Spend lots of time and effort, continuing more of the same.  It's not an
easy job.  I thought of chucking a pushrod in my drill press and using the
handle's leverage to make it a bit easier, but I haven't tried this trick
yet.
  Hold a pushrod (wrapped in a rag for comfort) and depress each lifter's
piston over and over again, until it won't depress anymore.
  When they're all hard and no more air bubbles, you're done bleeding them.
  Leave them in this position, fully submerged in oil (thinner oil makes the
job easier) and covered until just prior to installation.

Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Evan Mac Donald" <vanagon_dad@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 12:04 PM
Subject: Lifter question - in reverse

> O.K. I have a brand new, never been installed set of lifters. I have them
> submerged in clean oil, and I am not seeing any bubbles from them any
> more.But, they still push down easily , when a pushrod is put to them. The
> pushrod test tells me there is still air in them, right? So how can I
> finish getting it out? Holding the lifters compressed initially released
> some air bubbles, but nothing happens now.
>
> Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET> wrote:  If the coffee can had oil to the tops
> of the lifters to keep them full and
> the lid was on to keep them clean, it should be fine to install them.
>
> Mike B.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Felder"
> To:
> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 11:00 AM
> Subject: Lifter question
>
>
>>I have a set of almost-new lifters that came out of a running 2.1. I am
>> about to put them into the engine I'm building up. They only have about
>> 300
>> miles on them, and they've lived in a coffee can since removed. I can
>> stand
>> them on end and try to push a pushrod down into them, but the valves
>> don't
>> move. There's no squishiness. I'm just checking here, but there's nothing
>> else to do but put them in, right?
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Jim