AMC 360 V8 Motor swap out

[rayray311]

Anyone else have a AMC 360 V8 in their Jeep Grand Wagoneer?
Mines in my 1988 Jeep.

The AMC engine in my Jeep was rebuilt 15k miles ago. Shes a strong engine except for the fact that the Lifters need to be replaced already after only 15k miles. Got that clicking that I cant seem to remedy. When the engine was rebuilt the were replaced. Is this uncommon for them to go bad so quickly?
I also drove here from San Diego with that Jeep loaded while pulling a 12 foot trailer heavily loaded through the mountains recently and that's when it started.

Also...are there certain brands of Lifters that are best that I should use instead of the standard ones my mechanic will probably put in?

Also...any tips, tricks, pointers etc anyone has regarding this engine in their FSJ.

[wiley-moeracing]

make sure your cam is not going flat, your push rods are not bent and you have good oil pressure to the rockers before you go and replacing lifters. If it is lifters a good aftermarket brand will work, comp cams, edelbrock, crane, etc..

[rang-a-stang]

I would also recommend putting a mechanical oil pressure gage on it and make sure you have good oil pressure. The gauge on your dash is not very accurate...

[mattmopar440]

some lifters are better than others but if they are all making noise you probably have a oil pressure issue

[78J10honcho]

What did you do for a break in for the rebuild? Do you know what lifters the mechanic put in it?

[SC/397]

Lifters should't go bad in 15,000 miles.
The study I did showed very little difference in lifter brands however, I prefer the Johnson Hi-Lift brand.

http://rebsamcandjeep.proboards.com/thread/307/amc-lifter-study

You may have a cam with wiped lobes. Always use a oil additive with Zinc in it.

[FSJunkie]

The lifters are likely fine. They probably just don't have enough preload. Longer pushrods may be in order.

[440sixpack]

Generally when you rebuild an engine you end up with too much preload rather than too little. but depending on what was done and who did it insufficient preload would be a place to start.

There are only two manufacturers of standard hydraulic flat tappet lifters anymore. one is junk and the other isn't that great. I use only Harland Sharp lifters because I know they're the better ones. there are other brand names selling the good ones and some sell the junk ones. since I don't know which is which I stick with Harland Sharp.

[rayray311]

Thanx everyone...im gonna go home tonight and pull out my receipt from the rebuild. It was done by the guy that owned it before me.

I have the obvious click that is worst when the engine is cold and isn't as bad once shes really warmed up. Then theres a secondary soft click that is going on simultaneously...this one even continues after I let my foot off the gas and you can hear it slowly winding down at that point.

She runs good still. But I know I need to address this asap

[joe]

Do you know it's a bad lifter(s) or just guessing? Could have been improper install but if that were the case I'd expect the ticking before 15,000 miles. New lifters on an old cam is generally not optimum but done frequently unless the cam is seriously worn. Hopefully it's not a worn cam and the PO just threw in new lifters on the cheap to sell the car. If the noise didn't happen till you pulled a heavy load over a mountain I'd suspect you bent a pushrod or cracked a rocker? Even if you're not a believer in oil changes a new lifter shouldn't get sticky or collapse in 15k but I wouldn't totally rule it out either. If you're really lucky and it's just a sticky lifter that isn't pumping up try a complete fresh oil change but "substitute"(not add) 1qt Marvel Mystery Oil for one qt of oil. Run it normally for 150-200 miles and change oil again. If it was just a gummed lifter that'll likely clean it up enough to work properly again. Have done that on junkers that had dirty tar for oil. Might want to give it a shot before buying parts you may not need but sounds like you'll need to dive into the motor and see what really going on.
Best of luck.

[rayray311]

Thanx Joe!!!

Ive tried numerous oil changes, additives and flushes to the engine personally and by my mechanic. He wants to try to fix it without having to do a big repair job. He's a good honest guy.
Nothing seems to be working. Even changed my oil type a few times to see if that affected it. Just trying little things with my mechanic until I finally decide to just have him actually start working on her to fix the problem if all these attempts fail.