5.3 Lifters

[Jim52]

Had a lifter stick so I pulled the heads and replaced all the lifters, new oem trays and had the heads redone. After reinstalling the heads and exhaust I remembered I forgot to tighten the lifter trays! They are hand tight but I defiantly did not torque them to the 9 ft lb they should be. My question is do the heads hold them down? Do I pull the heads and tight them?
Thanks
Jim

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum.

Go back in there and finish the job. There is a reason the spec says 9 ft. lb. I guarantee you the directions do not say, "Torque to 9 ft. lb. unless of course you forgot and reassembled everything already. If you did that, no big deal".

C'mon man!

 

[01FormulaTA]

unfortunately you need to pull it apart or you risk the bolts holding the trays in backing out and destroying your engine...

 

[Jim52]

Thanks for the sarcasm lol I can dish it out so I'm able to take it. The reason I'm asking is because I read that " from a search" to hand tighten the tray bolt because the person working on the engine had cracked one, maybe he over torque it? His comment was that the head holds the tray down. Just wanted some input on the subject. In life I've always found to slow down and think or ask before rushing into something. Pulling the exhaust and the heads is a BIG job! New head gaskets, new head bolts, re-torque the rockers, etc.... Figured it wouldn't hurt to ask before spending more money/time. If I had lots of money, I wouldn't be attempting this level of work.
Thanks
Jim

 

[Jim52]

Thanks 01formulaTA

 

[OR VietVet]

Thanks for the sarcasm lol I can dish it out so I'm able to take it. The reason I'm asking is because I read that " from a search" to hand tighten the tray bolt because the person working on the engine had cracked one, maybe he over torque it? His comment was that the head holds the tray down. Just wanted some input on the subject. In life I've always found to slow down and think or ask before rushing into something. Pulling the exhaust and the heads is a BIG job! New head gaskets, new head bolts, re-torque the rockers, etc.... Figured it wouldn't hurt to ask before spending more money/time. If I had lots of money, I wouldn't be attempting this level of work.
Thanks
Jim

Yea, me and Don Rickles share that sarcasm gene. If it is such a big job going back in there, then maybe, just maybe, you should have paid attention the first time around! Bazinga!

 

[Rocket Man]

You’re not the first one to assemble something and then realize later you forgot to do something in the process and want nothing more than to shrug it off. But you would be risking more then just the work you did but instead risk destroying your engine like was mentioned. Unfortunately it’s time to suck it up and pull it apart again. Use this as a lesson in being thorough, and remember the deeper you are in something the more important it is to double or triple check everything as you button it back up.

 

[iamdub]

What they said. I'm not so sure there's enough room for the bolt to back all the way out. But there's enough room for the lifter trays to bounce around if not secured. I'd bet they'd quickly shatter and let the lifters turn and chew up the rollers and cam lobes.

Consider that $100 in head gaskets and bolts a cheap lesson compared to what dancing lifters will do.

 

[Andi Wilson]

Had a lifter stick so I pulled the heads and replaced all the lifters, new oem trays and had the heads redone. After reinstalling the heads and exhaust I remembered I forgot to tighten the lifter trays! They are hand tight but I defiantly did not torque them to the 9 ft lb they should be. My question is do the heads hold them down? Do I pull the heads and tight them?
Thanks
Jim

How difficult was it for you to fix the lifters? I have an 07 Tahoe and it looks like I'm going to have to take the whole front end off to replace the lifters.

 

[wjburken]

How difficult was it for you to fix the lifters? I have an 07 Tahoe and it looks like I'm going to have to take the whole front end off to replace the lifters.

I replaced the Cam and Lifters on the 6.2L in my 2007 Yukon. It is not a difficult job to do, just take your time and double check everything. I did not take off the front end when I did this, but it may have been easier had I done it. It would have been a lot easier had I pulled the motor and did the work on a stand. I had to remove the radiator but had enough room to take the cam out without taking out the AC coil.