Technical 390 FE Very loud valve noise

I had a comp cams lifter (actually 3) come apart in my last 390. If it was tickin' and then got louder all at once I may be thinking that it could be a lifter. Of course that intake is heavy so its going to cost you sweat and perhaps a sore back at the very least to find that out.

 

You have no idea how angry I would be if that were the case haha. It's an aluminum intake but it's still big and clunky and I just took it off and put it back on and finally got it to stop leaking. I'd cut my left big toe off if it meant never having to take it off again!

 

If you cut your left big toe off you won't have to take it off again.

I wasn't pleased at all about the lifters and usually if you loose a lifter clip the pushrod will hop out, but not always. I was so pleased about mine coming apart that I called summit racing and had them overnight me a crane and a set of Erson anti pump up lifters and the comp cam became a gift for a young fella in S Texas.

 

When your lifters failed was a rebuild necessary? Because then I would kill myself![emoji23]

 

Per Ford muscle parts book page 49, left column, bottom two paragraphs.. Rotate engine to have valves closed when each cylinder is to fire and follow firing order checking that when you compress lifter fully there should be between .110 and .220 rocker to valve stem clearance..Rocker ratio is 1.73 so a .050 push rod chg in length is .085 at valve..Less than .110 and you need shorter push rods, more than .220 you need longer push rods...This is the only choice with non-adjustable rockers; adjustable push rods would help [I don't remember if there is enough room] to set at or near the .110 optimum clearance.. ..

 

Are you seeing any funny looking "witness marks" on the ends of the pushrods, the ends or undersides of the rocker arms, the valve tips or valve spring retainers? Also like the idea of running it with the mechanical fuel pump disconnected, and maybe even with all of the accessory belts removed.

 

Witness marks?

 

Tell-tale marks that parts are making contact in places where they shouldn't.

 

I don't remember seeing anything out of the ordinary but what do they look like?

 

Maybe scuff marks on the pushrod ends and/or the mating socket of the rocker arms. They should be smooth and shiny. Or maybe some scuff marks on the underside of the valve end of the rocker arms where they've contacted the valve spring or the spring retainer. Maybe some nicks or divots around the outer edges of the spring retainers.

 

If you determine you have too much valve lash by using the collapse the lifter at tdc method previously outlined you can file off the corect amount from the bottom of the pedestals ....say for example the lifter collapses 50 thousandths too far, measure with a caliper and start filing !

 

did you get the rocker shaft together correct

 

hope you sorted this by now but if not the pushrod length is ment to be spot on im told that if to short or to long the oil will be restricted. hope you got it fixed

 

Definetly an oiling problem there , even with restricters in the heads you would have to
shut the engine down with no rocker covers as oil would be everywhere !!!

 

take the rocker arms off and spin the oil pump. oil should flow out the second stand
at the front passenger side and second stand rear drivers side evident by champhered hole
make sure the oiling holes are facing down on the rocker shaft and the necked bolts are in the 2 holes supplying oil
I also have a 1966 mercury 390 with a 292 h cam and the lifters are noisy!!
going to buy ball and cup push rods and adjustable roller rockers
heck I spent 4000.00 on it now , what's another 800.00 to make it right !!! LOL

 

We figured it out. There was some material inside the rocker shafts that was clogging the oil passages, works great now, but it leaks pretty bad.

 

Go to FORD FE FORUMS.THEY HELPED me with my 390 build luckily I didn't have any problems.

 

Leaks pretty bad where?

 

Valve covers, intake, maybe timing cover. Gonna try a different set of covers first and see if we can pinpoint the leaks. Leaves a pretty good spot everywhere you park it.

 

Nope I found the pieces of lifter in the lifter valley and changed the cam and the oil and was done with it. Normally the pieces that fall out of a lifter won't go through the pickup screen on the oil pump.