replacing timing chain and lifters.

[woodyy24]

im replacing the lifters...again! and it better be the last time. along with a new timing chain. the old one was super stretched. the new one is adjustable up to 8 degrees advance or retard and dual roller.

im gonna end up changing the head gaskets too, felpro ones i have that came with the gasket kit

old chain

new chain

parts

reassembly after skewl today. can someone help me to understand how to set the lifter preload. ive changed my lifters a few times and the ticking goes away. but after i get on it (usaully only up to 5200 at the MOST) they start ticking again. im thinking it has something to do with the preload.

edit: no i didnt forget to put the eccentric back on. i went electric. also the head gaskets were good. i just wanted to make sure since one of them looked like it had coolant seeping out. i guess it was from somewhere else.

one more thing, i switched over to synthetic think that could part of the problem?everytime i put Mobil 1 in a car it seems to start having problems. im going back to castrol GTX.

 

[ECU5.0]

are you soaking the lifters in oil prior to installing them? and are you making sure the hole on the side of the lifters is facing up(toward the center of the block)

 

[Paul Perreca]

what if taht hole isn't facing the center of the block? i remember just putting them in, didnt' check to see if tey were facin the block - theres always somethin else damnit- will my car still run right?

 

[woodyy24]

are you soaking the lifters in oil prior to installing them? and are you making sure the hole on the side of the lifters is facing up(toward the center of the block)

i was told not to soak them by some pepole and some told me to soak em for 30 minutes and some said just dunk em in oil for a second.

and i didnt know they had to go in with the hole towards the block.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

The hole can go either way. The ones I pulled out of my Explorer engine were sporadically placed in there, with there being no specific pattern to which way the hole pointed from lifter to lifter.

 

[Modular2v]

doesnt matter how they are put in just make sure its not upside down HAHA...would be a good idea to prime the oil pump before you start it up though

 

[Paul Perreca]

i stuck the end of an oil can (old style) tip into the hole, and pumped the lifters up by hand until it gushed out before putting them in place - hope this helps

 

[ECU5.0]

well maybe the hole thing is incorrect..sorry for the confusion. but definetly soak them in oil for atleast 30 minutes before installing them. paul, youre probably good to go. i wouldnt worry too much about them man

 

[vristang]

I have heard that the holes are supposed to go to the inside of the block. The thinking was that if the hole is at the high spot on the lifter, it will be less likely to drain the oil back out, when you shut the motor off. If you use good oil filters (anything other than fram), this won't be an issue. In theory anyway.

Well that was the story I heard.

:Word:
jason

 

[woodyy24]

ok, i f-ed up a head gasket. i asked my brother to help put the driver side head on thinking it would be easier.... but no.

so i have to go buy another one. dam it. but what i really need to know is how to set the lifter preload.

 

[87'GTstang]

Well when I pulled them out of my engine they were all facing downward.

As to installing them, the trick I know of is submerging them into oil and taking something like an old pushrod and pumping the lifter. This will actually push the air out and suck in oil - then just let them sit until you are ready to install.

 

[87'GTstang]

lifter preload = rocker arm preload??? If so, turn until the pushrod has no up and down movement then turn 1/4-1/2 turn more for studs. For pedestal they are a torque spec.

 

[woodyy24]

yeah i have pedestal roller rockers (4th pic). and i think they have too much preload since the heads were shaved.

 

[87'GTstang]

Shaved by how much? When you shorten the distance between the rocker arms and the center of the camshaft, a shorter pushrod is usually in order to compensate for the shorter distance. If the incorrect length is used then the rocker arm can be riding too high up and not be well-centered on the valve stem.

 

[maverick0716]

You should definitly soak the lifters in oil. I just left mine in a bucket of oil overnight before installing them.

 

[woodyy24]

i ended up shimming alomst every rocker .060 and some .030. the lifters were about bottomed out for every cylinder. pics later.

 

[woodyy24]

shes dun. but just this morning i drove it to my dads which is about 2 miles from where i work on it. and it died when i hit the brake! i barely got it started again and got it here. opened the hood and i can see some antifreeze on and above the timing cover. the only thing i can think of being wrong is the intake leaking somewhere. imn gonna try re tourqing the intake bolts and hope it stops. if not im going to have to reseal the intake....dam it.
other than that it ran pretty dam good.

the N20 plate

 

[woodyy24]

i drove it back to my moms and it died out every time i stopped. took off the valve covers and intake and antifreeze everywhere. couldnt tell if it was the intake leaking or not. im gonna re seal it and change the oil. i hope its not the f-ing timing cover! it better not be the dam timing cover! ill be so ****ing pissed if its the ****ing timing cover!!
and one of the roller rockers is hitting the valve cover.

dam it, its probably the timing cover. ****.

 

[woodyy24]

OMG im so ****ing pissed off. i just resealed the intake and its still gettin water into the motor. god dam it. i dont have the time or money to be ****ing around with this **** right now!!

now i dont have a car for skewl tomorrow

 

[Michael Yount]

Sounds like you have a vacuum leak related to the power brake booster....Hope you figure it out.

As for lifters - for those following along -- there is nothing to be gained by soaking lifters or trying to pump oil into them before installation. It will simply run back out just as it does when the engine is turned off. There's no check valve in the system that keeps the lifters primed. I don't suppose it hurts anything -- other than making them as slippery as snot. You should have a good moly lube on the cam lobes/lifter rollers. And you should DEFINITELY prime the system through the distributor hole until oil runs out all the pushrods and down each rocker/spring.

But soaking them in oil --- well, it's just something leftover that (perhaps) worked on some other engine.