Lifter Dropped..... HELP please

So i was doing my cam swap and well one of the lifters fell, yes i used some wood dowels to hold up the lifters and yes i spun the cam, i took no chances, and now im kind of in a hard place. i have to pull the intake heads and maybe the oil pan. whos got the good write up on the heads and intake. i checked the "search" function but had a hard time finding anything really helpful, i need any help right now. and where did my lifter fall, is it in the pan or can it be lodged somewhere in the engine. thanks again for all the help. i guess i get to learn more about LS engines than i thought.

it could be ontop of the crank and it wont be in the pan if it made it past the crank itll be on top of the windage tray

i'm gettin ready to do a cam swap myself....does anyone now HOW it fell if he had the dowels in? I thought that blocked the passage...

well .....he could have had a dowel rod that was too small and just got lucky with the rest or it could be the back lifter and he didnt have the rod pushed all the way back

in for the results. Hopefully it wont be bad

I guess we've always been lucky, never used dowels during an install, we had to use pen magnets to hold up a few loose ones.
Before you pull the cam, keep the pushrods in place, spin the cam several times, none of the pushrods should move again after a full rotation of the cam, if any do then that lifter needs a pen magnet.
Also, swap the cam as fast as possible, don't let the lifters sit for a long period of time.

You might be able to pull the oil pan, hopefully, which is no biggy.

I would first drop the pan, like stated you might have got lucky. If you need info, go to ls1howto.com Alot of good info there for sure.. Good luck

I would try the pen magnet first to see if you can fish it back up. Very doubtful but it can happen. More than likely it didnt fall all the way down. I would pull the head first before the pan and see if its still in the top of the engine.. Either way the head has to come off eventually so this might save you from pulling botttom end apart.

I dropped one once doing a cam swap on a 2001 Camaro SS. I was able to drop the oil pan just a bit to give about an inch of clearance and fish around with a flexible pen magnet and got the lifter out. Also if you have a friend with a boroscope you can probably find the location of the lifter to avoid a long time searching with the magnet.

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Originally Posted by farmtruc

I guess we've always been lucky, never used dowels during an install, we had to use pen magnets to hold up a few loose ones.
Before you pull the cam, keep the pushrods in place, spin the cam several times, none of the pushrods should move again after a full rotation of the cam, if any do then that lifter needs a pen magnet.
Also, swap the cam as fast as possible, don't let the lifters sit for a long period of time.

You might be able to pull the oil pan, hopefully, which is no biggy.

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thats the way ive done it too...everyone asks me all the time why i have 16 pen magnets on my lift posts...lol

and to the OP if it were me i would pull the engine, but ive got to where i can pull one in like 2 hours....lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by farmtruc

I guess we've always been lucky, never used dowels during an install, we had to use pen magnets to hold up a few loose ones.
Before you pull the cam, keep the pushrods in place, spin the cam several times, none of the pushrods should move again after a full rotation of the cam, if any do then that lifter needs a pen magnet.
Also, swap the cam as fast as possible, don't let the lifters sit for a long period of time.

You might be able to pull the oil pan, hopefully, which is no biggy.

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Thats exactly what I did my first time, I checked rotation and left the rods in to see if they stay up in the plastic retainers. I know Comp Cams or someone sells those rods with their cams but I dont know if they sell them seperate. Instead of circular they are triangular. I need some of those to have peace of mind when I do these jobs.

thanks for all the help, im working on it right now, im wondering about removeing the intake and head, what do i need to look out for and i need advice on removing the intake, do i need to pull the injectors or will they lift out with the intake and for the heads whats the torque specs and any help and tips would be great. i have never done a cam swap before and now i get to basically take the whole engine apart so it is a blessing but it still sucks.

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Originally Posted by 99silveradodude

thanks for all the help, im working on it right now, im wondering about removeing the intake and head, what do i need to look out for and i need advice on removing the intake, do i need to pull the injectors or will they lift out with the intake and for the heads whats the torque specs and any help and tips would be great. i have never done a cam swap before and now i get to basically take the whole engine apart so it is a blessing but it still sucks.

