Melling JB-2236 inconsistency

[tpepmeie]

A word of caution for those buying the Melling JB-2236 lifters.

I've recently purchased two sets of these from two different big online retailers. In both cases, they were drop shipped direct from Melling. And both times the lot was mixed. Some units were correct, meaning there was a visible iron insert on the face of the lifter, and the stem height was as-stock.

Several, however, in both lots, were incorrect. No iron insert on the face, and shorter stem height. It's interesting that the stem on these incorrect pieces was visibly machined, whereas the others were as-cast. The stem height was shorter by .024", which affects the lifter pre-load.

WTH, I thought. Then I looked more closely at the individual Melling boxes. All of the incorrect pieces were Made in Taiwan. The correct pieces, identical to the OEM lifters, were all Made in the USA.

So anyone buying these who wants an exact OE replacement, beware where they are made. I have no evidence the other ones won't work fine, but I can't take that risk on a customer engine.