in the press release for the 2008 Viper
they said that it had new design lightweight hydraulic roller lifters
and it would be worth checking this out with your local Dodge dealership
to see if these new design lifters will fit the Magnum V8s

 

Well, I know some may disagree, but I decided to reuse my original lifters. The stealership wanted $30/lifter and the Sealed Power ones were on backorder through Summit. I knew the rollers were good on my originals, so I disassembly two and cleaned and inspected them. They cleaned up very easily and were not gummed up or varnished up. I used a commercial parts washer and compressed air to clean them, and then assembled them with engine oil (I did not fill them). It took most of last Saturday to rebuild all 16. I then soaked them in engine oil for a few hours before installing them. Engine turns over by hand with no collapsed lifters, etc.

A few design differences I noticed between my originals and aftermarket replacements were: (1) Originals did not use the thin metering disk to control oil flow into the pushrods. This seems to be accomplished via drilled passages in the pushrod cup and lifter body. (2) Originals use a check ball instead of a check disk at the bottom of the lifter plunger. (3) Originals seemed to be heavier or more heavy-duty. Maybe this is why the dealership wanted $30 a piece?

This was just my first experience with hydraulic roller lifters. I'm not promoting one way over another, but I was impressed with the good condition my original lifters were in.