Noisy valve train on FRPP Crate Motor?

[bstuke]

Hey folks,

I have about 5000 miles on the B cam crate motor in my roadster. I am getting a considerable amount of valvetrain noisy, and wondered if anyone else with this motor has the same problem.

I pulled the valve covers today to eyeball the rocker arms, position and such, but nothing looks like it is out of place.

I don't know what else I can tell you other than what is in my sig. I broke it in with Rotella T, and now it has 10W30 Mobil 1. Pressure is 40-50psi

I just figured the aluminum heads resonated more sound than iron heads.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

 

[ShortThrow50]

Are all of them noisy? go back over the valves and tighten down the nuts 1/4 turn

 

[bstuke]

Are all of them noisy? go back over the valves and tighten down the nuts 1/4 turn

I have not tried to tighten them any yet. The pushrods on the rockers that are flat do spin a little, but don't take a lot of effort. I am rotating through all of them to see if any are more loose than others.

It is hard to tell which ones are noisy.

I might also try 10W40 or 20W50 when I change the oil in the next couple of days.

Can I get a second on trying a quarter turn?

 

[liljoe07]

I always use 1/4 turn when setting lifter preload. Every valve needs to adjusted on the Base circle of the Cam.

 

[bstuke]

Ok, I went outside and tried to tighten one or two that were on the base lobe, and was not able to tighten them any more. My rockers have a hex head cap on them, and they don;t look adjustable..

 

[Maryland Stang]

Remove the hex screw and lift the rocker arm and pedestal up. See if there are shims there. If there are shims there then remove the thinnest shim and replace the pedestal and rocker arm.

You really need to go through the whole valve train setup. The Ford Racing cams also tend to be a bit noisy due to their agressive ramp lobes. Valve train noise was the reason Ford changed the stock cam to a less agressive ramp back in 1988.

 

[bstuke]

Thanks for the info, will do. I am considering replacing it this winter with something in the 500-515 lift range.

Will the X303 assembly handle that?

 

[Maryland Stang]

Thanks for the info, will do. I am considering replacing it this winter with something in the 500-515 lift range.

Will the X303 assembly handle that?

The B cam and X cam are essentially the same cam. Although B comes before E and F in the alphabet it doesn't work that way at Ford Racing. That's why you usually see them listed as E, F, B, X and Z. The B and X cam share the same basic timing events with the B having less lift. If you want a .510 lift just put 1.7 rockers on with the B. That's what I did. I like to call it the "R" cam now for race.

 

[bstuke]

Sorry, I was talking about the head assembly, X306, I fat fingered that. I was wondering if a 500-515 lift cam will clear valve to piston, and it looks like the springs and rocker should handle it?

 

[1987stangman]

Thanks for the info, will do. I am considering replacing it this winter with something in the 500-515 lift range.

Will the X303 assembly handle that?

After I rebuilt my motor, I had the same top end noise. Drove me nut even though it was not really noticable to others, but I heard it. I ended up having to replace the already new Ford Racing lifters with a new set and the noise stopped.

 

[Maryland Stang]

Sorry, I was talking about the head assembly, X306, I fat fingered that. I was wondering if a 500-515 lift cam will clear valve to piston, and it looks like the springs and rocker should handle it?

You should be okay. Just for grins and giggles though you might want to check the clearance. You just need some Playdough, an old head gasket and about an hour of time.