Lifters - SBC vs Harley
#1
08-18-2013, 08:05 PM
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Lifters - SBC vs Harley
I had a chirping noise going on that I traced down to a bad lifter. Thus I began the process of replacing all 4 lifters.
In my research, I came across a post by CHarley referencing small block Chevy (SBC) lifters can be used. There are several other threads in different forums discussing the issue, mainly for Twin Cam engines. A quick PM to CHarley confirmed some anecdotal evidence that it works flawlessly, and I went with it.
I got 4 SBC lifters from Jegs the next day (the warehouse is the next county over from me, perks of Ohio) and dug in to the bike a couple days later.
Before I put the lifters in I took apart one of each to compare the internals. The following is what I noticed.
This is a picture of the Harley "A" lifters, stock in my bike:
From left to right you can see the 1)retaining clip, 2)pushrod seat, 3)piddle valve 4)plunger/spring, and 5)lifter body.
The way these parts work is both simple and complex. For a better description, research how a hydraulic lifter works.
The plunger is inserted into the lifter body, where the clearance is .0002" or so. The hole in the side of the lifter body is what allows oil to flow into the lifter. This oil fills the plunger. From there, the oil flows out through the piddle valve and through the hole in the pushrod seat up the pushrods.
As is visible, the parts in the stock HD lifter are pretty clear. The following is a picture of what I ordered, Crane Cams #10530 SBC lifters:
As you can see, almost all of the parts are exactly the same. The only difference is the feed hole in the lifter body. A close up of the difference can be seen here, Crane Cams on the left and HD on the right:
The actual size of this hole doesn't particularly matter because the space it feeds is so small (remember, .0002" clearance with a .842" bore does not add up to a lot of oil volume. The piddle valve is what controls oil flow to the top end, and as you can see that is exactly the same. The bleed down rate is controlled by plunger-to-body clearance. I didn't have the tools to measure with that accuracy, so I can't comment on that.
As far as anecdotes go, I have been running them for about 1000 miles now. They are quieter than the HD lifters, and there's no problem from idle to redline. I even had the rockers apart a second time about 300 miles after install (stupid dealer and pushrod o-rings/seals, that's a whole different clusterf***) and there was plenty of oil and no abnormal wear up there.
As far as I'm concerned, I will gladly pay the $11/lifter for SBC lifters vs a minimum of $30 for any HD spec lifter.
Note: This applies to 2000+ Sportsters. Prior to that a different lifter is used.
In my research, I came across a post by CHarley referencing small block Chevy (SBC) lifters can be used. There are several other threads in different forums discussing the issue, mainly for Twin Cam engines. A quick PM to CHarley confirmed some anecdotal evidence that it works flawlessly, and I went with it.
I got 4 SBC lifters from Jegs the next day (the warehouse is the next county over from me, perks of Ohio) and dug in to the bike a couple days later.
Before I put the lifters in I took apart one of each to compare the internals. The following is what I noticed.
This is a picture of the Harley "A" lifters, stock in my bike:
From left to right you can see the 1)retaining clip, 2)pushrod seat, 3)piddle valve 4)plunger/spring, and 5)lifter body.
The way these parts work is both simple and complex. For a better description, research how a hydraulic lifter works.
The plunger is inserted into the lifter body, where the clearance is .0002" or so. The hole in the side of the lifter body is what allows oil to flow into the lifter. This oil fills the plunger. From there, the oil flows out through the piddle valve and through the hole in the pushrod seat up the pushrods.
As is visible, the parts in the stock HD lifter are pretty clear. The following is a picture of what I ordered, Crane Cams #10530 SBC lifters:
As you can see, almost all of the parts are exactly the same. The only difference is the feed hole in the lifter body. A close up of the difference can be seen here, Crane Cams on the left and HD on the right:
The actual size of this hole doesn't particularly matter because the space it feeds is so small (remember, .0002" clearance with a .842" bore does not add up to a lot of oil volume. The piddle valve is what controls oil flow to the top end, and as you can see that is exactly the same. The bleed down rate is controlled by plunger-to-body clearance. I didn't have the tools to measure with that accuracy, so I can't comment on that.
As far as anecdotes go, I have been running them for about 1000 miles now. They are quieter than the HD lifters, and there's no problem from idle to redline. I even had the rockers apart a second time about 300 miles after install (stupid dealer and pushrod o-rings/seals, that's a whole different clusterf***) and there was plenty of oil and no abnormal wear up there.
As far as I'm concerned, I will gladly pay the $11/lifter for SBC lifters vs a minimum of $30 for any HD spec lifter.
Note: This applies to 2000+ Sportsters. Prior to that a different lifter is used.
#4
11-22-2013, 06:12 PM
#5
11-29-2013, 01:31 PM
Tourer
#6
11-29-2013, 01:59 PM
#7
02-27-2014, 07:54 PM
Road Captain
cHarley oh man. I missed you too buddy.
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#10
10-10-2016, 04:48 PM
That's a pretty good price for four lifters.
$72.72
Then again, only $40 more for the ones from S&S.