I recently bought a '62 Galaxie 500 with the 292. The engine is absolutely immaculate and it's obvious that it's been taken care of by all of the previous owners. I noticed a few days ago that there was a "ticking" noise when I accelerate that goes away when I take my foot off of the gas. I was driving today and all of the sudden the ticking stopped for a split second and it felt like the pressure on the accelerator was gone and I heard what sounded like a small backfire. Like I said, it was only for a split second then the ticking started back. It didn't have any problems picking up speed and there was no sputtering or anything. I parked the car and went inside for about an hour and when I went back to leave, she won't turn over. It's cranking and wants to start but won't quite start. The carb is an Autolite 2100 that was recently rebuilt by a VERY reputable company but it hasn't yet been tuned for the engine. The previous owner mentioned that it seems to be running a bit rich and on a very rare occasion it bogs down for a second when I accelerate then picks up speed. I'm hoping that the problem has something to do with the fact that it's cold as fuck here and the un-tuned carb is being stubborn. I'm not an engine expert so any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks SD
292 yblocks / your engine, has solid lifters. The rockers need to be adjusted periodically because of this - If left too loose they tick, If left to loose to long or to much. the pushrod can jump off the rocker. Translation = a valve quits working. If this would be your ticking sound. Pop the valve cover and check to see if all the pushrods are tucked up under each respective rocker.. .If not go fishing into the head or valley for the pushrod, it's down the hole.
Being it only makes the ticking sound under acceration ya may be getting some pre-iginion . Check timing and/or use premium gas and see what happens. only tuneing possiable is idle speed and idle mixture screws. Choke working ?? for cold starts? Water in fuel ? If it is below freezing you may have a chuck of ice somewhere in the fuel system blocking fuel flow. Put in a couple of bottles of rubbing alachol in the tank.
The automatic choke is working perfectly during cold starts. I let it run for about 5-10 minutes in the morning before I drive anywhere. At this point I just want to get the car started so I can get it back to my place so I can take a look at it and weigh my options. I'm thinking that Y'sguy might be on the right track.
Small exhaust leak????????...........You only hear it when accelerating,(read, under load). Happy hunting.
Definately not an exhaust leak. The exhaust system is brand new from front to back. I got the car started this morning and took it home so I'll be tearing into it this evening. Starting off with the rockers and working my way around. I appreciate the help.
Does yours have a heat riser butterfly in the exhaust pipe? There's a thermal spring that reacts to heat that opens it when the engine is warm. Sometimes crud sticks and jams the butterfly and it will tick in the heat riser passage in the intake and through the pin hole for the shaft on the exhaust manifiold from the restriction. Spray some PB Blaster on the pin through the exhaust manifold extension and work it open amd closed. Then spray a little brakleen then WD40 on the spring. This is one of those every year things you need to do with those. They can freeze half shut and burn a valve. It should move freely open to shut. And hot it should be fully open or the spring is bad.
Sounds like a lifter to me. Pop the valve cover and adjust as needed-also, these old Y-Blocks have issues with oiling up top as well. I have top oilers on mine and they do help.
Another possibility is the spark plug wires.Sometimes if they short out to an adjacent metal ground they make a noise that some could interpret as a tick.But more than likely it is like the other guys said,valve lifter.Y blocks are notorious for them.They are prone to lose oil to the rockers because of a mismatch in the oil holes going to to rockers.
Another thing too, sometimes the rockers will wear a groove on the face of em, making it very hard to get them adjusted. This happened to mine. I just lived with it, but you could have them refaced if needed.
Good idea on the plug wire shorting, wait 'til dark and start it up, you'll see the bad wire right away. Bob
I had a similar issue like BillBallingerSr was saying. I got it "unstuck" and everything was back to normal. If you have the butterfly on your exhaust, check that first.
Now that I think about it, BillBallingerSr might be onto something. I have been hearing what sounds like something pinging the exhaust pipe after I shut the car off. It pings every 10 seconds or so. It almost sounds like a hot pipe cooling down. If that makes any sense, I can't really explain it.
Am I wrong in assuming that if the heat riser is stuck closed, then there shouldn't be any exhaust coming out of that pipe?
Not sure of your question? but the exhaust heat riser pivots oen and closed with exhaust flow. It is spring loaded. It should EASILY be opemned and closed by hand (to check). If not remove it and get it working replaced or lubed until oit flaps open and closed. Or If you live in a warm climate you don't need it. Remove it and put in a spacer(open). I don't think it's your issue here though. Did you check the rockers yet?
it was 8 degrees last night so I didn't get outside to check. My question about the riser is, if its stuck closed would exhaust be coming out of that side of the exhaust pipes? It seems that if it was stuck closed I would only be getting exhaust out of one side. I'm headed out to check the rockers in a few minutes. Update coming soon. Thanks again
BINGO!!! The heat riser is stuck like a mother f'er. It wasn't budging when I tried to turn it. Looks like it's PB Blaster to the rescue. Hopefully there wasn't any serious damage done. Thanks
Hopefully it still has the spring on it? if so pb blast it and keep trying to work it back and forth over a long period. If you cant get to flop open and close easy, then you can still buy them new. You can carefully tap it with a wooden or nylon mallet. Got any pics of your galaxie?
It still has the spring and it appears to be in great shape. Everything on the exhaust is new from the manifold back except the heat riser. Here's a few pictures of it.
I think I'm having the same problem with the 292 in my F100. I recently adjusted the valve lash though, and the ticking didn't go away. I only hear it when I'm trying to accelerate hard. Hmm... I'm watching this thread.
I got heat riser "unstuck". It was stuck closed and it was a bitch to move. It's still very hard to turn. So much that I can't do it by hand. I'm soaking it with PB Blaster so hopefully that will help. However after I got it opened, I took it for a quick trip around the block and the tapping is still there and it seemed to bog down when I pressed the accelerator and now it won't start. Two questions: 1. Any advise on turning an Autolite 2100? It's brand new and just needs tuned. 2. Guidance or instructions on adjusting the rockers? Are they supposed to be lose at all? Some had a small bit of play and some were tighter than a frogs ass.
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