[61-63]

This may be a stupid question but why couldn't someone just put oil bands on any lifter by mounting the lifter in a lathe and putting the band on with a cut off tool? I've been reading on here for years about the Pontiac oil band being or not being in the right place on various lifters.

Some fellow has started a thread about a neat roller lifter setup using sb ford spiders etc. and the oil band deal has reared its head there.

[steve25]

These days there to me there is really no need to go thru such gyrations and time input when we have access to all the correctly made different types of lifters we need, especially if your running a aftermarket block that can use corporate lifters.

[dataway]

Seems like it would be easy enough ... probably wouldn't use a cut off tool though, kerf would be too narrow ... the band usually intersects the feed hole throughout most of the travel I think.

But yeah, would be about five minutes per lifter in a lathe, and the bands aren't exactly precision machined either, they just provide a gap for the oil flow. I'll give it a shot on some old lifters .... if the shell of the lifter is hardened ... would be a different story, would probably have to be ground, that's a whole nuther deal.

[johnta1]

The main problem is when using off beat lifters, the oil band is already cut in.
Which is usually also in the wrong place. So, when put in a Pontiac engine, the band will drop out of the bore causing lots of problems.
(same with the oil hole in the lifter body usually)

Don't know of anyone selling a 'blank' lifter body to have it cut where you want it?

[Scarebird]

Lifter bodies are hardened steel and cutoff tools are pretty weak.

[shaker455]

Lifters are case hardened.
You have to use a surface grinder & rotary spindex

[jonmachota78]

Since roller lifters don't spin, I always wondered why cutting a vertical channel in the lifter body from the non Pontiac oil band to the the oil hole in the lifter bore, connecting the two wouldn't be an easier solution than the "block mod" that's been talked about around here. No block mod or lathe required.

[tom s]

Pontiac has been using chevy solid roller lifter for 60 years with virtually no issues!The issue reared its ugly head with hyd rollers.ALL hyd rollers at this point are SBC bodies with pontiac lift bars except one.The problem in my mind is quality control.There are thousands of hyd rollers running with no issue BUT the ones we hear about are the noisy ones.I think if you have a issue inside the lifter no block mod or lifter mod is going to cure it.JMHO,Tom

[Scarebird]

Tom and Jon are both correct. I did grind a small groove in the roller lifter in a vain attempt to shut them up - no luck. **** Morel.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by tom s

Pontiac has been using chevy solid roller lifter for 60 years with virtually no issues!The issue reared its ugly head with hyd rollers.ALL hyd rollers at this point are SBC bodies with pontiac lift bars except one.The problem in my mind is quality control.There are thousands of hyd rollers running with no issue BUT the ones we hear about are the noisy ones.I think if you have a issue inside the lifter no block mod or lifter mod is going to cure it.JMHO,Tom

Ditto, I've never actually had any issues with a couple different brand roller lifters in Pontiacs with quite a few aggressive camshafts. All we ever hear about are the noisy ones, No one ever posts about the good experiences, and the few that do get pushed off to the side and ignored as a lucky one or some garbage like that. The way I see it, the percentage is further to the success side than it is failure, but the internet never portrays it like that.

There are some bleed down issues and some quality control issues. Most of that comes from people trying to save a buck and buying the cheapest thing they can find on ebay.

[Formulajones]

Here ya go, these are the differences. I've actually run both of these lifters in 2 different Pontiac blocks with no lifter bore mod.

They both ran whisper quiet.

[johnta1]

What brands are they?

[Formulajones]

They are actually both from Comp. One is Morel and the other is Shafer I think? Comp had 2 different suppliers and that's what the differences look like.
The taller set I bought from Paul K on the forums here and are the roller lifters considered by many here to be correct for Pontiac. I ran the shorter ones however in a previous 455 several years ago and they were quiet.

[Scarebird]

I am glad they worked out for you.

For quite a few of us they did not - far above the normal issue rate.

[Formulajones]

I think quite a few, were buying the shorter ones for a long time. Which did in fact work fine for me but I think your best bet, and seems to be the general consensus around here, is to go with the taller set with the higher oil band. I believe it's the set that Tom S has recommended around here for a long time, and Paul K sells them.

If you order directly from Comp, I think it's hit and miss which ones will be in the box.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Scarebird

Lifter bodies are hardened steel and cutoff tools are pretty weak.

Precisely. Lifter bodies are hardened after machining. To machine them correctly. you would need to anneal them before machining then re-harden them afterwards.

[craigs69]

There are grooving and parting tools readily available that will cut hardened steel up to 65 Rockwell C.

The tooling is considerably more expensive than typical carbide and will require a rigid setup with precise speed and feel control in order for it to work. Not something that you will do at home with the lathe in the garage.

[Formulajones]

I think the bottom line is, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that this idea isn't even remotely necessary.

[tom s]

The older lifters were Johnson im told.Tom

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by tom s

The older lifters were Johnson im told.Tom

Then it must be the taller ones that are the Morels? Crap I can't remember lol

Either way, you can tell them apart immediately as soon as you pull them out of the box. If worried about the oil band, just make sure you have the taller set from Comp.