why did you feel the need to remove and clean them?

when only 2 exhausts came out using the sucker, do you mean that all 8 exhaust lifters could be moved up & down / rotated ok whilst fully in thier bores using the sucker, but 6 of them would not fully extract (so you resorted to the pliers at that point for the 6) or do you mean that the stuborn 6 lifters were siezed whilst still in thier running position?

when you push the stubborn 6 lifters back in to thier running positions are you then able to rotate them in thier bores? in other words, is the resistance to free movement only apparent when you try to extract them?

what happens if you swap exhaust lifters in exhaust bores?