How do you clean the lifters?

[A_Manke]

I have a 95 grand prix 3.4L DOHC and I have a lifter rattle on #one cylinder. I know you can take apart the other style lifters to clean them and check the spings out inside. But can you do that on the this style of lifter? and how? if it can be done. I would just change all the lifters out but I am haven a hard time finding enough to replace them all (I live in Canada and there isnt much for parts on 3.4 engine here) I did find six new ones.

[A_Manke]

It can be done. I just took one lifter and pulled out the plunger, not much to it. I couldnt see a clip that holds it all together, thats way I asked if it could be done. The plunger is held in with a compresstion clip inside the lifter body, so a good crip on the plunger with a twisting pull action and out it comes. I now have no lifter rattle, there was some dirt inside most of my lifters.

[series8217]

You cleaned it out and put it back together? Or did you replace the ones that were dirty?

[A_Manke]

I put them back together, not much to it. They had a fine dirt in there and some oil sluge not that much but pluged up the little ball valve inside the plunger.

[OldSkoolGP]

You can get replacement lifters on the 60V6 store for a very good price. You may just want to do that, then you only have to take it apart once and you won't have to worry about it again.

[A_Manke]

I had measured each lifter and bore hole, they were all well withen spec's.
And there isnt anything inside a lifter to mess up, any lifter can be taken apart to be cleaned. I was going to just replace them but the car has 60,000Km I have owned it since new so I knew they werent bad just gumed up.

[HayesPerformance]

Did you prime them?

[A_Manke]

Submerse them in oil and push on the plunger you well see the air bubbles come out the little hole on the side of the lifter body, keep pushing till you see no bubbles. Hear is sum easy reading on lifters

http://www.earlycuda.org/tech/valves.htm

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/HydraulicLifters.html

http://www.samarins.com/glossary/dohc.html