Technical The 283 that STILL won't run right

Got it to run better and better but still not right.Finally pulled the valve covers off and ran it at an idle. All the push rods are moving all the rocker arms and opening all the valves except cylinder #2 . The very front rocker arm is moving, but barely. If all the others move a half inch this one moves 1/8 " or less.
WTF ? Bad lifter ? flat cam? It's a completely stock 283. Now what do I do?
Thanks

 

WOW, running on 7 cylinders. Don't know what year your 283 is, but it was not uncommon for camshafts to go bad, for certain in the late 60's and early 70's.

 

Sounds like a bad cam lobe, bad lifter or bent push rod.

 

You should be able to hear a bad hydraulic lifter, without seeing it sure sounds like a cam lobe rounded off,

 

Yup--cam.

 

Same problems I had with my Vette. Cam lobe went flat after running fine for over a year.

 

So, I'll pull the intake off, take the rocker arm loose, remove the lifter and maybe put a wood dowel in where the lifter went and see how much lift I get?
It's a 1963 engine checking by the engine number, I have no idea what the history is.
If I have to change the cam, once I remove all the lifters does it just pull out?
If the cam is flat where did all that metal go? into the oil?

 

Unfortunately the metal shaving are in the oil. Hopefully your filter caught most of it. When you pull timing cover I would also pull the pan and give it a good cleaning.

 

Yes on removing the lifter's 1st. Pick a cam carefully, one that suits your driving habits for this ride. A broad range ) off idle-5,000 RPM would be ideal.

 

Double check you rocker stud height with a straight edge layed across all of them, if the stud pulled out partially it can act like a wiped cam lobe. Easy to check before swapping a cam. Sounds like you have not swapped a cam before, be sure to find TDC, top dead center, and make sure your timing tab is correct before tearing it apart.

 

Put a 327, 350 horse hyd cam in it. You will like the sound !

 

If you have a dial indicator available, measure the lift at the top outer edge of the lifter on the bad one and a few others.

You also need to remove the mechanical fuel pump before you remove the cam. You have to hold the cam up slightly to work it through the bearings. A handle or long bolt in the end of the cam provides leverage. If it is the original cam and lifters, the lifters could be difficult to remove. They get varnish built up and the bottom might be peened slightly but they will come out. There is a slide hammer tool available.

 

If you drop the pan to clean it out you should check and maybe replace the oil pump, the cam and lifter crap should have been caught at the filter but only after its passed through the pump. JW

 

Now what do I do?

you get to whistle the flat cam blues tune ?

Should be a pretty straight forward procedure swapping it out. Best thing in the world for a rookie is a manual by "Motors" - fuck the ones at the parts store. Every single thing you need to know about a cam swap is in there except picking a new one.

 

before you run out and buy a cam, re-read post #10.

 

Concure with all of the above

 

Be aware if the cam has lobes worn out, the rest of the engine has similar wear.

 

Did that with Rhodes lifters---then I loved the sound.

 

I'll check the stud height, and the pushrod too, thanks for the info about the mechanical fuel pump. Not sure what I'll do. Never swapped a cam. The rest of the engines condition ? Who knows? Compression numbers are all over the place, #8 cylinder is 100 pounds.
Good thing is it's a roadster couldn't have an engine more exposed and easy to work on.
It's a winter project. I think I'll pull the plug wire off and enjoy the rest of the summer on 7 cylinders. Just took a 200 mile trip with this flat cam before I discovered it. I can get a complete totally rebuilt 283 with lots of new parts for 2K delivered. Lots more horsepower. That will give my noisy 39 Ford tranny even more to complain about.
Boy, we're sure lucky money grows on trees.
Thanks for all the info.

 

A pulled up stud is noisy, just like a rocker out of adjustment.
But it won't hurt to check anyway.

Your compression ---
Last thread you said you were going to add some oil to the cylinders and retest, then report back.
Did you retest and what were the results ?

If you need a new engine and can't do the internal work then you'll need to do what works best for you. If you want to get dirty and have your fingerprints inside that engine there's a few options that are pretty cheap. That's up to you.

 

I believe you will need to remove the distributor too since it is driven by the cam through
helical cut gears.

 

If it is a flat lobe, replace the oil pump for sure -or at least make sure you got an oil pressure gauge...no, wait, replace the oil pump and get an oil pressure gauge I replaced a cam once, just to flatten another lobe -duh!

 

I never did get around to putting oil in the cylinders and re testing compression. It would probably just be more bad news.I'll just drive it for the little bit of nice weather we have left and tear it down this winter. I'll probably just try to fix it as cheap as I can. It sure isn't a show car, more defintely a rat rod. Tranny is howling, brakes grab and pull like crazy
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
Thanks to everybody here for all the help

 

Well bad news or not you probably want to know. If compression comes up with oil then you know the seal at the rings is the issue and you'll be into some bottome end work. If it doesn't come up then you know its all top end & valve train/cam related.

 

Its a diagnostic tool. And its "traditional".

In all honesty, I would go about 85% that it is a flat cam lobe. The point is, theres that 15% and checking for a pulled stud is REAL easy. On the other hand, I hadn't read the other thread, the compression readings have since come up here. The brutal fact is, this motor is a dead player and needs a rebuild.

 

Im now concerned that you want to drive your car with brakes that ''Pull like crazy'' and I will pretend I didn't see the RR reference. JW

 

Yeah, take it off the road now and fix the stuff. An engine that's down one cylinder won't hurt anything, but questionable brakes can kill you and others. You kill me because your car has faulty brakes, my wife will pull off your head and shit down your neck, AFTER she gets any money or assets you might have.

 

Get it off the road and fix it correctly. Make it safe to drive...

 

As said above fix the brakes. You always want to feel good about stopping before you feel good about going.

 

Yes, fix the brakes fer cryin' out loud!!!!!!!!!!!!
The very FIRST lesson my Grandpa and Dad taught me about hot rods, is as follows:
Make it stop REALLY good first.
Make it handle REALLY good second.
Make it go just as fast as your wallet can stand to make it, LAST!
(they were pretty smart guys, those two................)