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Intake is easy. Pop the injectors out and fuel rail. First relieve the pressure before doin that or else you will get a nasty squirt and may get in ur eye. No need to take heads off. Also look at ur knock sensors to see if they are rusted. You may need new ones since you are already in there.

how do i pop the injectors out, will they just come out with a good tug or do i need special tools. also for the fuel lines that run behind the intake do i just disconnect them or leave them alone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 99silveradodude

how do i pop the injectors out, will they just come out with a good tug or do i need special tools. also for the fuel lines that run behind the intake do i just disconnect them or leave them alone.

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I just use a flat head screwdriver. They are held in by a o-ring wedged in but there are reatining bolts you must loosen and take off. With them off you can inspect them also.

so i am a little worried to break something, i took the two bolts off for the fuel rail, are the reataining bolts the ones that are kind of under the intake that you have to use a long extension to get to. also the injectors seem to be held in by some silver retainer clips do i need to remove those also.

REALLY.....You don't need to remove the fuel rails from the intake. Just disconnect the fuel lines from the rails....And No need to pull a head? How are you going to get to the Lifters then?

ooo sweet i didnt know if the injectors had to come out or if they are part of the intake assembly. and yes im pulling the heads, do i need to place bolts and gaskets or can i just reuse the stock ones. im in a tight money stop this project costed me double what i thought, but when has any project not.

When you get the intake off you can look at the intake gaskets and tell if they need replacing. If the oring is still raised above the plastic no need to replace. If it is flat with the plastic then replace them to be safe. I would just pull which ever side head off to begin with. No need for both at this time. You will need a new head gasket and head bolts. Head bolts are not reusable.

Your 99 probably has the old style intake gaskets, the new ones are green i think.
Get your head bolts from Full Service, only $35 for a box of them.
Use the stock mls head gasket, don't get cheap there.
When tightening the bolts, go to ls1howto.com, be sure to put a line on the head bolt so you can torque them correctly.
Use a new manifold exhaust gasket, oem.
torque rockers to 22-24, with a dot of loctite on the threads.

just a few things off the top of my head, good luck.

well sounds like some more money. but o well i rather not have to rip it apart again. and I almost have the intake off i cant get the fuel lines on the driver side off, there is that spikey clip and than it looks like it should just pull apart but i cant get it, do i need special tools or again dont be a wuss and just pull it apart.

ya, you'll need a gm fuel line removal tool, J tool 3496, about $135 for the tool, haha jk.

goto autozone and pick you up the 5/16 and 3/8 fuel line tool, i think they are the white = 5/16 and blue = 3/8, if you're buying the inexpensive plastic tools.
They should be about $5.

Don't try to use a screwdriver or pick lol, just get the tool and it'll make it easier, plus you won't mess up the spikey clip.

keep moving!!!

hey, you should be tweet'n all this stuff on twitter, hahah.

bummer. Drop the pan, pull the pickup tube off the oil pump, drop the windage tray and the lifter should be easily removed. Get a new oil tube oring. I put a small bead of silicone behind the oring to make sure I don't have any leaks due to pinching the oring when re-installing and have not had low oil pressure since on any of my builds. Put the bottom end together after you're finished just in case you drop something else in there. :laugh: Yeah, one new head gasket for the side the lifter fell on and one set of bolts for the head. Use the marker trick on the head bolt so you don't miss one when torqueing. Remove intake as a complete assembly by removing electrical connections, vacuum hoses and fuel line(s). I've reused the intake manifold and exhaust gaskets many times with no issues so far, lucky I guess. :) If you have time and access to a new lifter retainer, I'd replace it so it doesn't happen again in the future.

alright i got the intake and head off, i am wondering about the valley plate, it has the two sensors in the middler and i dont want to break them, do they come off with the plate or do i have to disconnect them and take them out sperate, i pulled on the valley cover for a second but was worried something wasnt right when it didnt just come off.

There is nothing under the valley cover. Leave it on.

i thought i might be able to get to the lifter, or should i just pull the pan and look there.

Drop the pan.

so im working on my pan right now, can i remove the crossmember under the pan so i can get to the rest of bolts or is it under pressure.