Cam deviations - Variocam tensioner pad time...

[Gelbster]

"told me new lifters would add about $3000 parts and labor to the bill."
There has been some previous discussion of using lifters made by the same supplier to Porsche(INA) that are much cheaper. They are a direct interchange number for BMW and several other vehicles.
Search for " HL6330" They are $8.34 ea from Rock Auto minus discount. They are shipped from England.
I am not yet able to confirm they work perfectly but they certainly fit perfectly. I bought and fitted 24 as a very risky experiment.
FCP Euro sells the correct(?) item for $25 ,the Dealer charges over $40 .
Be careful diagnosing lifter 'ticking' on the M96 .It is easy to confuse the tick with the beginning of rod bearing wear.
If you talk to M96 rebuilders they will tell you that they often find many of the lifters on 100k engines are jammed(the tappet is hammered into the bucket).You can free up the tappet with force but it would only get hammered again - so why?
INA had several part number revisions and seem to have finally produced a reliable part but old lifters are suspect in my very limited experience.
I spent many ,many hours sleuthing to find the interchange and even discussed it with INA/Schaeffler. Not one person would offer the slightest bit of help. Nobody on any forum could confirm the HL6330 would or would not work. Seems very odd in view of the need and the savings. So perhaps it will be a very expensive mistake.

[whitecliffs]

Just had a look at that part number and yes it does fit Porsche and wide selection of engines, and they do seem to be fairly cheap over here.
Is there anyway of testing these lifters once there out, sure i read an article somewhere that your suppose to be able to pump them with your finger, all the one's i removed from my 2.5 were rock solid with no movement even after a few days out of the car, the engine had no ticking noises and ran very quiet, so is it possible my lifters were stuck or sticking.
I'm rebuilding a 3.4 996 unit at the moment and was going to use the old lifters, but now reading this wondering if it's best to get a new set