My 2.0 86 Mighty Max is running really rough

[FMS88]

So after looking at the valve train the half of the hydraulic lash adjusters are stuck and the jet valves were off 3 were tight and 1 was loose but I want to know if it would be better to by new lash adjusters or try and clean the old ones

The answer depends on your budget, how much time you have and the condition of the old lifters. If the lifters have no obvious wear, cleaning is fine but takes time and effort. Buying new eliminates messing with the old ones, but is an expense. Whether you go with new or cleaned lifters, you'll need to remove the rocker arm assemblies. After loosening the cam caps, stretch cut off latex glove finger tips over the rocker ends to keep the lifters from falling out of the rockers and into the engine.

One thing, the lifters that feel stuck may be the good ones. Those you can easily compress aren’t filling with or retaining oil. So they will be the noisy ones.

[SubGothius]

stretch cut-off latex glove finger tips over the rocker ends to keep the lifters from falling out of the rockers and into the engine.

Note those should be nitrile latex gloves, the black/blue kind suitable for auto maintenance, chemicals, etc. Plain latex gloves (e.g. for medical use) will fall apart from exposure to oil.

[Andres483]

The new HLA came in im going to install them this weekend I know I have to soak them in oil but is there anything else I should do before/after installing them

[FMS88]

The new HLA came in im going to install them this weekend I know I have to soak them in oil but is there anything else I should do before/after installing them

Prime them to remove any air inside the lifters. Otherwise they’ll be very noisy until engine oil pressure forces out the air. When primed you shouldn’t be able to compress the lifter by hand.