Valve Adjustment ... With Engine Running or not ?

[Tynan918]

I just did an oil change and I have adjusted the valves both with the engine running and while the engine is shut off but I still have light ticking/tapping that gets louder as I accelerate.

At first I thought maybe the engine was low on oil, or I'm not adjusting the valves correctly, but now I'm stumped and can't figure out why I can't get rid of the tapping/ticking.

 

[Tynan918]

Are you running headers or manifolds?

Manifolds.

Made this mistake myself on my truck. Ended up being a donut gasket on the manifold. I went the scorched earth path and installed stainless headers that use a ball and socket flange, so the only gasket in the system is at the heads. Using the right header gasket, Rimflex, and studs with lock nuts, I've had no issues since.

Yeah that's what I was thinking too, because when I did the valve adjustment I did it running and I would tighten them all the way down until the engine started struggling and then I would back off a quarter inch or until it started running smoothly again and start on another.

My exhaust pipe jumps up and down as I'm driving as well, and I thought it was my engine pinging or wanting to misfire until I went back there to look at it and shook it up and down and noticed that even when I wasn't shaking it it was hitting against my bumper cover making that noise.

Replacing the manifold with headers is on my to-do list once I got the car running and made some money but working a little bit. My hood is also another expensive replacement.

Definitely have a muffler shop take a look at it, could be an exhaust leak.

How much do you think the muffler shop would cost to take a look at it? They patched my homeboys exhaust system on his 2004 Lincoln Town car because it had a leak and ran like s***..

 

[Tynan918]

If you can’t get rid of the tick, and it is valvetrain related, it can be a bad lifter, worn rocker lock nuts, or a cam lobe going flat.

Bad lifters and worn rocker lock nuts can be simply replaced by removing the valve covers and the intake manifold ?

I doubt a camshaft lobe is going flat because the engine is newly rebuilt and I'm sure that the camshaft is not stock and newer. I've been having a discussion lately on Facebook about my vacuum ranges and RPMs in idle and drive, there are other guys telling me that my camshaft is not stock because of those ranges.

My car runs and it runs pretty good, but they're telling me that since my vacuum range is 13 HG at idle and 11 HG in drive, and my idle RPM being 900 to1,000 and drive RPM 500 to 650...

But with a thousand on the idle RPM, it still sounds like it's over revving, not a quiet and smooth idle, or is that what I would expect from a stock engine?

 

[bracketchev1221]

I honestly don't know anymore lol...they look stock...

If you didn’t use 2 wrenches to adjust them it’s stock. But I’ve found that sometimes old stock nuts just don’t hold tight anymore. When I worked at the engine shop we got a batch of bad nuts and 1 454 I did got loose after just a few hours.

 

[Tynan918]

Are you sure its not a faint exhaust leak(exhaust manifold/head), the sound tends to get worse/louder when driving.

I'm actually not sure if it's an exhaust leak or not, is there a way that I can tell without having to take it to a muffler shop and paying them to look at it ? Because I don't have the funds for that..

 

[Tynan918]

If you didn’t use 2 wrenches to adjust them it’s stock. But I’ve found that sometimes old stock nuts just don’t hold tight anymore. When I worked at the engine shop we got a batch of bad nuts and 1 454 I did got loose after just a few hours.

That seems to be what mine does, it runs quietly when I get done adjusting and I assume that it's correct and bolt down the valve covers all over again... But after what seems like a few hours or some drive time, the ticking comes back...

At first I was leaking oil from my timing chain cover but now that's fixed and even after I have put in the 5 quarts of oil and zinc additive that I always put in, I still get the tick.

 

[Tynan918]

That seems to be what mine does, it runs quietly when I get done adjusting and I assume that it's correct and bolt down the valve covers all over again... But after what seems like a few hours or some drive time, the ticking comes back...

At first I was leaking oil from my timing chain cover but now that's fixed and even after I have put in the 5 quarts of oil and zinc additive that I always put in, I still get the tick.

And since the taking goes away when I do the valve adjustment, wouldn't it be safe to say that the exhaust isn't leaking and it could be one of those issues that was mentioned in the drivetrain ?

 

[Tynan918]

If you didn’t use 2 wrenches to adjust them it’s stock.

I didn't use two wrenches, I used a 5/8 or a 9/16 deep socket...

 

[565bbchevy]

I didn't use two wrenches, I used a 5/8 or a 9/16 deep socket...

Poly locks have an Allen head in the middle to lock it in place after the adjustment.

 

[Tynan918]

Funny that you guys bring up my exhaust system might having a leak..

I've noticed the sound before but I'm just now noticing that when I accelerate I have bad rattling and it smooths out as my speeds get higher... The engine also struggles a little bit at this point until the speeds get higher and power starts kicking in.

Could that be a strong indicator of an exhaust leak? I'm uploading a video to YouTube of exactly what I'm saying and I'll copy it here when it's finished...

My O2 sensors and catalytic converter have been deleted from my exhaust system...

 

[86LK]

'83-84 LG4 305 and 49,000 miles on it

ok, but then a few posts later you say it's been rebuilt? how extensive was this "rebuild"? or did you simply replace some parts? based on later postings in this thread I'm guessing you replaced the camshaft only? what about lifters, rocker arms, pushrods, etc?