86 fox new engine stil ticks

[Cntzombus13]

Hello everyone. I have a 1986 mustang. I built the 308 myslef. Everything is new....block is used but was sent to machine shop. It has ticked/tapped since I first started it. I have Trick Flow 170 heads with upgraded valve springs rated for .600 lift. TF stage 2 cam (.542-.563 lift), melling hydraulic roller lifters., TF 1.6 (3/8) stud mounted rocker, trick flow 6.75 chromoly pushrods, trick flow track heat intake (black) and lower, 75mm Trickflow throttle body and Trick Flow black valve covers (tall).

I know its a lot of Trick flow. But i have been over everything. I replaced the lifters to melling...i did NOT soak them overnight or put them in a coffee can of oil. To soak or not is a matter of opinion and no one seems to agree on this just like the "zero" lash subject. I did soak the first set of lifters in lucas before dropping them in, but i decided not to soak the second set since it had ticked the first time. This engine has less than 1 hour of running time.. The first set of lifters were Ford OEM replacements. My valvetrain geometry is correct... the center of the rocker roller sits in the middle of the spring, the spring mark left by the rocker is less than or at .050 in the dead center. Pushrod length is correct 6.75 and the 1.6 roller rockers are NOT hitting the spring underneath the rocker. These are Stud Mounted. I have set zero Lash half a turn past "zero". Up and down on the pushrod till no Lash and lock down the hex nut. I have set valve lash damn near 13 times now, adjusting it all kinds of ways. Twist pushrod, lift and twist...you name it and ive tried it.
I settled with the EOIC method with the up and down lash. I checked for exhaust leaks and cannot find any. The pushrods are as straight as a conservstive at a gun rally. The PVC (piston to valve clearances) are good.

Basically anything I could try I've tried and I still cannot find the cause of this tapping mess... I have a video I will post as soon as I'm able to upload.
I was thinking maybe a fuel injector but i listened with a hose all around my engine...and nothing. It sounds like its coming from the cemter of the upper intake. I have read that Trick Flow has a certain "Sewing Machine on Crack" sound. I can hear that sound...but this isnt that sound. I also thought it was the guideplates and it isn't....can someone please help...

 

[General karthief]

Better to have soaked your lifters and thought a fool then load them up dry and risk a wiped out roller with little needle bearings going places they shouldn't.

 

[Cntzombus13]

Its suggested that you shouldnt soak them or "pump" the lifters. I coated them with a generous amount of assemby lube.

Crane Cams:
Do Hydraulic Lifters Need to be Primed with Oil?
Many people mistakenly believe that hydraulic lifters must be soaked in oil overnight and be hand pumped up with a pushrod before installing into a new engine, however this is not necessary. In fact, this could cause the lifter to act as a solid and prevent obtaining proper preload. What is very necessary is the priming of the entire engines oil system before starting up a new engine for the first time. This is done by turning the oil pump with a drill motor to force oil throughout the entire engine. Crane Cams offers oil pump primers for Chevrolet and Ford engines.

Comp Cams:
It is not necessary to "pre-pump" hydraulic lifters with engine oil prior to installation and valve adjustment. It is actually undesirable to do so, as the "pumped up" lifters will cause the valves to open during the adjustment process, rather than positioning the lifter plunger in its operating position as it is supposed to do.

 

[General karthief]

I soak em but I've never pumped them up

 

[Cntzombus13]

Pulledbrhe plugs, they are fouled badly. I thought a possible exhaust leak so i removed headers to see oil in the exhaust valves. Looks like its coming from valve seals. I pulled the heads and the pistons have some burnt oil on top of them. The valves are not burned up everything is black, bottom of valve and exhaust ports. I did a compression check before i took it apary and all came out to 150psi +/- 1 or 2. Im thinking valve seals/guided nnrings. These heads are all brand new. TRICK flow 170 heads with upgraded valve springs kit. Its came with upgrade on it from LMR ....tfs51400004-m61. Idk what to do now. Ive torn it apart down to block. Ive hesrd bad pcv valve can do the same thing letting oil onto valves. Im running.out of ideads and money.

 

[Cntzombus13]

Pics

 

[90sickfox]

It's not hard to put new valve seals in your heads. You'll need a valve spring removal tool. Itty just presses the spring down so you can get the keepers out with a magnet. Keep the springs, valves, and keepers in order... along with any shims.

In an over rev situation all kinds of weird ish can happen. It is possible that it could've damaged the valve seals when the springs compressed too much. Check for any broken springs.

The forensics for this situation can be a little involved. Measuring spring installed heights, compressed height, valve side to side play in the guides, spring pressure, .... etc....

Normally, the cam wouldn't lift a lifter high enough to break a lifter keeper. That added lift has to go somewhere. It may have opened a valve too much. Thank goodness it didnt hit a piston.

Roll all of your push rods on a flat surface.

I still say that cam has to be trashed. There's no way I'd run one with any abnormalities on the lobes. There was a thread here where a guy was told, by someone reputable, that you can run a roller cam with some imperfections..... but I wouldn't. It would be my luck that it would decide to eat itself at the worse possible time.