I've been noticing some annoying 'clackety clack' from inside the valve cover for some time and decided to address it. I was concerned that some rod bearing damage I incurred a few years ago (thanks to an errant oil seal) had perhaps introduced some trash into the upper oiling gallery, as I found no record of replacing those lifters following the incident, and couldn't be certain. I decided to be prudent and bought a set of the GSC lifters, got the nifty independently-made valve spring depressor tool off Ebay, removed the valve cover and gave it a go.

Once inside the cover, I found that a rocker had flipped off, with its lifter having come apart flush with the race (see image). I'd noticed that things didn't seem to be running right for awhile, and now I can see why. #1 was deprived of an exhaust valve. Upon seeing this, I felt fortunate that I decided to change the lifters, otherwise it would likely be some time until I caught this problem. All fragments were located, so nothing made it into the pan - a nice thing for piece of mind. The flipped rocker was undamaged.

Once inside, I attempted to use the neat spring depressor, but to no avail. If one has factory or flattish valve retainers, this should work fine. With my sharply sloped Ti retainers however, it was a no-go. So, while I was able to flip the lifters out easily enough, getting them back in required me to loosen the timing belt tension, loosen the cam caps and cam sensor, and use a bit of persuasion to gently lift the cams just high enough to snap the lifters back into place. Fortunately, that strategy worked without too many four-letter words, and everything went back together snugly - no leaks.

The GSC lifters should be installed dry. Before installing each new lifter, I inserted a small piece of baling wire into the tip to get the plunger working, which allows the lifter to be depressed during installation. These have noticeably stronger spring pressure than the stockers, which can only be of benefit when one has a stiff valvespring set and Kiggly's top end oil restrictor. Be sure there are no tiny pieces of trash inside the tip of any the rockers, as that may not allow oil flow. I found none, but some have. If trash blocks the exit, I suspect air inside the lifter will not be displaced, and one ends up with a noisy lifter that may eventually beat itself to death (like one of mine did).

Once I started the engine, everything tapped audibly at first, but began to soften after a few minutes holding at 2k rpm. I do not recommend beating on it until one logs at least 20-30 min of steady freeway cruising, during which things get noticeably quieter. Now, I don't expect my engine to be butter quiet with forged pistons and the big Cranes, with 12.2mm lift and rapid ramp rates, but it's definitely a heck of a lot quieter than before, and that makes me happy.

i believe there is a video of how to take lifters out without cam removal, all that was needed is a flat head. i mean i know its too late now, just sayin! lol glad this worked out for you, im going to inspect my clacking as well asap! glad this worked out for you!

Removing the rockers with a large screwdriver and subsequent removal of the lifters was easy.

However, those videos illustrate reinstalling the rockers with the weak factory valve springs. You'll find that task to range somewhere between very difficult and virtually impossible with a stout set of springs. Better to loosen the cams and not risk screwing up a lobe. It makes the job much easier and probably saves time in the end.

Tuche Mr Ted B... Tuche...

thanks for sharing. Quick google search got me here. This is my task for next weekend. Any reviews after 8 months of usage??

Riddle me this. Why do you bleed stock lifters but install the GSC's dry?

I have been debating on switching to these. Thanks for the feedback and experience. A bit of a silly question but any idea on how these compare to the stockers when it comes to taking a beating?

well the process of bleeding is to make them "dry" by taking out all of the oil. so i guess you can consider the zero tick lifters, already bled

I would install stockers dry as well, but this is a must with the GSCs to eliminate the possibility of valve damage, as they are slightly longer than the stock pieces. It only takes a couple of minutes for the lifters to purge air.


The higher internal spring pressure makes the plunger assembly more durable than stockers.

You still need to bleed the GSC lifters though. I took mine out of the package, bled them and there was a pretty significant amount in there.

Everything runs great though, I am most certainly happy with them. I wouldn't hesitate recommending these.

Would these higher pressure lifters match a fully stock engine? I have no intention to upgrade my valvetrain but will need to replace my lifters soon. The price of these lifters are much cheaper than the stock ones which is why i am considering using them.

I would venture to say you're probably ok, but I recommend confirming that with Greg @ GSC.

Thanks, i got an email reply from GSC saying that it can be used as OEM replacement.

I just pulled a set out of a 2003 Hyundai sonata at the junkyard, they come stock with the upgraded revised lifters.

Soaked them in Diesel, bled and installed. ////

What would the procedure be for a built head that is complete, ie installing it on a fresh block out of the car. English built the head but its been sitting wrapped in plastic for a few months