Deactivation roller hydraulic valve lifter

A valve lifter assembly for deactivating a cylinder valve in an engine, the lifter assembly comprising:

• a lifter body including a wall, the wall having an inner surface, the wall defining at least one pin receiving feature therein, the at least one pin receiving feature includes an edge, the lifter body having a first lifter end configured for engaging a cam of the engine;
• a pin housing including an outer surface, the pin housing defining a radially directed pin bore therein, the pin housing is disposed within the lifter body such that at least a portion of the outer surface is adjacent to at least a portion of the inner surface of the wall of the lifter body;
• a locking member disposed in the pin housing in an unlocked position, the locking member being selectively disposed in the pin housing and the at least one pin receiving feature defined in the lifter body in a locked position;
• and
• a positioning member connected to the lifter body and the pin housing, the positioning member setting the axial position of the lifter body relative to the pin housing to thereby establish a gap between the locking member and the edge of the at least one pin receiving feature in the locked position,
• wherein when the locking member is positioned in the locked position the pin housing is secured to the lifter body to prevent relative movement there between and thereby transmit rotational movement of the cam to operate the valve, and when the locking member is in the unlocked position the pin housing is permitted to move relative to the lifter body to isolate the rotational movement of the cam to deactivate the valve.