So this week was an entire nightmare. I brought the car to the shop to get the valves adjusted because they were ticking , the guy calls me back telling me i spun a rod bearing. I told the guy no way , because it wasnt making any power anymore and i was losing oil pressure. Needless to say the next day he calls me back tellign me i was right , it was in the valvetrain. Then the guy told me i needed lifters because they were bleeding oil. This made sense to me , because when i pulled the covers and adjusted a rocker , they would loosen right back up. The next problem is that the guy told me he wanted 1100 bucks to do the lifters! So after a huge arguement , i ended up having to pay 350 bucks for his " diognosis" which was wrong anyway , and i still dont have a running car. I am going to do the lifters with the help of a friend. My only question is , what ones do you guys recomend? I have a Trick flow h/c/i roller combo. Just doing quick research i found trick flow ones on summit for 9.95 each. Should i get these or is there something that you guys think is better? Also , should i replace the roller rockers and push rods too? They are the trick flow 1.6's that came with the kit. I was really shocked with this because the whole top end doesnt even have 10k on it. Please give me some advice guys!
Recommended lifters for trick flow?
- Thread starter 1Fine89stang
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ShortThrow50
Member
Just get the FRPP lifters. I would just inspect the pushrods and rr's for anything out of the ordinary. No sense on wasting money if your trying to save money. Compare the pushrods and rr's with the other ones.
90_Red_LX
Member
Hmm... aren't hydraulic lifters supposed to bleed oil? I mean, that's why they're hydraulic lifters. They pump it into the pushrods and oil the rocker arms and lube the valve stems. Ticking valves means the valve lash was set incorrectly or the pushrods are the wrong length if nothing is broken.
I was really suprised that anything was wrong with them because like i said , there is less than 10k on the heads. When i tightened down the rockers , they would loosen up in less than 5 minutes of just sitting there , not even running. Are you guys trying to say that the lifters may not be the problem? And thanks again , i really appreciate it.
ShortThrow50
Member
I dont mean to sound like a newbie , but what would i need to fix this? Is it something that i should do before i go ahead and change all the lifters? I really want to be sure what the problem is because this is my DD and i am taking a day off of work to fix it. Thanks again guys. I probably should also mention that they are making a really really lot of noise. Almost past the point of ticking and now slapping.
ShortThrow50
Member
the slapping sound is because they are loose. I would like to see if your missing your lock nuts that are located flush inside the top of your rr's. Do this. Soon as you get your valve covers off, Take a picture of your rr's (the top of them). This will help a great deal to narrow down. Or maybe not. If they are all there, maybe the previous guy that installed them did not lock them. You will be able to tell if the nuts are loose as soon as you stick an allen wrench in them. You may just have to readjust all your rr's. Its a peice of cake. This is what your problem sounds like. I have done the tf install TWICE. LOL. Pm me if you need help on how to do rr's.Alos, i just reread about you losing oil pressure. Is this true. Your gauge is reading this? Your oil pump is probably shot. How many miles on the car?
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ShortThrow50
Member
NKau
Founding Member
The lifters aren't the problem. They will bleed down a little after sitting for a while, and the rockers will 'loosen'. If you are having problems with rockers getting loose while running, you probably aren't getting them adjusted right.
To help you guys help ME narrow it down lol , i will tell you step by step what happend.
I got the car , minor tick , lots of power.
Tick started getting worse , exponentially lost power.
Pulled v/c's , tightened the loose rockers , walked away , came back and they were loose again.
Shop told me it was 1100 for new lifters.
Put the v/c's back on and came home with it ticking like CRAZY.
Now , here i sit.
Thanks for all your help , i wish i would have asked you guys in the first place.
I got the car , minor tick , lots of power.
Tick started getting worse , exponentially lost power.
Pulled v/c's , tightened the loose rockers , walked away , came back and they were loose again.
Shop told me it was 1100 for new lifters.
Put the v/c's back on and came home with it ticking like CRAZY.
Now , here i sit.
Thanks for all your help , i wish i would have asked you guys in the first place.
ShortThrow50
Member
when you tightened the rockers, did you tighten the little lock screw in the middle of the adjuster nuts?
302RollinHard
New Member
tick getting worse with increasing loss of power leads me to believe one of 2 things that have been said a couple of times in the thread already.....
1) lifter is bad and causing slack in the valve train (less likely)
2) Rocker adjusting nut s backing off causing slack (more likely)
This won't let the valve actuate fully and hurt your flow and subsequently your power.
Are the rockers stud mount or pedistal mount?
Here's a little advice for you......
it sounds like you just bought the car. If someone told you they only had 10K on the top end, unless you know better, they are probably feeding you a line. WHile you have all that crap out, replace the lifters (cheap insurance) and check your pushrods for straightness.
Also, $1100 for diagnosis and changing out of lifters??? Find another shop, especially if the guy can't tell a valvetrain tick from a rod bearing tick.
Pictures would answer a lot of questions you will be getting. as to valve train type, etc......
just my opinion......
1) lifter is bad and causing slack in the valve train (less likely)
2) Rocker adjusting nut s backing off causing slack (more likely)
This won't let the valve actuate fully and hurt your flow and subsequently your power.
Are the rockers stud mount or pedistal mount?
Here's a little advice for you......
it sounds like you just bought the car. If someone told you they only had 10K on the top end, unless you know better, they are probably feeding you a line. WHile you have all that crap out, replace the lifters (cheap insurance) and check your pushrods for straightness.
Also, $1100 for diagnosis and changing out of lifters??? Find another shop, especially if the guy can't tell a valvetrain tick from a rod bearing tick.
Pictures would answer a lot of questions you will be getting. as to valve train type, etc......
just my opinion......
try ajusting them again this time make sure the valves are closed. hand turn the pushrod at the same time turn the poly lock on the rocker till you feel a little drag on the pushrod,stop!take a wrench and tighten the poly lock 1/2 a turn,wait!when the pushrod loosens up again,turn the poly lock another half a turn.stop!
tighten the little lock in the middle with an allen wrench while holding the poly lock with the wrench.thats all there is to it really.just make sure that the valves are closed everytime.
tighten the little lock in the middle with an allen wrench while holding the poly lock with the wrench.thats all there is to it really.just make sure that the valves are closed everytime.
I'm assuming these are stud mounted roller rockers?
If so, always tighten them down to zero lash (no play between pushrod and lifter) on the base circle of the cam. You can't just undo the valve covers and start tightening them, they have to be tightened on the base circle (no lift part of the cam lobe).
The Ford lifters will be just fine to replace them with if that is the problem.
If so, always tighten them down to zero lash (no play between pushrod and lifter) on the base circle of the cam. You can't just undo the valve covers and start tightening them, they have to be tightened on the base circle (no lift part of the cam lobe).
The Ford lifters will be just fine to replace them with if that is the problem.
Your asking him to put a full turn (1/2 + 1/2) on the lifters. In my opinion, that is too much preload.
1/2-3/4 turn is plenty of preload after zero lash.
Closed valves means base circle of the cam (no lift) by the way.
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