OK well my 87 fox has several rockers that are loose and make ticking noises while running, i adjusted them and still all ticking noise, the stock length for the pushrods are 6.272" , I installed some trick flow pushrods that I had bought a year ago,now the motor sounds smooth and the cam sounds more aggressive, but the trickflow pushrods in length are 6.350 @ .80, will this be fine or will it eventually mess up my valves.if I could get some help,
Pushrods Problems
- Thread starter stangtoyho
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tonydalrymple
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1st off & in my experience; every 5.0 with aftermarket valve train & roller rockers will have a "sewing machine" ticking sound. Even my stroker motors have the "noise". I believe this has to do with the faster ramp rates of the cams we buy more than anything else. Solid fulcrum stock rockers have zero "give"; aftermarket roller rockers often have some "play" in the roller tips(you can feel it if you you have one removed to play with). I also found that there is always one rocker\push-rod\whatever on the passenger side that is always louder than all the others. This is with 3 different combos mind you, their being well build professional engine builders having done the work, pro custom cams installed in all three, & never having a valve train related issue with all three. That being said, the only thing you can do is double check their or your work. Take a black Sharpie pen & "color" the top of the valve stems. Rotate the engine over several times & see if the "marks" or sweep of the roller rocker arm are centered or slightly above centered on the valve stem. Over center markings mean the push-rod length is slightly too long. Visa versa a high sweep mark means the push-rods are slightly short for the application. If the sweep markings are right; live with the valve train noise & enjoy the performance without worry IMHO.....
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Michael Yount’s valve adjustment procedure for pedestal mount rocker arms
Here's an easy way to determine this. Start with the #1 cylinder. Rotate the engine with a ratchet on the crank bolt clockwise. Watch the #1 pushrods. First the exhaust pushrod will rise and fall signaling what would be the exhaust valve opening and closing if the rocker were on. As it closes the intake pushrod will rise -- keep rotating clockwise until the intake pushrod falls and is level with the exhaust pushrod - both at the same height. Both lifters are now on the base circle of the cam - both valves would be closed if the rockers were on.
Now, install both rockers. Tighten the bolts with one hand while rocking the rocker with the other hand - continue until you reach the point where you can't 'rock' the rocker any more because there's no gap on the valve stem end or the pushrod end. You are at zero lash - i.e. - no gaps. Stop tightening just as you reach this point.
Now, put your torque wrench on the bolt and tighten it to 18-20 ft-lbs while counting the number of turns it takes to reach the torque. You should hit the torque within 1/4 to 1 turn of the bolt. If it takes more than 1 turn, use a shim to raise the rocker -- each .030" shim will reduce the number of turns to torque by about 1/4 turn. If you reach the torque in less than a 1/4 turn, or you have trouble reaching zero lash even at full torque, then you'll either need longer pushrods, or to CAREFULLY remove some material from the bottom of the rocker fulcrum. Using the procedure described above, you will work through the remaining 7 pairs of rockers. If you follow the firing order, it will minimize the manual cranking you have to do to get the lifters on the base circle of the cam prior to installation of the next pair.
When I first went through mine, 13 of them took no shims; 3 of them took 1 .030" shim. Upon cranking it up, one or two of them sounded a bit noisier than I thought was right, so with the engine hot, I pulled the upper off, and the valve covers, and went through the installation procedure again. That time, 11 of them took no shims; 4 of them took one .030", and one of them took one .060" shim. And they were very quiet running.
Good luck with it.
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Michael Yount - K'ville,TN 82 Volvo 242w/5.0L; 2000 Suzuki Bandit 1200
Here's an easy way to determine this. Start with the #1 cylinder. Rotate the engine with a ratchet on the crank bolt clockwise. Watch the #1 pushrods. First the exhaust pushrod will rise and fall signaling what would be the exhaust valve opening and closing if the rocker were on. As it closes the intake pushrod will rise -- keep rotating clockwise until the intake pushrod falls and is level with the exhaust pushrod - both at the same height. Both lifters are now on the base circle of the cam - both valves would be closed if the rockers were on.
Now, install both rockers. Tighten the bolts with one hand while rocking the rocker with the other hand - continue until you reach the point where you can't 'rock' the rocker any more because there's no gap on the valve stem end or the pushrod end. You are at zero lash - i.e. - no gaps. Stop tightening just as you reach this point.
Now, put your torque wrench on the bolt and tighten it to 18-20 ft-lbs while counting the number of turns it takes to reach the torque. You should hit the torque within 1/4 to 1 turn of the bolt. If it takes more than 1 turn, use a shim to raise the rocker -- each .030" shim will reduce the number of turns to torque by about 1/4 turn. If you reach the torque in less than a 1/4 turn, or you have trouble reaching zero lash even at full torque, then you'll either need longer pushrods, or to CAREFULLY remove some material from the bottom of the rocker fulcrum. Using the procedure described above, you will work through the remaining 7 pairs of rockers. If you follow the firing order, it will minimize the manual cranking you have to do to get the lifters on the base circle of the cam prior to installation of the next pair.
When I first went through mine, 13 of them took no shims; 3 of them took 1 .030" shim. Upon cranking it up, one or two of them sounded a bit noisier than I thought was right, so with the engine hot, I pulled the upper off, and the valve covers, and went through the installation procedure again. That time, 11 of them took no shims; 4 of them took one .030", and one of them took one .060" shim. And they were very quiet running.
Good luck with it.
__________________
Michael Yount - K'ville,TN 82 Volvo 242w/5.0L; 2000 Suzuki Bandit 1200
As long as you follow the directions given in the first paragraph, what cylinder you do next doesn't make any difference .For simplicity, follow the firing order, you will make fewer turns of the engine doing it that way.
