The "battle of the camshaft lifters" has been going on for years. Each design has its proponents. Those in favor of hydraulic cams cite reduced maintenance and claim that equivalently ground ...

Riding on last month's How It Works topic (cams) is this month's topic—lifters. These cylindrically shaped components contact the lobes of the cam to convert the eccentric shape of the lobe into ...

The engines of yesteryear were pretty simple, with tappets clackity-clacking away on cam lobes, opening valves, and making a ruckus while doing it. Mechanical lifters were adequate for valve operation ...

Once upon a time, most car engines used solid or mechanical lifters. But unlike most fairy tales that begin that way, there was no lasting happy ending for them. Hydraulic lifters first appeared in ...