit. I will be working on the heads so that will keep me busy in the meantime...cr8crshr/Tuck