Lifter Retainer

[sks762]

I recently had a knocking noise in my 94 grand am 3100 engine. I found that a rocker arm was loose. The nut was still torqued on the stud of the rocker arm so I removed the intake to check the lifter. I found that the lifter retainer, at least that is what I think it is called, had wore out and allowed the roller lifter to spin and ruined it. I did get the lifter out without damaging the bore.

Could anyone tell me the gm part number for the retainer or a website to find it? I have looked at quite a few and havent found it yet. Or does somebody make this aftermarket?

Thanks.

[CNCguy]

I recently had a knocking noise in my 94 grand am 3100 engine. I found that a rocker arm was loose. The nut was still torqued on the stud of the rocker arm so I removed the intake to check the lifter. I found that the lifter retainer, at least that is what I think it is called, had wore out and allowed the roller lifter to spin and ruined it. I did get the lifter out without damaging the bore.

Could anyone tell me the gm part number for the retainer or a website to find it? I have looked at quite a few and havent found it yet. Or does somebody make this aftermarket?

Thanks.

My vote is for a broken camshaft.

I have never heard of this happening before but have seen broken camshafts that allow the lifter to drop lower and spin around. If the cam did break, it would cause the oil light to come on also. Cam breakage does happen ocassionally on these engines due to the assembled camshaft design.

I have a '96 3100 sitting here that has the same issue. After the lifters were removed, you could see the break in this cam. The car belongs to my sons girlfriend and the camshaft broke while the car was warming up in the driveway before she left for work. Since the engine had to come out and be disassembled, he opted to do a 3400 swap. He completed the change during a weekend.

If the guide did wear out, then there is a very high chance that the cam is dead since the roller was dragging sideways across the lobe. Inspect the lobes by looking through the lifter bores as you slowly spin the engine. Check it closely before you reassemble your engine.

Not trying to be negative, just trying to help. I don't want to see you waste your time putting the engine back together with a bad camshaft.

[sks762]

I did take a look at the lobes of the cam by slowly turning the engine over until I could see them. The lobe adjacent to the damaged lifter looks scuffed on the high spot. I will bring home a dial indicator and set it up on the lifters and see how much damage there might be on both of the lobes.

Even if I do have to pull the engine and change the cam I still have to find a replacement lifter retainer. I guess I will have to call some dealers or go to a junkyard.

Thanks for the reply.

[CNCguy]

I did take a look at the lobes of the cam by slowly turning the engine over until I could see them. The lobe adjacent to the damaged lifter looks scuffed on the high spot. I will bring home a dial indicator and set it up on the lifters and see how much damage there might be on both of the lobes.

Even if I do have to pull the engine and change the cam I still have to find a replacement lifter retainer. I guess I will have to call some dealers or go to a junkyard.

Thanks for the reply.

I am surprised that no one else has replied to this thread. Perhaps someone else will step up and give you an answer. BTW, play close attention to pushrod location upon reassembly. The lengths are different between intake and exhaust.

Good luck with your repair.

[bszopi]

I'll see if I can dig up the part number this afternoon...

[bszopi]

Well, I checked a few sources with no luck. I also looked at a retainer off an engine I have and was amazed that there were no numbers stamped or molded into the part. I have a set of microfiche for my car that might have the PN on it, but I don't have access to a reader like I used to (and don't know any local places that have one).

[CNCguy]

sks762... I have a used retainer here that you can have for shipping cost. It isn't new but is in good shape. Just let me know if you want it.

[sks762]

I am going to work on the car tomorrow to check the lobes on the cam and try to get all of the needle bearings out of the engine. Will probably drop the oil pan to get a look in there also.

I will try a few places to find that part and if I dont find it I will send you an email CNCguy to find out how to work out getting that part. Thanks for the help.

Also thanks bszopi for going through the trouble of trying to find that part number for me.

If I happen to find a part number for it I will post it sometime tomorrow.

Thanks again to both of you!

[bszopi]

I will warn you now... Pulling the pan is almost impossible on the 3x00s with the engine in the car due to the side bolts going into the crank mains (the 3x00s version of a 4-bolt main). The tranny basically blocks access to the rear bolts. I know people have done it, but it takes some special tools and alot of luck.

[sks762]

I did locate some new lifter guides today at a local dealership. They said they would have them for me tomorrow morning. When I get them I will post the part number just in case anyone else needs to find them.

Today I checked out the cam which looks decent and cleaned all the surfaces for the new gaskets. I put the new lifter in and made sure that it did not go all the way down into the bore on the low spot of the cam since I forgot to take my dial indicator with me to the garage. I also fished around with a magnet to pull out needle bearings. I found 13 of them. How many are in one lifter? Probably only the owl knows or is that licks of a lollipop? I also was trying to pull the oil pan. I did manage to get out all of the bolts that I could see including the ones on the side of the pan that go into the bearing caps. I only saw four of them is this right? I tried to get the pan down but gave up for the day. It still has one bracket on the back that hooks to the tranny that looks like it could be holding it up.

Thanks again to all will post that part number tomorrow.

[sks762]

Picked up the new lifter guides (which is what GM calls them) today. The GM part number is 10166364.

[bszopi]

GM PART # 10166364
CATEGORY: Engine Valve Push Rod Cover Guide
PACK QTY: 1
CORE CHARGE: $0.00
GM LIST: $7.28
OUR PRICE: $4.32

DESCRIPTION: GUIDE-VLV

[sks762]

Sorry I guess it is valve guide. I had the part number written on a piece of paper and now that I am looking at the bag I see that it does say valve guide.