Ok, so my (79?) 302 is ticking and I figure it's a lifter, so I replace those and it doesn't go away. When I took off the rockers I saw that there's lash caps on the end of the valves and most are about worn right through. I called the local Ford dealer, VIP Auto, NAPA, Parts America, Autozone, CarQuest, etc. and only ONE person at the dealership knew what I was even talking about. (and they had to transfer me to the OLD guy...lol) Everyone else was saying I needed those things to keep oil from splashing when you adjust rockers with the valve cover off..... As far as I can see, it's a 5/16" cap and it's about .060" thick at the top. Where in heck do I get some of these? Jegs and summit have them, but they are all .080" or not 5/16".[:@]

 

That "ticking" noise you are hearing can be caused by a leaking manifold. Stop by your local Ford dealer to ask about the lifters.

 

The ticking is play in the pushrods, it's not the manifold. I replaced the lifters. I know I need lash caps and nobody knows what they are. I really dont want to put my AFR's on this 302, but I dont like these non-adjustable rockers. Without the caps there's just too much play.

 

Longer pushrods?

 

Well I thought of that, but I'd have to do that with all the caps off; some are still good. It actually bothers me more that nobody knows what they are lol. This is only to get by until I build the other one, but I certainly wont drive it like this.