Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
I have found hydraulic lifterse to be very robust.
The only thing I can think of that would really mess with them is putting oil in that is way too thin, not allowing then to pump up as they would with the proper oil.
Oil that is too thick won't allow them to leak down at low speed.
I run 5w-40 oil in pretty much everything so I wouldn't have this problem.
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I agree that the lifters are very robust and unlikely to be damaged by the wrong oil viscosity.
There is a plethora of other issues associated with changing oil viscosity that can be very damaging to the engine. As the original poster said, too low viscosity will prevent the lifters from working properly, and in this case they will fail to control the valve lash. This can cause lifters and other valve train components to be hammered to death. Conversely, too thick oil will cause the lifters to pump up and keep the valve open. Consider high load and an exhaust lifter pumping up - burnt valves here we come. If they pump up enough, you could get valve to piston interference.
Older engines can be much more tolerant but newer ones have much tighter tolerances.
Simon