One of those integral technical components is the hydraulic lift. Whether you suspect you have a faulty hydraulic lift or just want to know what to look for, we’ll explain it all here.

Then we explain exactly what a hydraulic valve lifter does, where you can find it on your motorcycle and how much it costs to replace it (spoiler alert: it’s not cheap!). Let’s start with a look at the signs to look for:

The most common symptom of a bad tailgate is the engine not idling or accelerating along with engine noise. In most cases, this will also result in an engine check warning light on your dashboard.

Just because hydraulic lifters are an unseen technical part, doesn’t mean they can’t break. Hydraulic lifters wear out and when they do they cause major problems.

Here’s a more detailed list of the most common signs of a bad lift:

Symptoms of a Hydraulic Lift Failure

1. Excessive engine noise

If one of your vehicle’s hydraulic valve lifters is stuck or broken, you will hear this. Not only do you hear the sound of metal rubbing against each other, but you can also hear the internal parts of the hydraulic lift banging against itself.

As you accelerate your vehicle to higher RPMs, these noises get louder and more frequent as the elevator tries to act faster and faster and can’t.

2. Engine stalls

Hydraulic valve lifters connect to push rods (on some car models), which connect to rocker arms, which control the intake and exhaust valves. Therefore, if the hydraulic valve lifter is not working properly, the exhaust or intake valves will not open or close when they should.

This means that your engine will not produce the necessary combustion, leading to misfires. As your engine skips, you will hear a difference in sound and notice a decrease in performance. If your engine fails, take it to a repair shop as soon as possible so that no further damage can occur.

3. Broken pushrods and dead cylinders

If your car’s engine is an overhead valve engine, it will have push rods connecting the camshaft and the intake or exhaust valve. These can break if your hydraulic lift is bad.

The main reason your engine has a lift cylinder is that the push rod is pushed in exactly the same way every time. If you have a broken hydraulic lift cylinder, it is not uncommon for the pushrods to bend or break as well.

When this happens, not only do you have an exhaust valve or intake valve that isn’t working optimally, you also have one that isn’t working at all. When the cylinder stops working completely, it is called a “dead cylinder” and you will notice a significant reduction in performance.

You will also notice that your engine does not sound good. If you have an empty cylinder, get it checked right away, and it involves more than just restoring your engine’s power. If you have a dead cylinder and you don’t fix it, it’s only a matter of time until it causes more damage to your engine.

4. Check the engine light

There are sensors all over your motorcycle. They monitor everything from the amount of air entering the intake to the chemical makeup of your exhaust. Everything about your vehicle is a finely tuned machine and you need as much input as possible to keep it there.

So it makes sense that if everything isn’t working as it should, some of these sensors would detect a problem. There are several warning lights that can come on if you have a failed hydraulic lift cylinder, but one thing is for sure, you will get a check engine light.

Hydraulic lifting function

The sole job of your vehicle’s hydraulic valve lifters is to transfer the power from the camshaft to the valves. In order for the valves to stay closed, they need some clearance between the camshaft and the valve because the metal moves when hot. This is the hydraulic lifting task to drive this game.

Hydraulic lifters have an advantage over mechanical lifters in that they sit directly against the camshaft lobes, where traditional lifters must leave a little room for expansion when heated.

Although the exact way the elevator works is slightly different, they serve the same function. While most vehicles still use hydraulic lifters, mechanical lifters are starting to make a comeback due to their lower cost.

While there is no wrong choice, solid or mechanical lifters are not maintenance free and you will notice a slight decrease in performance. That’s why hydraulic lifters have found their way into vehicles to start with.

Location of hydraulic lifters

Hydraulic valve lifters are located directly between the camshaft and valves of your engine on most model cars, but some model cars also have push rods and rocker arms in between.

Because the camshaft location can vary, it is a little more difficult to determine whether the hydraulic valve lifters will be on the top or bottom of your engine.

But if you find your camshaft and your vehicle has hydraulic valve lifters, they will be there. Even if your vehicle does not have hydraulic elevators, there will be some kind of mechanical elevator there. You will never see a vehicle with a camshaft pressing directly against the pushrods or valves.

Hydraulic Hitch Replacement Cost

The average cost of replacing a hydraulic lift is between $100 and $1,100 depending on the car model and labor costs. A single hydraulic lift costs $5 to $30, while labor costs $100 to $1,000.

Hydraulic lifters are one of those components that are cheap to buy but expensive to replace. That’s because each hydraulic lift only costs between $5 and $30, but it’s a job and a half to get to them. And while each individual lifter can be expensive, you have to replace them all at once, and your engine will have plenty.

In fact, your motorcycle has between eight and twenty-four lifters, depending on what you’re riding. That puts the cost of parts alone between $40 and $1,000.

Also, the labor cost to replace elevators can range from $300 to $700. That means if you’re lucky, you can get the job done for less than $400, but if you’re unlucky, it can cost up to $1,700. The average cost generally falls between $500 and $800.