After finding absolutely nothing on the internet for what is under that cover and lots of people wondering including myself, I put Smokeythedodge to the task of getting some pics since he has that 24V just sitting out there. He came through in a big way taking a lot of pics. You can see the pushrods going down right into the top of the lifter/tappet. You can see that some lifters are up and some are down because some are on the cam lobe.

Also gives you a sense of why you have to jam dowel rods into the lifters and pull them all up if you want to pull the cam out, otherwise the lifters that are down would hit each lobe of the cam.

Thanks again Smokey!

I still dont understand the wooden dowel trick? Is it to hold the tappets up? You gotta wedge em into the tappets? The more I learn the more I dont understand.

I still dont understand the wooden dowel trick? Is it to hold the tappets up? You gotta wedge em into the tappets? The more I learn the more I dont understand.

The tappets go up and down, following the cams contour of the lobes. When you have to replace the cam, you can't exactly pull it out the front of the engine while the tappets are down because as you pull they will just hit the sides of the next lobe and you will never get it out. So you take a wooden dowel and jam it down into all of the tappets since they all have holes in them, and you pull them all up so that none of them will catch any cam lobes and you can pull the cam right out.

I'm confused too about the jamming of wood into the lifters. I understand why they must be pulled. I don't recall ever having solid lifters out... With hydraulics, a handy fingernail or at most a small screwdrive could engage the spring clip grove in a Hyd Lifter & lever it up enough to grasp. I'm assuming the hole in the lifter is just an oil passage or are you using a push-rod + diameter dowel to wedge in there?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Russ

The tappets go up and down, following the cams contour of the lobes. When you have to replace the cam, you can't exactly pull it out the front of the engine while the tappets are down because as you pull they will just hit the sides of the next lobe and you will never get it out. So you take a wooden dowel and jam it down into all of the tappets since they all have holes in them, and you pull them all up so that none of them will catch any cam lobes and you can pull the cam right out.

Why I thought it was for some other reason. Is it true the tappets cant be pulled out the top and must be dropped out the bottom. I think that is what really confused me. If so they must be slightly mushroomed shaped?

I'm confused too about the jamming of wood into the lifters. I understand why they must be pulled. I don't recall ever having solid lifters out... With hydraulics, a handy fingernail or at most a small screwdrive could engage the spring clip grove in a Hyd Lifter & lever it up enough to grasp. I'm assuming the hole in the lifter is just an oil passage or are you using a push-rod + diameter dowel to wedge in there?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Russ

only thing I can think of is because they are down in the block and not easy to reach. dowel probably goes into the recess and is just big and soft enough to wedge into the lifter with out damaging them.

Alright here you guys go. These are the tappets/lifters. If you scroll way up to the original pics, the one with his thumb in it is where he is holding the lifter up as far as it will go. Obviously based on how they are designed, they will only come out the bottom. Hope this solves all the confusion

Even more fun to replace tappets...