Seems to me I just learnt a similar lesson about water pumps.

As a matter of information, I just measured the SOHC rear main seal adapter. It does fit the Montero oil pan bolt pattern - so the DOHC adapter is a 3.0L one-off.

Frank

Did that DOHC engine have a steel sump or an alloy one?

Charley -

IIRC, it was alloy.

Frank

Good to know,
I did have to redrill a few of the holes on my 3.8 to run a 3.5 sump. So they appear to not all be the same.

You couldn't redrill this one for a Montero oil pan - the pan holes half covered the adapter holes - very close to fitting. I could enlarge the Montero pan holes, but I don't want to do that. I'd rather get a new seal and swap adapters.

This exercise gets stranger by the minute..... I grabbed the extra lifter I bought (it's a Melling) to see what I needed to do to make it solid. When I tested the spring pressure, it won't compress at all. I even tried a pair of pump pliers to squeeze it. It's the same extended length as the OE lifter (1.020"), but it won't budge. So, whether it's a bad lifter or made as a non-compressible solid type, I don't know - but it saved me from figuring out what to do with it..... I think I'll treat it as found gold and go back to see if they have another one like it so I'll have a pair for cam checking. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Frank

This is getting interesting. I decided to see if the Melling lifter was really at zero lash, so I set the dial indicator on the valve spring cup at zero.... then loosened the rocker assembly bolts. The indicator read .040".... so when the assembly was bolted down, the valve was off the seat. Since the lifter had been cycled a few turns through engine rotation, I rechecked the tip and found it could now be compressed, but not as much as OE and it was still much stiffer. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /><img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I called Melling for help. They have a set of bleeding instructions for these lifters - the only ones they make that require bleeding. For some reason, AutoZone doesn't supply the instructions. They're similar to the FSM procedure outlined for cleaning.

Here are the 2 lifters side-by-side.... OE on the left, Melling on the right - notice the larger oil hole in the Melling lifter - that may help stop the cursed 3.0L valve tick. Melling says it's supposed to at least help. Maybe that enlarged oil port is a good reason to try a set of these lifters:



Frank

The factory lifters have the larger oil port also, that has been a running change.
Yes Mitsubishi lifters are to be bled out with fuel oil when installed.
Why do people complain about ticking lifters then to change them and install new ones dry again.

I've certainly installed them without bleeding them first, with no visible or audible signs of damage. They seem to self-bleed ok when new, but I guess it's best to follow the bleeding procedure. The FSM procedure seems confusing to me - it suggests that the bleeding procedure should be repeated if the lifter tip is too loose.... even has a test fixture that measures the amount of gravity compression over time.... I don't even want to see that tool. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

The OE lifter in the picture is only a couple of years old, yet has a smaller diameter port than the Melling lifter.

Frank

Following along with you guys here in anticipation for a much milder 3.0 build in the future. Quick, maybe dumb question... What is "Fuel Oil" Diesel? Karosene? Thanks