could wrong lifters have been installed?

my mother in laws 1996 olds cutlass ciera began a clicking noise. she drove to her local chev dealer and the problem was diagnossed as bad lifters. after they were replaced the car sould not start. after trying all day with no luck she was told the oil pump was bad and would not pressurise the new lifters. she was quoted $500.00 to replace oil pump. they were already charging over $1100.00 for work already performed. i drove 50 miles to her house and we went to the dealership. after some conversation she ended up paying $550.00 for the parts for changing the lifters and i towed the car home. my first thought was with 2 different size pushrods they were reinstalled wrong. they were in correct. i had the engine starter engaged and noticed the rocker arms had plenty of movement to open valves. a compression test showed no pressure on gage. i removed the gage fron the hose and had the engine turned to where the rocker arms on #6 cyl were in neutral position and the valves should have been closed. both intake and exhaust valves were open and i could easily blow air thru hose. ibacked off the nut on each rocker arm until valves were closed. i reinstalled compression gage and i engaged starter, this time i got 140 psi. must be wrong lifters right? after numerous calls to get the dealership to correct. i finally got the to agree to replace them if i took them out and proved they were wrong. after i got them out i contacted them and had them measure the old set they had removed. the measurement he gave me was the exact same measurement as the ones i just removed. if indeed they measured the old ones and they match the new ones what could possibly be wrong that keeps the valve open? by the way i checked compression on all 3 cylinders on the front side with the same "0" reading. any thoughts are greatly appreaciated

Hi welcome to AF. First thing,need to know what engine you are working on.As for checking the #6 cyl. you could have been between the intake and exhaust stroke, that might explain why the valves were both open. Or the dealer may have not been measuring one of the old lifters. If it were me I might go to the local parts house and compare lifters.And for adjusting them some engines you tighten the rocker arm nut to a torque and others you actually adjust. You may need to either invest in a Chiltons or Motors manual or head to your local library and check one out. Hope this helps.

Welcome to AF. Sounds like the lifters are pumped up and will not collapse, if in fact they are correct, it is not the lifter itself but the position of the pushrod seat that should be compared to he old one, also very strange to have to replace all the lifters, how did this happen is the engine sludged up? If the lifters were not pressurized as the dealer stated, the valves would not open all the way, now they won't close , piece of the puzzle is missing here, get this dlrship back in the picture, went in running come out not. 3.1, correct? Loosen em all up and get it started, bring em down 1 at a time.

thanks maxwedge. yes a 3.1 i checked position of lifter seat and it was all the way up even when opening valve. i removed one set (intake and exhaust on one cylinder). i could not compress them at all. i decided to take these 2 apart. they were stuck tight, when i got them apart and cleaned and lubed and reasssembled, i could compress easily. after re-installing these i now have 140 on compression gage. i will now take them all out and check. why were they froze is a confusing me now. if their tolerance was too close they may freeze up again. one mechanic said they were possibly put in dry as he always soaks them overight first. this is my mother in laws car and i was told it was clicking or knocking and the dealership talked her into replacing lifters.thanks dadio, i did go to advance auto and compare lenghts and they were the same. the correct lifters must have been installed. i now worry if by freeing them up my problem is solved or if i should make the dealership buy her new ones. thanks for the help i will post the results.

Take them down to them and talk to the SM, why should you have to be stuck with this, very strange here, I never heard fo this happening to all the lifters.

If the lifters were not primed good(with oil) they can seize up.
I bet the stealership just threw them in :shakehead

soaking doesnt do much for me. I prime them by hand in warm/Hot engine oil.

Agreed, std. procecedure, stick em in oil and pump the air out by pushing the plunger down a few times till the air bubbles stop, this should be a " gimme."

i just finished taking everyone of them apart and cleaning. i was able to compress each one after this. i did not prime them again. i installed them, put the engine together and tried it. it "hit once" and nothing. checked for fire at plugs and it was there. of course i checked compression on front 3 cylinders and i have none. the lifters have to be pumped full of oil again. dealership not in as big a hurry as i am to resolve. i may purchase another set and try getting reimbursed. is there a possibility these are hi performance lifters and require a stronger spring to compress.

Keep in mind if the lifters are completely collapsed the valves will not open so a compression test will show almost nothing, again the lifters should have had the air bleed out of them as std. procedure. You could check for weak valve springs, but all 16, I don't think so.

the lifters were definitely opening the valves as to why no compression. i went to advance and purchased one. i noticed right away i could compress this on holding in one hand and pushing down with finger. i filled it with oil and was still able to compress at a slower rate, oil was pushed out the bottom as i thought it should. went back to advance and purchased complete set and installed and as of now the engine is running. although it still has the original ticking as before it was worked on. now i will try to get reimbursement from dealership, by the way i purchased one extra lifter and will not open it until in the presence of service manager. thanks for your help

Will be interesting to see what they do here and their explanation as to what is what, I'd check oil pressure now. Let us know what occurs, good work staying with this.

i sent them an e-mail explaining everything and informing them i wanted a refund for the cost of the lifters. i went in today and talked to the service manager. he did not seem to interested in why the lifters did not work. he was more interested in the financial settlement. within 10 minutes after i explained he would have a lot invested in troubleshooting and still having to buy another set of lifters, he refunded the cost of the lifters. i still have the new ones they installed but not sure if they are defective or the wrong ones. thanks for all the help.

Again good work, you are right about modern service mgrs, I was with GM for 25 years and It seems no one is "watching the store" these days, sitting at a desk perusing financial statements, what BS!

No doubt carkivey3,
good job getting that refund :thumbsup:

Ya MAX,
thats why I reffer them as the "stealership" :headshake