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When it comes to mechanical roller lifters for a serious effort engine, there’s a lot of choice out there. But there’s also a catch: Some of the offerings just might prove to have a wee bit more hype than performance. One company with all sorts of real-world racing experience with solid rollers is Jesel. The lifters they manufacture and offer are simply of extreme quality. There is zero hype - just plain performance. That’s why you see Jesel mechanical lifters in use on all sorts and forms of racecars today – even those competing in endurance events (think about that endurance racing component for a minute).
Jesel manufactures a wide cross section of lifters, including very special lightweight keyed roller jobs that are favorites of the no-holds barred drag racing set. In order to install these lifters, a special bronze lifter bushing (with an index pin groove machined into it) is fitted to the block. In turn, the lifter body incorporates a hardened steel index pin that keeps the lifter from rotating and effectively eliminates the need for a tie bar. These are top-of-the-line lifters used when performance means everything and cost isn’t much of a concern. Right behind them is Jesel’s “Dog Bone” series lifter. These lifters maintain alignment by way of a dog bone shaped steel retainer that bolts to the cylinder block. A simple drill fixture is used to machine the block so that it can accept the lifter. Next up in the Jesel lineup is their tool steel tie bar lifter. These are lightweight and share many of the features of the keyway roller lifters. Think of them as the keyway lifter with a tie bar instead of a keyway.
These are all high tech lifters and in this day and age, we all know there’s no free lunch - you get what you pay for. Fair enough, but what about the little guy – say a sportsman racer or someone who is into fast street-strip cars? Jesel has that base covered too with their solid body tie bar roller lifters.
Jesel designed this lifter to be a cost effective alternative to their well-proven TS Series Lifters (which, by the way, have been used in numerous NHRA, NASCAR, PDRA, SCCA and IMSA championship cars). In order to create these solid body tie-bar lifters Jesel used the same rollers, needles and axles found in their tool steel series lifters, combined with a FEA designed ultra-smooth REM/ISF® polished DLC coated, heat treated body. In the process, Jesel holds tolerances that far exceed today’s industry standards. How close are those tolerances? Jesel maintains machined tolerances to 0.0002-inch (yeow!). Jesel also has a lab that tests the raw materials as they come into the factory to ensure they’re the correct alloys. The bottom line here is, the folks from Jesel take quality very seriously, even with their least exotic solid body tie bar lifters.
But wait: What’s with the DLC coating? According to Jesel, “What the Diamond Like Coating does is provide an extremely hard surface on the lifter body which reduces the possibility of abrasive wear.”
There’s more to reducing wear, too, and it has to do with the oil system found on all Jesel lifters: Every one of Jesel’s lifters incorporate an internal oiling circuit that feeds pressurized oil to the needle bearings in the roller. This ensures constant lubrication and elimination of any contaminants. Jesel also incorporates a feedhole that sprays oil to the outside diameter of the roller to help prevent cam lobe wear. According to Jesel, “The direct oiling serves to wash away any contaminants in the oil and ensures the needles receive plenty of lubrication.”
Jesel recommends you do NOT use oil restrictors. Only use them as a last alternative in an engine fitted with their lifters. Jesel notes: “Let the lifters be the restrictors. With the spring pressures and rocker ratios used in today’s racing engines, the lifters need as much oil to them as they can possibly get. Whenever possible, we suggest plumbing the block so that oil is fed equally to the lifters through the front and rear of the oil galley. In the event that you are getting excessive oil to the top end, provisions should be made for better oil drain back to the pan, either by external scavenging lines or internal drains.”
We’re not quite done yet. In our next issue, we’ll take a closer look at the actual roller wheels Jesel uses, along with the bearings they incorporate. You might be surprised at what the Jesel research has found. Watch for it. In the meantime, check out the accompanying photos:
At first glance, it might seem that Jesel’s solid body roller lifters look a lot like any other roller lifter, not counting the superb finishing. But take a closer look:
In the manufacturing process, Jesel maintains production tolerances to 0.0002-inch (or less) on all lifters, including these solid body jobs. The lifter bodies are precision ground, REM polished and finally heat-treated prior to assembly.
Examine the pushrod seat closely. You’ll discover the seat isn’t a run-of-the-mill drop-in piece held in that’s normally secured by a circlip of some sort. Instead of using multiple parts, Jesel machines the seat directly into the body of the lifter. Taking this approach means nothing can fall out or break.
Taking a close look inside, you’ll also find the pushrod seat on the Jesel lifter is positioned as low as possible within the body of the lifter. The reason for this is to reduce the pushrod angle. Severe angles can create leverage that in turn can rock the lifter within the bore.
The roller axles used by Jesel are held in place via an internal locking pin. This system means there are no c-clips or other snap rings to work their way loose. Internally, the wheels turn on roller bearings; no bushings of any sort are used.
A full pressure oiling system is engineered into all Jesel lifters. Constant lubrication is ensured - plus, it eliminates oil contaminants.
Jesel makes use of a feedhole that sprays oil to the outside diameter of the roller. This obviously helps to prevent cam lobe wear.
