I just finished my Starliner and had the original 352 rebuilt. I have one lifter ticking. I have good oil pressure. Lifter won’t seem to pump up? Valve too short? I don’t see how you’d adjust the valve on this contraption. It only has 30 miles on it. One guy said...drive it more it might go away. To which I thought..wtf? One guy said throw some Lucas oil conditioner in it? To which I also thought..wtf? The engine has lots of power and runs nice. It just has a slight tick that makes me crazy. I’m not a motor expert at all but I’m not a complete idiot either. If you’ve got honest advice...I’m listening. I hate to take it back to the builder. It’s a long way away. Thanks.
Either an Exhaust leak at the head to manifold interface or piston slap is possibly the culprit. Otherwise, if it’s truly a valve train noise, you have lash in the valvetrain, either from debris in the lifter internals, a worn rocker shaft or rocker arm, or a worn cam lobe.
Might want to check for a slight exhaust leak- were the heads and manifolds machined on the exhaust side when rebuilt? Surfaced heads and exhaust manifolds will seal up fine without a gasket, maybe a touch of hightemp RTV, but if the flanges are rough, they can leak a bit
No. They machined the exhaust surface. I have new ceramic coated headers and special gaskets from Ford Powertrain in Oregon. I highly doubt it’s an exhaust leak but I will check.
Had a friend go through the entire valvetrain for a similar problem. It was the fuel pump ticking. Try using a mechanic’s stethoscope or long screw driver to isolate the tick. You might also use a light hammer to gently tap on the pushrod end of the rocker arm if you can identify the offending lifter. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
All hydraulic F.E. Fords have non adjustable rockers. That being said when you do a non adjustable rocker engine very close attention has to be paid to the valve stem height and the lifter preload. If the machine shop that did the build did not return the valves to their original height that can cause the problem you are describing. (This might be a good time to talk to your machinest about the problem.) Especially if they installed hard seats in the exhaust or replaced valves, stem length changes. If the rockers have been reconditioned also comes into play here as well as head and deck surfacing. Also Ford factory used some over and under standard length pushrods on these engines to set the proper lifter preload. I doubt that these pushrods are still available. I would suggest that you try to isolate the valve that is the problem then you may be able to correct the preload on the one valve by installing an adjustable pushrod to properly preload the valve and possibly avoid an engine tear down. It is also possible that you have gotten a bad lifter. To check this isolate the noisey one , now with the engine off rotate the engine until that cylinder is on t.d.c. then push down on the pushrod side of the rocker, it should not have any give to it. If it feels spongy than that lifter is not pumping up and the lifter will need to be replaced. OK, I hope this gives you something to go on, G....
The 352 with hydraulic lifters were non adjustable, however they did produce longer and shorter pushrods to adjust things in case of wear. If the installed valve height is incorrect a different length pushrod can be used to make up for incorrect valve stem height. You would have to find out which one is noisy and measure stem height before changing any pushrods though. It certainly could be just a bad lifter too. It could very easily be a noisy fuel pump too though. A stethoscope will help find out. If you end up thinking it's a bad fuel pump take it off and run the engine. If it's a bad pump the noise will go away. It sounds like probably not an exhaust leak but it can't hurt to recheck that before going too deeply into anything else.
I seems to have become a lost art with many shops to check the valve stem height while doing a valve job, the stems should all be at least close to the same height- Makes it harder to set up if the stem heights are all over the place
Another way to check for clacking valve lifter is to take off the valve covers, let the engine idle and put a feeler gauge between each valve stem and rocker arm. If it suddenly stops clacking you found the loose one. If it turns out that you need a longer pushrod you may need to make one by cutting 2 pushrods in half and welding the long halves together. This may sound crude, but back in the fifties stock car racers shortened their pushrods this way to eliminate lifter pump up. If it worked for them it will work for you.
Valve stem height is important. If you're rebuilding a late '60s/70s SBF with rail rockers, it can be critical. That cost me a motor once when the rocker was hitting the retainer, not the end of the valve...
More then likely it is what was mentioned earlier but a bad valve guide can make a noise like that too. When I worked at a dealership we used Krex oil treatment, if that dont fix the lifter nothing will
Ok. Pulled valve cover. Started engine. Easily heard which rocker was making a noise. There was .028 Valve lash and the push rod was a bit loose. The others were not like that. Left the feeler gauge in there and started it. No more tick. pulled the push rod out. Appears pumped up?? Put a straight edge across the valves. The culprit area the valve was a little shorter. Now..I’m no engine man at all. But wtf? Also I checked the torque down on the rocker rail mounting bolts. Just giving an update
I like using a length of rubber hose when searching for an exhaust leak. It's a for sure way to know what's going on. Like mentioned I do believe the Ford part number for different length pushrods is no longer any good. You can however contact Smith Brothers pushrods and get anything you need. F.E's are real sensitive to pushrod length and will not show anything in the oil pressure gauge. My question is, has it been there since first fire up?
You have 2 options, longer pushrod or pull the head and have it repaired. Depending on what equipment they used for a valve job or to install seats, I think you will find your answer. If a new seat was installed shallower, a longer pushrod will be a permanent fix.
You can invest in early FE or 427 rocker arms that are adjustable . That was the first thing I would look for years ago in the engine pile at the bone yard . They are there but getting scarce . Better to look for new aftermarket parts today . OEM parts maybe at Green Sales in Cinti ., Oh . Ask for Dave Cooper , he is a hot rodder and will help you if possible .
It has been many years for this issue for me , someone else will have to help. But I seem to remember one of the rocker arm shaft stands is different height and if installed in the incorrect location , it can cause this ticking . Some one that remembers please help
It might be time for a discussion about this with your engine builder. If he is a decent person he will help you out. Smith Bros Pushrods in Bend, Or. will make you an adjustable pushrod or if you send them a length, end type and diameter they would make you a custom length pushrod. Give them a call, their service is exceptional.
Salt racer has it with Smith. If you think the the lifter is ok and is just pumped up and will go down, if your stem is above the valve keeper enough you could try a lash cap. If your removing the rocker system keep all the push rods in order and spin or shake them when taking them out and check all the lengths.
The rocker arm stands are all the same height. The stand that sits on top of the oil supply gallery that feeds the rocker arm shaft uses a longer bolt because the bolt hole is chamfered to allow for oil flow to the rocker shaft. the bolt needs to be longer to reach the threads in the deeper hole.
I think the Ford PN for a .030 over length is C8AZ6565A. And here's one on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/p/NOS-OEM-Ford-Rod-Valve-Push-C8AZ6565A/1130955303
Well the old brain has kicked into gear finally . If you determine only one valve stem happens to be low then a longer push rod is your answer as many have discussed . One other issue that I seem to remember getting over looked many times and will make strange valve train noises is , worn rockers or worn rocker bushings . Did you inspect the rockers and bushings inside the rocker arms . This was a wear point over looked by my many , including me throughout the years .
You collapse the lifter and measure the distance there is a spec. and do what you need to do to make the gap within tolerance. Its possible to weld a bit of hard surface rod to the rocker arm at the valve stem contact point and grind it to tolarence. a longer pushrod might be hard to find.
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