Progress Thread Diagnosis front end clunk (and more)

JD1964 · May 24, 2026

Ok I got the timing cover bolted in with substitute bolts for missing water pump situation. I’m going to let this set for 24h minimum before I put the pump on.

nickyb · May 24, 2026

Looks leak proof to me, good job.

Noobz347 · May 24, 2026

Nut-Washers... Approved.

JD1964 · May 25, 2026

Noobz347 said:
Nut-Washers... Approved.

Yeah I couldn’t find the lengths I needed in my on hand stock.

JD1964 · May 25, 2026

Surgical precision

JD1964 · May 25, 2026

Alright, here’s this mess all back together. I’ll pour the coolant in tomorrow night after I get home from work

AeroCoupe · May 25, 2026

Hopefully it’s fixed for a good long time!

JD1964 · May 27, 2026

Gonna change the oil and filter before I start it up. I heard on another site somewhere that Wix filters have declined in quality so I’m removing the Wix and putting on Carquest Premium filter. I also got these nylon drain bolt gaskets for 79 cents at Napa. They’re a tight fit and had to be driven down over the threads with a 14mm deep well socket.

The number on the Napa receipt is 174-1965

JD1964 · May 27, 2026

I ran it for 30 minutes on the jack stands. So far not leaking anything. I’ll look under it again tomorrow and if it’s dry, she’s free

JD1964 · May 27, 2026

Next on the list is the annoying front end clunk. I think its the bearings in the upr camber plates. No bolts are loose. Ive gone over everything multiple times. On the shelf I have the factory strut mounts with intact bushings in good shape. I think I’ll put those back in and see if it stops the noise.

JD1964 · May 27, 2026

By the way those nylon drain plug washers worked great! I could see them squash down a little when I tightened them. No way are they going to leak.

JD1964 · May 28, 2026

Not a single drop of any fluids on the garage floor this morning. I’ll get it out and drive it this evening and daily it all next week.

gkomo · May 28, 2026

Great work!

gkomo · May 28, 2026

I've read through your thread as i plan on doing a head swap probably early next year. My biggest anxiety is measuring pushrod length correctly, setting up the rockers/valvetrain and then getting the distributor put back in correctly. I think everything else is mostly just unbolt and bolt back on with new parts.

JD1964 · May 28, 2026

gkomo said:
I've read through your thread as i plan on doing a head swap probably early next year. My biggest anxiety is measuring pushrod length correctly, setting up the rockers/valvetrain and then getting the distributor put back in correctly. I think everything else is mostly just unbolt and bolt back on with new parts.

Hopefully you’ll have the luxury of not needing the car too soon. That way you can take your time and be careful. If you can do it without being under any pressure or time constraints, you’ll get it done eventually. If you start second guessing things there’s likely a good reason. Be careful and thorough the first time and you may not have to do things twice, (like me

gkomo · May 28, 2026

JD1964 said:
Hopefully you’ll have the luxury of not needing the car too soon. That way you can take your time and be careful. If you can do it without being under any pressure or time constraints, you’ll get it done eventually. If you start second guessing things there’s likely a good reason. Be careful and thorough the first time and you may not have to do things twice, (like me

Yes fortunately i can have the car down inside the garage for as long as its needed. I think i spent 3 months installing the supercharger and just did it when i could (mostly at night). Plan on the same path for the heads, and all the other parts i need to install.

JD1964 · May 29, 2026

Ran great on the way to work. Went back to my misspent youth with this tune

View: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sfXTdl8hA2Y&si=bs9zRbXK--9m4Ytw

nicholase · May 29, 2026

JD1964 said:
Not a single drop of any fluids on the garage floor this morning. I’ll get it out and drive it this evening and daily it all next week.

That's what this is all about man. Nothing feels better than that.

JD1964 · Jun 30, 2026

JD1964 said:
Got a slight intermittent rattle somewhere on the front of the engine. Maybe a missing or loose accessory bolt. I’ll update when I track it down

The rattle was coming from the smog pump delete pulley. I had an issue with a loose bearing previously. Well, it came back. The hole in the pulley is actually slightly too large for the bearing and allows the bearing to move withing the pulley ever so slightly. I think I rigged a fix, at least a temporary one. Anyway, the bearing is tight in the pulley bore and it's not rattling anymore. I fixed it by dinging the pulley metal with a center punch. It shrunk the bore just enough and now the bearing cant move within the bore. Its quiet now.

JD1964 · Jun 30, 2026

After more running of the car, especially getting it really heated up by spirited driving, the valve train rocker arms got a little noisy. They would be perfectly quiet like they should be on cold start up but after heating the engine up really good they would start ticking at idle. Only one or two of them would tick but this kinda thing drives me crazy. I did a bit of research and discovered how the aluminum heads can expand quite a bit when heated up and this expansion of the head can reduce the set lifter preload. On initial assembly I had used .020 pedestal shims to set the lifter preload to an average of 1/2 to 3/4 turn from zero lash to torqued down. Well, to address this "hot ticking", I went back in and remove all of the .020 shims to increase the lifter preload. With them removed I'm averaging 1 to 1.25 turn to tq from zero lash. I'm delighted to report that this fixed the "hot ticking". It's quiet now even when heated up really good. Feels like it may be a tad more powerful now too. Who knows, maybe I was leaving a tiny bit a valve lift on the table when it was ticking. Its not ticking anymore and running fantastic!

Progress Thread Diagnosis front end clunk (and more)

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft

now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

I lubed and pushed, until it was all the way in

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

there is enough sticking out to grab on to

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