I'm thinking about putting a cam in my bike and I hear some people suggest replacing the lifters if you have over 20,000 or 30,000 miles. I confused because I see a lot of people say they have 80,000 or more on their EVO's with no problems. Does this mean they have replaced the lifters several times? What kind of mileage can you expect out of the lifters? Do you have to replace the blocks if you put new lifters in? I ask because the lifters and blocks are $400 to $600 bucks which would be a waste if I don't need to do it. I also heard that an EVO lifter is the same as a Crane#10530 for a Chevy, is this true?

 

The stock lifter will go a long way,lifter block alignment is highly recommended.Things like oil changefrequency,cam choice,lift,pushrod type and adjustment of course plays in on this.

 

I'll be swapping my cam soon and will also do the inner cam bearing and lifters. I,ve got 23k miles on my engine / lifters. The way I figure it, the lifters have worn in to the old cam. So, in order to save my new cam from wearing to my old lifters, I'll spend the money and swap the lifters too.

 

I had a tappet go out on my '91 FXRP at 40,000 miles, that was a mess! I had to tear the engine apart to find all the needle bearings that were tossed out of the tappet. I ended up having to replace the cam because the lifter took out a lobe.

Just my experience, take it as you will.

 

Do you have to replace the lifter blocks when you change lifters?

 

I had a lifter block come loose on a trip last summer. I went to the local indy and bought all the parts and asked about the lifters. The guy there told me to look at them, but he didn't think they needed to be changed. I had about 50,000 miles on them then. They looked great and felt great, so back in they went. I've got right at 60,000 miles on them now.... YMMV.

Monty

 

Let's bump this to the top. I have 44K on my '98 on the stock lifters. Sounds like I'm on borrowed time. I would think the blocks would go bad if they were aligned correct when installed. What is the average cost guys are paying to have an indy or dealer do this job. Assuming std. HD lifter and screamin' eagle adjustable pushrods.

 

The Evo lifters are a known weakness. Do NOT replace with HD lifters. Crane and Jim's are good. I had an original go bad at 50K and another at 100K, and I don't ride that hard.
Lifter blocks don't need replacement unless there's a problem with them.
TC lifters are much better auto type lifters and there is a Chevy replacement for them that's much cheaper. No such luck for Evo's.

 

Really do not agree with the Evo lifter being a bad lifter. The Later Evo Lifters (B) were improved and have a decent track record.

If your evo is from 91 on up, change the INA cam bearing to a Torrington Cam bearing and install a Set of the latest HD Lifters (B) they have a larger roller journal and can handle more aggressive cams.

Lifter life depends on the Cam being used, the more aggressive the cam profile, the more strain it puts on the lifters. If using a bolt in cam with a high lift, replacing the Lifters ever 30k or so is a good preventative measure.

For EVO's before 91, they came with a Torrington Cam bearing from the factory, if using the stock cam, the lifters should live a long life, if using a cam with a lot of lift, the lifters should be replaced with the HD updatedd ones (B) and can run 30kor so between replacements.

 

I having a tough time tracking down a source and part number for the Torrington B-138.

Does Drag or Cust Chrome carry them?