for those of you my age and older those old ford trucks with the 360/ 390 engines seemed to always have noisy lifters, i remember them, it seemed like every one i got around did that. i seem to also remember there was something that you could do to them to make them quit it, but i dont remember what it was, and looking online i cant find anything, but younger people [probably], saying to replace the lifters, it seemed to me they did something without replaceing the lifters and the engins got quieter, i got 1 with a recent overhaul in a '71 thats just starting to rattle 1 or 2, anybody remember what the cure for that was?
- Thread starter ericlb
- Start date
They are gummed up. I have fixed a lot of engines do this. Drain two quarts of motor oil out and put in two quarts of ATF the cheap stuff at Walmart will do. Run it for about 30 minutes at idle kill it . With it hot pull the drain plug out and drain motor oil . Then replace with new oil and filter and you are done .All that does is clean your engine out.
DENNIS MIN
Member
I second the ATF treatment.
D.
D.
DaninKansas
Member
I agree with the posts on hot to treat it if its gunked up, but what kind of oil pressure are you getting?
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
they had no adjustment, the only fix was to buy over length pushrods, they were available from sealed power not that many years ago, I haven't had an FE engine for awhile so I haven't had any reason to buy any
Make sure the springs that keep the rocker arms seperated on the rocker shafts aren"t broken. I"ve worked on several of them that the springs were broken and the shims were worn thru. If you remove the rocker shafts for anything make sure you put the special bolt back in the right hole. I think it"s the second one from the back but it"s been a few years so I can"t be sure, but you will recognize it because it is necked down so oil can flow around it into the rocker shaft. I seen a nice set of heads ruined because they put the bolt in the wrong hole.
Indiana Ken
Well-known Member
My trusty wood hauler is a 1977 Ford with a 300 cu in six. It had several noisy lifters when I first bought it. I tried an engine flush and oil change without any improvement. After the valve cover is removed with the engine running it is very easy to identify the loose/noisy lifters. Since the engine has adjustable rocker arms I simply went in until the noise stopped then another 3/4 turn. That was several years ago and it still runs quiet. Note this will only work if the lifter is out of adjustment range. In the case the lifter is stuck it can only function as a solid lifter.
As another poster indicated without adjustable rocker arms the adjustment is a little more involved.
I kind of agree with dboll. It has been a long time since I had one open, but as I remember they were nonadjustable. As the rocker arms, shafts, lifters, and push rods wore you ended up with slack in the valve train and they would rattle a little as the plunger in the lifter was all the way at the top and out of travel. MOPAR's had the same issue. Longer push rods were the trick to take up the slack and get the lifter back in it;s sweet spot assuming the lifters were not gunked up and sticking. A quart of ATF never hurt either. Cleans things up good.
Greg
Greg
jimg.allentown
Well-known Member
So far, nobody has mentioned the possibility of worn parts in the rocker arms and supporting mechanism. Quite commonly, there is significant wear on the rocker arms, rocker shaft, or rocker arm pivots. The rocker arms can wear into the shaft, or the shaft can wear into the rocker arms - whichever is softer to allow for excessive clearance. Also consider that the pushrod can wear into the rocker arm and be nearly undetectable except for the noise.
Normally, a lifter operates in the center of its travel. As clearances start to increase, the plunger in the lifter operates closer and closer to the top of its travel. Wear can occur at ANY of the above mentioned places, and will begin to cause a buildup of clearances that add up to keeping the lifter at the top of its travel and causing noise.
Note that I did not say what your problem is. As a professional mechanic for over 40 years, I would not even attempt to diagnose your problem from miles away. I would need to check things out for myself. I do NOT believe in "short answers" to every problem. As I have found out over the years, each problem has its own causes and solutions. And, the same problem in one engine may not be the same as the similar problem in another engine.
Normally, a lifter operates in the center of its travel. As clearances start to increase, the plunger in the lifter operates closer and closer to the top of its travel. Wear can occur at ANY of the above mentioned places, and will begin to cause a buildup of clearances that add up to keeping the lifter at the top of its travel and causing noise.
Note that I did not say what your problem is. As a professional mechanic for over 40 years, I would not even attempt to diagnose your problem from miles away. I would need to check things out for myself. I do NOT believe in "short answers" to every problem. As I have found out over the years, each problem has its own causes and solutions. And, the same problem in one engine may not be the same as the similar problem in another engine.
fixerupper
Well-known Member
In all the old Mopar V8's I had, if the oil needed changing the lifters rattled cold but quit after warmup. Still have an old 79 Dodge W200 with a 360 that reminds me when it's oil change time. The claim was the oil holes in the lifters were too small. This Dodge has the 'new and improved' lifters and it still rattles. Jim
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
add a grt of atf and a gt of lucas oil stabilizer
Hal/ Eastern WA
Member
Years ago, a buddy of mine had a 66 Ford Galaxie convert with a 390. The engine developed a noise in the valve train that was intermittent, but it really bothered Mike.
We decided to work on the engine, to fix the noise and also get rid of a couple of oil leaks. We put new lifters in as well as a bunch of other stuff, but the noise was still there when we put it back together. I think we had it apart 3 or 4 times trying different things to fix the noise.
Finally Mike talked to someone who suggested using slightly longer pushrods. That CURED the intermittent noise and it was not all that expensive. Mike drove the car for several more years and really enjoyed it.
We never did learn just what had been bent or worn, but I suspect at least one rocker arm. Good luck!
We decided to work on the engine, to fix the noise and also get rid of a couple of oil leaks. We put new lifters in as well as a bunch of other stuff, but the noise was still there when we put it back together. I think we had it apart 3 or 4 times trying different things to fix the noise.
Finally Mike talked to someone who suggested using slightly longer pushrods. That CURED the intermittent noise and it was not all that expensive. Mike drove the car for several more years and really enjoyed it.
We never did learn just what had been bent or worn, but I suspect at least one rocker arm. Good luck!
I've had a bunch of FE engines... a 352, three 360, two 390, a 410, and a 428SCJ. The only time I ever had lifter noise is when I bought a vehicle that hadn't had the oil changed often enough or used a poor quality oil and the lifters got gummed up. Motor flush or the ATF trick and frequent oil changes took care of the problem.
i did the atf thing and now it does seem to be ok, we'll see tommorrow, as the truck has a job in town, i do hear a very small exhaust leak, and suspect the gaskets and head pipe rings need to be changed, im not sure if that was done when the engine was overhauled or not somebody cobbled a way wrong exhaust system on this truck some places the pipe is about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter thru the turns, 360 should have at least a 2 inch minimum and 2 1/2 would be better
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