longlive289s

ok so im sick of a couple of my rockers tapping like crazy and its just getting worse so im gonna adjust them so they stop. how do i go about doing this, i figured id just adjust them all but not quite sure how to find tdc. i know i need to throw her in neutral and get a socket on the crank and start turnin the engine by hand. but ya like i said not sure where i start or how to go out it

Soaring

So, you have some hydraulic lifters doing a tap dance, huh? Here is a simple guide you can use to get those suckers to sit down and shut up.
http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod/valveadj.html

longlive289s

thanks soaring, u rule all that is mustang

THUMPIN455

that works provided you have an adjustable valvetrain.. Some Fords such as Clevelands and later 5.0Ls dont, you just tighten them down and the adjustment is made with pushrod length..

longlive289s

hmm, small problem. ive got a 289 out of my 66 and i was working on it and i got the intake to compress all the way and checked the clearance and couldnt. i got the intake all the way back up and checked and it seems that i have solid lifters. what the hell? its not a hi-po engine that would have solid lifters. the engine was rebuilt about 3 years ago but i wouldnt imagine they would change hydraulic for solid. but no matter what cylinder, what position, i cant get a feeler gauge in there

whats up with this?

THUMPIN455

Hydrualic lifters arent quishy to your hand, you cant push them down by hand once they have oil run through them. If you had a solid, when they are cold from not being run, you can flop the rocker arms around a bit from side to side. A hydrualic cam will have no free space and therefore no lash because the lifter takes up the slack but does not hold the valve open. If you had the intake off, you would only need to depress the plunger in the lifter .020", that isnt very much and the untrained eye would have some difficulty in guessing it.

You dont have the intake off so follow along.

Small Fords have two different valvetrains in the years that Mustangs have been produced. One is non adjustable, the other is more adjustable. The 5.0 engines have the non adjustable valvetrains and the older engines dont.

The first pic is firing orders, cylinder numbering systems, and order of adjustment for each cylinder/valve.

The second pic is the type of valvetrain that is adjustable on the small Ford.

The third pic is the valvetrain that is not adjustable on the 5.0, notice it has two orange injectors stuck in the manifold. If you have this type of rocker arms on your engine, forget about adjusting them as they are simply torqued to spec. The only way to adjust them is pushrod length and shims under the pedestals. Same with most Clevelands, so if you have a Cleveland that isnt a 70 or a 71 HO/BOSS351, you will have this type of rocker arm.

To adjust the rocker arms, you need to first loosen all of them. Then in the order listed in the Ford section in the middle paragraph tighten then exactly how it said in Glens (Soaring) post in reference to how far and when to stop. if you cant do it, take ti to someone who can because you dont want to overtighten them and hit a piston, nor do you want them so loose they come off the pushrod causing the pushrod to fall into the engine and the lifter to possibly pop out of its bore. Multiple lifters out of the bore will result in needing new lifters unless you know exactly what hole they came from. Wrong lifter on the wrong lobe means flatened lobes of a wiped out cam.

If you have them compressed all the way in by turning the nuts on top, YOU HAVE THEM TOO TIGHT. That is a condition where the valve will stay open and smack a piston resulting in at least a bent valve or pushrod, and at worst a broken piston and torn up head.


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longlive289s

k ill hit it again tomorrow, thanks for the tips

Colorado_Mustang

Not really adjustable on the older style. Not without better nuts and studs that don't back themselves out. Even the old stud mount arms are a torque and forget setup (20 in-lbs IIRC). Get a set of poly-locks before adjusting any stud rockers.

And, get rid of any studs that aren't screw in. The factory push in studs will not hold their adjustment over time. I actually pushed one all the way out....gotta learn somehow.