Switchable Valve Lifter Having a Mis-Assembly Indicator

An improved SHVL for an internal combustion engine comprises an improved arrangement for locking a spring tower into a pin housing. The spring tower is provided with an annular OD groove as in the prior art. The pin housing ID groove is modified to have a two-step groove comprising two adjacent regions having different depths (different diameters) and having a distinct transition lip therebetween. A spring clip of the correct size seats properly in the spring tower groove and in the lesser-diameter pin housing groove, resulting in a correct overall length of the SHVL. Any oversize clip is caught between the lower lip of the spring tower groove and the transition lip of the two-step pin housing groove, resulting in a SHVL distinctly shorter than nominal, which is easily detected by either direct length measurement or a gauge.