Hi. With all the recent discussion about lifter hardness and the fact that some lifters don't live up to expectations, I am having concerns about some lifters (of unknown brand) that I recently bought.

A few months ago on eBay, a guy ("Friendly Fred") was selling lifters (for B20 and B30 engines) at $5 per lifter (B20 set for $40, B30 set for $60). Since I'm getting ready to tackle a head job, I wanted to have a set of spares, just in case, so I bought a set. I figured at the time, a lifter is just a lifter -- they're all the same. Of course, that was before all the recent lifter hardness discussion.

Well, it seemed like he was selling a lot of them, and possibly some others on this list had bought lifters from him, so I was wondering whether anyone who had has had an opportunity to check the hardness of these lifters. I'd like to know whether I should just throw them away as possible junk -- I wouldn't want to install them if they're going to jeopardize my cam (especially if I find that I have to buy a new cam).

Thanks.