My Edsel has a 292 with noisy rocker arms. I need to adjust them but have never done it on a Y-Block. Would I just remove the valve covers and adjust like an SBC? I read the tech article on Y-Block forever web site but, do I do it with engine on or off? How do I know if they are getting enough oil? Thanks in advance...TD
If its got solid lifters you do it with a feeler gauge and the engine off. If its got hydraulics they probably aren't adjustable. They should be shaft rockers if memory suits me, wiggle the rockers and make sure that the shafts aren't worn. Anyway lift the covers and see if they are adjustable to start with.
All Y-blocks are solid lifters, you will need to use the feeler gauge like PNB said. I can get you the stock lash settings tonight. They normally give hot lash which means the motor should be at opperating temp when you do it. Hope that helps.
Info you need is here lots of good y block information on his website. http://www.ford-y-block.com/tuneup.htm
I can remember in 1969. My first car was a 292. Noisier than hell. I've heard others complain of this problem. I remember adjusting them every weekend. One of the first times I ever had a wrench to an engine. Fond memories....... the best part is this car was a 59 longroof with a well used folding backseat and my first real girlfriend. She is now my wife of 33 years.
If you really want to fix the rocker arm noise on a y block, you probably need to pull the heads and clean the carbon and "stuff" out of the oil p***ages going to the rocker arms. There are stop gap kits to "fix" the problem, but in the end they cause lower oil pressure to the bottom end and more problems than they fix. Larry T
I had no oil to the rockers on my T-Bird (Y-Block). Had to pull the engine and fit new cam bearings to fix it properly. My f100 (Y-Block) has one of the copper pipe add on kits feeding the rockers externally. It is nice and quiet though. What happened on the T-Bird is the can bearings worn and the oil could no longer flow around the groove in the cam that feeds the rockers. Mart.
My Vic. had the 292 w/ solid lifters. Even when well adjusted, the thing still clattered up a storm. I kind of grew to like it...then I sold it.
All Y blocks had adjustable rockers. Some had interference threads with no lock nut, others had the lock nut arrangement. The setting is 19 hot. Most guys set them around 20 cold and let it go at that. The aftermarket tube arrangement was for motors that were too gummed up to get oil upstairs (poor manintenance or lousy oil back then.) Or maybe worn cam bearings.
Pull the rocker covers and start it up. You should have oil coming off the rockers. And don't worry, you won't end up with oil on the fenders and everywhere else like a stinkin' sbc.
What type of feeler gauge do i use? and where can I get one...are they readily availiable? I'm just making sure this type of noise is normal since this baby is gonna be my daily driver... I read a tech article on one of the Y-Block web sites and I was gonna post it here but now I can't find it...I'm gonna keep looking and I'm gonna post it here to see if this is accurate. Thanks again for the help...TD
One of the best solutions for oiling is to take off the overflow tubes on the ends of the rocker shafts (actually on the towers) and plug them. Now you have pressurized the system.
Wouldn't plugging or removing the rear tube cause the distributor gear to be starved of oil? I thought that was one of the evils of using the external oilers because they require removing that tube.
My information came from the year-long Y-block buildup in the Street Rodder a few years ago. I zeroxed every months info and built my engine as they instructed. They suggested drilling holes in the valley so oil fed each lifter-I dont remember about the distributor but I may have drilled holes in the valley above the dist drive gear, too. The Street rodder articles were in 1999
Here I found it..on the YBloks Forever Web site... Sounds pretty cut and dry... but is this a good solution or should I just make sure The rocker arms are getting oil and just leave it alone and get used to the noise? Adjusting Valve Lash on a Y-Block Y-Block enthusiast, lets talk valve lash. As y-blocks have no hydraulic lifters, it is necessary to adjust the tappets quit often. Unfortunately, the use of a feeler gauge is satisfactory only if the rocker faces are in good condition. If the rocker faces have wear pockets, from contacting the valve stem, the use of a feeler gauge will provide results which are little better than calculated guessing, as the gap will always be greater than the thickness of the feeler gauge due to said condition. About fifty years ago when solid lifters were most common, a tool was developed for adjusting valve lash, utilizing a dial indicator, called a P&G Valve Gapper. These tools were supplied with specific adapters for different makes of engines, including y-block Fords, by P&G manufacturing Co. of Portland, Or., but to the best of my knowledge they no longer exist. Can anyone expand on the existence of this company or a source of this tool, or parts thereof? I have found a few at swap meets but not in the last decade. This is the finest tool ever developed for adjusting solid lifter equipped overhead tappets