can I revive the hydrolic valve lifters in my 215cid. v-8?

Asked by kemosabe Jul 25, 2010 at 09:05 AM about the 1963 Buick Skylark

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

This car has not ran in 7 years, and many of the lifters had drained their oil so they would not operate their valves.
I pulled the distributor and used a drill motor to spin the oil pump to get some of the lifters to work, but not all came back to life.
what can i do to revive the others?
The engine will fire and run, but only as fast as the starter will turn it.
Any thoughts?

825

Michael answered 14 years ago

I have revived lifters by removing them from the engine and placing them in 3 inches of transmission fluid. Then place a pushrod on the top and work it up and down to flush out the old oil. You will feel them pump back up and they should be good to go. You could also take them apart and clean them.

Mark helpful