Changed back to stock rockers, now check out this crazy noise!

[89FoxBodyStang]

hey guys, i changed back to stock rockers after having some issues with my 1.7's (not getting the adjustment correct) and now i have a crazy noise after the engine is shut off. the engine will run fine, nice and quiet from the valvetrain, but when i turn it off, it is a loud regimented TAP,TAP noise, that slows down after about a minute. this noise will happen when the engine is COLD and when you just bump the starter over, which makes me think it is something oil pressure related and having to do with lifters. i did replace head gaskets a little while back, maybe my pushrods are too short now? everything seemed to torque down good when i put the stock rockers back on (yes i followed the adjustment procedure) i have a video that shows my symptom.



(if you skip to the three minute mark in the video you will hear the noise, the first part is me talking about another problem i was having that i believe to have associated with a loose injector harness ground)

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

plus i did run codes per the check engine light on the car, when running i threw codes for EGR and thermactor system which i have deleted. koeo codes i ran MAP sensor out of test range and the IAT (intake air temp) sensor out of test range, after that i found the loose ground to my injector harness, re ran codes and the IAT code went away, but the MAP sensor code was still there, so i have a new MAP waiting for me when i get back to michigan. i still havent ran it since the video because after i made the video i pulled the intake off... im going to college in ohio and i work part time so ill have to wait until next weekend to put everything back together and see if the loose ground made any difference.

 

[Boydster]

That is weird. I'd pull the valve covers and see what's wrong. If it will do it after just spinning the engine on the starter, then with the valve covers off you can get a better idea.

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

could i turn it over with the upper intake off? as long as i unhook the coil?

 

[ace940]

Yes u can turn it over with the intake off just unplug the fuel pump relay and disconnect the coil and it should turn over just fine like that

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

ok i go home this weekend i will remove the valve covers and crank it and make a video response of what i find!

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

so i got home and took the valve cover off of the mustang, and bumped the starter. the ticking noise started again, so i removed the valve cover and you can feel the tick in the rocker assembly, pushrod ect. so i would bump it again and the tick would continue but from a different rocker. on the drivers side i found 2 rockers that would make the noise at different times but never at the same time on both. so i called a friend of mine over and he called one of his genius friends (literally this guy is amazing) and he told me about how the stock rockers have the grooves in them from the fulcrum to the stamped part of the rocker. as he said this i took my rockers off and looked, and voila, some of the rockers V shaped grooves were backwards, if anyone knows what im talking about then you should understand, theres machined grooves in the rocker's fulcrum and the stamped part, there kind of in a V shape, well if you have the fulcrum in the rocker backwards, it doesn't line up in the groove correctly. i found quite a few that were backwards on the driver side, and 2 on the passenger side that were backwards. i hope i d idnt ruin them becuase they started wearing their own grooves in the ones that were backwards, but they dont look too bad. i don't know if i mentioned that these stock rockers are out of a bronco, but they are the exact same as a mustangs rockers. so now im going to do the adjustment... all over again tomorrow... and plus i blew up my starter solenoid so im gonna need one of those.

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

problem now- can't get it to start. when i turn the key the RPM guage moves and i get a weird ass noise from the starter solenoid. replaced solenoid and the new one does the same thing.

now i cant even get it to make the noise unless i touch the S terminal to the positive side of the solenoid with a needle nose. checked all fuses they are good. did i blow a fusible link?

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

lights come on in the car, radio, everything comes on until i turn the key and everything turns off. battery perhaps?

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

put the charger on it, my battery is DEAD maybe that was my problem.

 

[ttopstang]

Do you think you had the 1.7's installed incorrectly? There are thousands of people running them with no adjustment issues. I would much rather run a roller rocker instead of a stamped steel rocker.

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

i really dont know what is wrong with them. the reason i think im having issues is there may have been work done to these heads to which i don't know what was done. but every time i re adjusted the rockers, i would eventually get more noise from the passenger side of the engine. so something kept going out of adjustment.

 

[nitrous_bob]

when you say you used the "procedure" which one is that ? they are NOT adjusted properly

cuz the only way that works for me is keep priming the lifters on every valve, and bump the motor over til the valve you are doing closes...then tighten it down. and use a torque wrench in inch pounds...NOT foot lbs

so use 216-240 inch pounds ( it is 18-20 ft-lbs right ??? i forget)

if you turn less than a 1/4 turn or MORE than 1 1/2 turns...you need to replace the pushrods or shim the rockers

and these are ped mounts right ??? if you use the "3 position of the rotor" procedure it wont work

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

no we adjusted them via bumping them over and going down the banks, we did cylinder 1 2 3 4 and then 5 6 7 8. the way my friend does it he works on remanufacturing blocks so thats how they torque em down. and yeah we did 20 ft lbs. and most torqued before 1 full turn but a couple torqued before 1 and a half. he just showed me that way of doing it. i usually roll through the firing order and adjust intake then exhaust valve then go to the next cylinder in the firing order etc...

 

[nitrous_bob]

ok well unless you have a high dollar torque wrench (mine doesnt even go down to 20 ft-lbs let alone be accurate down there) you might be off and im guessing over torqued

and if the valve wasnt fully closed...you'll be off too. did you feel the rocker while bumping it over ? when it closed and the companion valve JUST started to open ??? then you know its not even touching a lobe

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

yes. trust me. ive done this adjustment 5 times, i can tell you right now i know how to find the base lobe on each cylinder, and how to follow the firing order.

fact is i got the engine running today and it still ticks loudly after shut off. i just think everything has to work new wear patterns into itself, and it will eventually go away.

NOW, i have a diferent issue. my engine is starting rough, with a skip in the RPM's right on start up. and then it sounds like it misses, and then it floods, and will crank but not start. i think this has something to do with my adjustable fuel pressure regulator, since my plugs get fuel on them. could it be that the fuel pressure is set to high at the regulator? i got this regulator and just bolted it on and ran with it. but im thinking i may have turned it up too high. how do i go about adjusting the pressure correctly?

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

and a torque wrench with a lower rating of torque like 100-150 ft lbs (the one i have) can be pretty accurate down to the 20 ft lb mark, but thats why the spec is 18-20. so you have some room to play around with

 

[tobalx]

i don't know if this will help but when i put the 1.7's on my gt40's they would hit the oil baffle on the passenger side. it was just enough that when you forst started it it was quiet but i guess when it got oil soaked you could hear it if you have a cam it could be the springs as well.. but the fuel pressure is easy, i justy got a fuel perssure qauge and a schrader valve to 1/8 npt adapter, unscrewed the center out of the valve and put the guage on. set to 40 and good to go.just do not drive with it on, i could not get it to seal even with dope and it sprayed my headers,no flame just smoke but it was close.

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

ive got 94 cobra VC's so should be no problem with clearance issues on those with stock rockers, plus it makes then noise with no VC's at all. also no i don't have a cam so its not my springs

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

the symptom im having is relative to the engine slowly flooding itself. my first startup after i got everything on is smooth, nice throttle response ect. the second start up directly after the first shutdown, i have that small miss right at start up, followed by a high idle, then poor throttle response like the engine is loading down. after a couple more starts like this, the engine would then only crank over, and not start.