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Which lifters to buy?

B

BDEGhost

New member
Hello all,

'02 Grand Prix, 3.8L N/A

I am doing a LIM gasket replacement and a new UIM w/gasket, valve cover gaskets, etc. Since my lifters have been "ticking" for a while now, I figured I would replace them as well since I would have it torn down anyway.
My question is: what are the best, least expensive lifters I can buy? My dealer wants $63 each for OEM which is insane !!! I have heard that the Comp Cam lifters are noisy and louder than the OEM ones. I have also gotten conflicting info on whether I can use LS7 lifters, but I am not sure what LS7 lifters are.... or, where to get them. I have also heard that the ones that AZ sells are crap. I want to do this once and only once and need some direction from all of you. I also have a very limited budget for this, so the lifters need to be the best ones for the least amount of $$$.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
 


and last I checked you buy them from texas speed pretty cheap...and you get 16 of them so incase you have a failure later on...you'll have 4 to fall back on.
 
I see that NAPA has Sealed Power lifters for my engine (part # HT2148) that sell for $10.99 each. Has anyone ever used this particular brand of lifter? And if so, is it any good? RockAuto.com sells the same lifters too. Just don't want to buy any junk.
Thanks,
 
BDEGhost said:
I see that NAPA has Sealed Power lifters for my engine (part # HT2148) that sell for $10.99 each. Has anyone ever used this particular brand of lifter? And if so, is it any good? RockAuto.com sells the same lifters too. Just don't want to buy any junk.
Thanks,
Click to expand...

So...did you see the 2 posts above yours then?
 


Yes, I did see the posts above...I called Texas Speed and verified that the LS7 lifters would work in my GP. But, the guy I talked to said that I would also have to change my pushrods to maintain the proper pre-load. Is this a fact? For those of you who have used the LS7 did you have to change the pushrods?

Thanks for all your help on this.
 
BDEGhost said:
Yes, I did see the posts above...I called Texas Speed and verified that the LS7 lifters would work in my GP. But, the guy I talked to said that I would also have to change my pushrods to maintain the proper pre-load. Is this a fact? For those of you who have used the LS7 did you have to change the pushrods?

Thanks for all your help on this.
Click to expand...

No, that doesn't make any sense, you don't have to pre-load this type of lifter
 
From what he said, the "cup" on the LS7 lifter where the pushrod sits is 0.050" "higher" than a stock lifter. Therefore, you need a shorter pushrod to compensate for this. Otherwise, you end up with lifter ticking noises or can even kill the lifter.
I really want to change my lifters, but I don't know if I want to get into measuring the valvetrain geometry, etc. to determine what length pushrod I would need. This seems like way too much for me.
 
Yes, the cup is .050" shallower on the LS7 lifters, but this lifter also has a ton of leeway. People recommend running them with anywhere from .030" preload all the way up to .120". This lifter completely replaced the previous lifter for the LS engines and the 3800, so GM was using it there with no other changes (IE, most of the series III 3800s). Buying new OEM lifters for a 3800 will get you this same lifter.
 
Update: I bought 12 LS7 lifters from Texas Speed. $97.99 for 12 plus shipping. Super good price !!!

Thanks for all your help.
 


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