as anyone who owns one would testify. For those of you without the luxury of such a precision tool, may I suggest a very satisfactory method alternative to feeler gauges anyone can perform without special tools. The tappet adjust screw is 20 threads per inch thus 1 full turn represents .050 of linear travel. It works just like a micrometer. Multiply 1 turn of travel times existing rocker ratio. Example, .050x1.54 = .077. As you can deduct, one full turn of the adjust screw used in a 1.54 ratio rocker will represent .077 of tappet clearance. Now divide one turn of tappet clearance i.e, .077 by 60 as in the 60 minutes of a clock face. This number is .001283 = 1 minute of clock face rotation. Thus 15 minuets of rotation will =.192 Very close to .019 which is the specification for valve tappet clearance on 292 and 312 engines. 15 minutes clock rotation = 90 degrees rotation, an increment most auto enthusiast can easily estimate quit closely. Get into the engine, with the lifter all the down obtain some tappet clearance then carefully rotate the adjust screw clockwise to obtain .000 valve lash. Just touching but not depressing the valve. Now rotate the adjust screw counterclockwise 90 degrees. The resulting clearance should be very, very close to .019 regardless of rocker arm face wear. If adjusting 1.43 ratio rockers rotate the adjust screw 16 min. of rotation ccw. To obtain .01906 clearance. Very, very ,very close. In order to determine the ratio of said rocker, observe the # on the side. 1.54 rockers are marked ECG 6564-B2 or B1 I am led to believe any rocker with B1 or B2 suffix will be a 1.54 ratio rocker and all those without suffixes will be 1.43 ratio. Walt Nuckels 12/31/00
I always used feeler gauges when adjusting the valves on my Y-blocks, but most of them had rockers that I had resurfaced to get rid of the wear patterns. You should be able to get a set of gauges from any "good" auto parts store or tool distributor, including Sears. Get the type with the bent ends as that will help to keep your fingers away from the hot exhaust manifold. The info. you posted about adjusting them without gauges sounds pretty trick and should work OK. If you ever put a different cam in it may need different lash settings and math would have to be re-figured accordingly. Also don't forget to adjust the intake valves, some cams used less clearance on the intakes because the valves would run cooler than the exhaust. When everthing's said and done, the valve clatter from a Y-block with rocker arms in good shape and properly adjusted shouldn't be bad at all.
I have had dual straight pipes all the way to the back bumper for 6 years now. I can hear those lifters. I always put a short section of 1X6 on the exhaust manifolds so I can rest my arms and not get burnt.
I was told external oil supply was the only way to get the tap out on these motors because it is the only issue that these motors really have. I think R&C also did a article on these motors last year. I think low oil pressure was alo addrest with this story. josh
O.K. Well I started it and it seems to be getting oil to the top. As far as the noise which bolts do I tighten??? here are some pics of the motor without the valve covers on. one pic shows a copper tube (driver's side only) coming from in the head to the rocker arm ***embly is this the additional tubing you all were talking about? Thanks TD
Ok, you're new to this, that pipe is a sort of drain for excess oil from the rocker shaft. Don't worry about it. You're getting oil up there, that's good. (Did you check both sides?? Is one side noisier than the other??) Anyhoo, the valves are the things with the springs on them, the rockers are the things that push them down (while rocking, funnily enough..) and the part you have to adjust is the hex screw on the rocker on the opposite end from the valve. (the pushrod end). The feeler goes between the rocker and the valve, you turn the screw until the feeler is just a light sliding fit. Ok so you want to know which ones to adjust?? (hope I get this right) Write down the firing order off the manifold. It's 1548 6372. Note I wrote that down in two groups of four. Turn the engine so that number one cylinder has the the valves "rocking" ie the exhaust is almost closed and the inlet has just started to open. Go to the first cylinder in the second set of numbers and set the tappet clearance on both valves. Turn the engine 90 degrees and cyl number 5 should have the valves rocking. set the clearance on cyl no 3. turn 90 degrees, 4 rocking do 7. 90 deg 8 rocking do 2 then start on the first number in the second set of figures, 90 deg, 6 rocks do 1. and so on until you've done them all. The last bit of info you need is that the right hand bank of the engine (as viewed from the driver's seat) is numbered 1,2,3,4 from the front. The left side bank (drivers side) is 5, 6,7,8 from front to back. I invested a half hour of my time writing this to help you, please dont waste it. Mart.
Hey Mart, Thanks for the info I really appreciate it...And believe me it will be put to good use. I am familiar with what a valve and rocker arm isby the way... I've worked on engines before just not Y-Blocks...mainly SBCs and straight 6s.. TD
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