Hey guys, I've got my flatty running real smooth and starts great, BUT it sounds like a damn sewing machine! Is this normal? I thought at first it was a stuck lifter, but after the car is warm it doesn't go away. Am I looking at some major valve probs here, or am I just used to my modern cars? Let me know, TDC
Have 3 drivers and they are quiet. When the crestliner sits for a long period it seems as though a valve sticks untill its driven a couple miles, and its not noisy then.
hey my first flatty sounded like that after I drove the piss out of it at age 15, 16 and 17... it was dead by age 21. It was quiet when I bought it... touch the button, running silent, is it running?? that quiet! overheated it a couple times and the valves started to sound like that... It needed a valve job. SO im assumeing thats what yours is calling for. If everyting else sounds good and the motors used i wouldnt worry about it at all! What kind of oil did you settle with? good luck~ Tuck
If you're referring to the soft "ticking" sound, it's probably the valve train....the adjustment between the lifters and the valve stem. On original Ford flatties, they all came with solid lifters. There was no way to adjust them except by grinding. It was a trial and error process. That's way everyone started putting adjustable lifters in them. Made the valve adjustment process go a lot quicker and you could (can) keep yer valves from clicking. The Ford Flathead V8 Engine site
one thing that may be causing the ticking sound, is (atleast on my 8ba flattie) there is a rod that runs off the cam which actuates the manual fuel pump...after X amount of use this fuel pump rod can become worn on the cam end and develop some slop which would cause the tick...new rods are somewhere in the $10 range...it may be worth a shot,and could save some serious dough on a valve job if it's not needed.... just a thought..
[ QUOTE ] hey my first flatty sounded like that after I drove the piss out of it at age 15, 16 and 17... it was dead by age 21. It was quiet when I bought it... touch the button, running silent, is it running?? that quiet! overheated it a couple times and the valves started to sound like that... It needed a valve job. SO im assumeing thats what yours is calling for. If everyting else sounds good and the motors used i wouldnt worry about it at all! What kind of oil did you settle with? [/ QUOTE ] The engine starts and runs GREAT. QUIET! except for the loud ticking coming from the area of #1 or #2 cyl. What would be making this sound? Is it a valve spring that bought the farm? or a worn out lifter? or a catastrophic nightmare that is going to make me wish I never got this thing running ? So are you saying, drive it until it breaks? Or, be real easy on it cause it is going to fail soon? We are doing a brake job right now (this weekend) and when that is done I am going to start the oil experiment. I am going to start with the 20w50 and run that for a few weeks to see if I notice a difference in temperature, then switch to the 50 wt that you suggested and see what that does for me. I will let you know. Cadlights~ No valve job. Car has been stored for 30+ years and I just woke it from its slumber. Crestliner~ I will be driving it tonight (if it stops raining) and I hope that that cures it. 40fordguy~ I wish it was just a "soft" tick. This sounds EXACTLY like a sewing maching without any fabric between the foot and the base. CLICK CLICK CLICK. kritz~ just rebuilt the fuel pump and measured the push rod, it is within specs. The noise is coming from the front of the engine, but thanks! Sometimes it is those little things. TDC
might be the timing chain...do the screwdiver test.. put the handle to your ear and the tip on whatver you want to check ..just be sure to use a long one ..hahah..good luck
With the motor sitting so long , it might be a sticky valve. I would check the plugs and see what cylinder is a problem and go from there. My motor sat for 20 plus years and the valve guide would hang up the valve, change it and quiet as a mouse, till I ran streight pipes Now it sounds Kick Ass......
This is a over 6 year old thread I think he found it by know. But on a side note, it would be nice if we got a conclusion. It bugs me when someone has a question or problem that every one trys to help and they never update us when or how it is fixed, it would be nice for future refrence when someone else has the same problem.
My flathead sounds like music to my ears.... Sounds like you need to pull the intake and have a look see. Flatman
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My flatty sounded like a choir of angels....very loud angels. Hit 2nd at about 6grand and it really sounded good. Then I broke it. The coir stopped singing.
When I got my 8BA, it was nearly silent, but after a rebuild it was quite chatty, particularly near the #1 cylinder. As far as I can tell, it may be the aluminum timing gear that replaced the original fiber one. There were ads about how quiet the flathead was because of this particular component. -Stefan
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