I'm trying to find a lazy hydraulic lifter on a Saab 900 16v head, but none of them are spongy when pressed. Is there another way to find the culprit?
Also, would it be advantageous (or harmful) to soak the lifters in something like Sea Foam for a while, then re-install? I assume the lifters are similar to other cars: they have a small hole through which pressurized oil is forced.
Head is off the car and I don't want to have to dig into this thing for a long time.
Thx...
It'll be the one with a beer in one hand and a leering stare when you look at it
Is it the one that hasn't been to a gym in 6 months?
You should be prepared for the fact that it might not be a lifter. I just spent a few months trying to find a tapping valve only to find out it was a broken damping spring which of course I only found after taking the head off. It sounded exactly like a tapping valve. If the lifters are hard, it is unlikely they are bad.
So I went back to look again and now I find that 4 of the lifters make a tiny clicking sound when pressed; the remaining dozen are rock-hard. You can't feel the lifter click, really. I guess I'll just swap out all four, though I'm pretty sure it's just one that's unhappy.
