Engine Valvetrain help please!!

sams93gt

Active Member
Mar 14, 2018
149
28
38
So a fast run down, after over 2 and a half years I'm finally finishing my 93 gt 5.0, the motor was built by a friend of my dads in Maine, it's a 306 balanced and blue printed, b303 cam, gt40p heads with the trickflow upgraded springs with factory stamped rocker arms and hardware, trickflow r upper and lower, 30lb injectors, 75mm pro m match maf, 75mm tb, egr delete, frpp long tube headers, almost everything in and on the motor is brand new. After I dropped it in and got it fired up there was a loud ticking coming from #4 cylinder, the lifters were all brand new and soaked in oil for almost a year prior to build and I did prime the motor before start up. Alas I the exhaust valve lifter collapsed, me and a friend replaced that lifter and the tick went away for roughly a minute. I took the valve cover back off and pulled the spark plug, I got the cylinder #4 to tdc on compression stroke and I noticed the exhaust valve is open just a bit, I removed the rocker arms and noticed I can (with a little force) spin the exhaust valve spring, my question is, the springs have 200miles on them is it possible that the spring is weakened and can cause the loud ticking noise at idle and under power?. The car has roughly 49-51psi of oil pressure on start up and roughly 40psi when warmed up. The top of the new piston is burnt more than the other pistons. Please any help would be amazing, I just want to drive her lol. My name on Instagram is 5point_oh_yea if anyone wants to see the build. Thanks in advance. Heres a video of the ticking

 
  • Sponsors (?)


Dude, I think we can help. You write longer sentences than me, and that’s an achievement. After I digest for intended paragraphs, I’ll see what the valve, spring, or other issue might be and maybe ask for other info.
 
Dude, I think we can help. You write longer sentences than me, and that’s an achievement. After I digest for intended paragraphs, I’ll see what the valve, spring, or other issue might be and maybe ask for other info.

Lol thanks, punctuation and sentence structure isnt my strong suit
 
So something is wrong with the valve train setup for that valve.
The unlikelihood of the spring being out of specs, or the wrong spring totally, must be checked. Height and compression force are the two big factors. I think this is where you need to start.
I do not think you had a collapsed lifter. Soaking that long is not needed, and can lead to them being over pumped when started, not collapsing. Getting the outside lubed up and a prime should be good for roller lifters. A loose valve will make plenty of noise.
Did you check pushrod lengths in the build?
The other options that relate to the weak valve action are probably a longer valve or a wrong retainer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So something is wrong with the valve train setup for that valve.
The unlikelihood of the spring being out of specs, or the wrong spring totally, must be checked. Height and compression force are the two big factors. I think this is where you need to start.
I do not think you had a collapsed lifter. Soaking that long is not needed, and can lead to them being over pumped when started, not collapsing. Getting the outside lubed up and a prime should be good for roller lifters. A loose valve will make plenty of noise.
Did you check pushrod lengths in the build?
The other options that relate to the weak valve action are probably a longer valve or a wrong retainer.

The motor was assembled by someone in Maine, he said the numbers were good, the factory pushrods are good for the b cam, the springs are new upgraded trickflow springs, is it possible maybe a valve seat or something came loose or is out of whack? Or maybe when they reassembled the heads they possibly switched the valve springs?
 
The spring specs and installed spring height are where to check first. A lot of things are possible, but less likely.
A dropped exhaust seat is more likely to happen on an aluminum head, and Loud noises and destruction occur quickly. It is not a collapsed lifter like sound.
 
The spring specs and installed spring height are where to check first. A lot of things are possible, but less likely.
A dropped exhaust seat is more likely to happen on an aluminum head, and Loud noises and destruction occur quickly. It is not a collapsed lifter like sound.
Ok cool, should I just look up installed spring height? If the height is off for just this cylinder what could that be, I appreciate the help.
 


There is also comparing a good one to the questionable one to see if they put a weaker, shorter or just the wrong spring in.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user


There is also comparing a good one to the questionable one to see if they put a weaker, shorter or just wrong spring in.
I'm not gonna sit here and lie to you, after reading through those 2 articles, if the valves/springs are the issue with my valve train, I'll prob end up bringing it to a friend's shop, that's a bit out of my wheel house, lol. I appreciate the help, I really do. I wish this didnt even happen, the motor has like 3miles on it after the build. Theres a few things I cant or wont attempt to do.