1979 Ford F-250. 400 with nv4500.
Got the manifold changed a couple days ago. Truck ran bad afterward. My plug wires and cap had been looking bad so I bought a new cap, rotor, and set of plugs. Also changed the fuel filter and added some sea foam to the gas. Truck runs better than before pulling the manifold. Been filling up with 87 100% NO ETHANOL and truck likes it very much. Worth the .50 cents a gallon.

Ticking sound is fainter. It’s already blew out the back of the intake manifold seal. Leaking oil again. I followed the Haynes manual. Installed the manifold and tightened to hand tight. Waited 15 min. Retightened by hand and went all the way around 2 times with a ratchet (25 foot pounds isn’t a lot, felt dumb lol) then tightened down with a torque wrench. Let sit for a night and retorqued. Warmed up to operating temp and then REtorqued. Drove truck around under 100 miles through a couple days. Noticed I was smoking oil on the exhaust again. Checked all bolts and they all were tight. Annoyed definitely but not gonna quit.

Ticking sound is fainter though... so maybe mission accomplished?

I’ve got a Weiand intake on my truck, think this has something to do with anything? It was on it when I got the truck. I used black heavy oil rtv on the front and back rubber sections.

 

If the engine was able to blow out a thick RTV bead, which correctly set over night, then I'd check the PCV system.

That aftermarket intake might have different torque settings than the OE one.

 

Just looked at your ticking thread.

Test the pcv valve, or if it's old, get a new one.

Ensure the breather filter on the other valve cover is not clogged.

If the fuel line is resting on the intake, cut the pipe shorter so that the pipe is raised off the intake. (No, LOL, not ticking related. Just an observation.)

Is the idle ignition timing and rpm correctly set ? (I.E. not too retarded, and rpms not too low )

5w30 oil works in cooler climates. Does your oil match your climate ?

 

The PCV does basically nothing at WOT so it's up to your breather cap to vent crankcase pressure when it's at it's highest. so either it's plugged, your seal wasn't in very good or you have a lot of ring bypass.

Those end seals are a PITA. if you don't want to roll the dice again with the cork you could use a heavy bead of The Right Stuff and let it cure good. that will work on most any situation like this. I know guys who say they've cleaned it up real good and shoved it in the gap and had it seal up. perfectly. I've never tried it buy I see no reason it wouldn't.

I guess I missed something I don't see how changing an intake would stop a ticking noise unless you changed your lifters. excess slack in the valve train and exhaust leaks are the cause 90% of the time. check your preload if you haven't already.

 

Had a lot of trouble finding a screw in pcv valve. Got one ordered be here on Friday. Meanwhile I have a push in with a crappy grommet. Fuel line isn’t resting on intake, just looks like it.

Will install correct pcv valve when I get it. Will probably try to fix it from this side for the time being. Ticking has actually kinda been fluctuating. More sporadic than I remember it being in the past. It’s still there. I will inspect deeper into the valve cover soon. Truck runs okay now. Doesn’t leak very bad. Idled 8-900.

 

Got a picture of your engine compartment? Why a screw-in PCV I wonder? Got fancy valve covers, or some kind of aftermarket fittings on them for the PCV valve?
Normally they just push into the rubber grommet either in the cover, or in the oil fill cap.

Paul

 

Pic in my ticking 400 thread. Got bad internet right now so no pics. Will later. My valve covers are original I think. My pass side has a port that uses a hose to connect to the underside of my breather.

My my drivers side has a screw in/out hole in it. Local autozone and oreillys counter stand behind guys said they couldn’t get any twist in style grommets. Everywhere else wanted either $10 plus $15 shipping to get it within two weeks. Twist in style I ordered is like a breather, but’s it’s not because it has a hole in the top for a removable pcv valve. Right now I have a rubber grommet sealered onto my drivers side hole so a push in/out model will work but it’s not long term. It’s routed to a port on my intake.

 

The passenger side should have the push in pcv valve connected to manifold vacuum, either at the back of the carb, or in the intake manifold.

The driver side should have a hose connection to the underside of the air cleaner.

I believe the screw in type part was originally for oil filling and the air cleaner connection.

 

Here’s what mine looks like now. Distributor cap, bug, and plug wires. Fixed rough idle after distributor install. New screw in contraption let’s me use another grommet on the top and a 90 degree pcv valve. I think I need to fine tune my distributor setting. Got the pcv routed to a port on my intake. The port is only 1/4 i think. Engine has been running better. Do you guys think 1/4 is big enough of an inlet?

 

Not really, but the big issue is that it's in the wrong spot it looks like.
While a 1/4" would probably work in a pinch, it's not the size that the factory uses and you would normally want to match that 3/8" that most of them use.

What's most important is that you need to plumb a PCV into a common plenum area to source your vacuum signal. Yours looks like it's connected to just a single runner and that's not good for that cylinder.
It MUST be in a common plenum area such as the large port at the base of the carburetor.
If you have two of those ports (as most Edelbrock and Carter carbs have fittings for) you can use one for PCV and one for brake boosters. But if only one is available, it must go to the PCV valve and you must find another source for the booster.

A port in a single runner is acceptable for the brake booster. Just not the PCV.

Paul

 

You are right. The plenum goes directly to that cylinder. I don’t have another another port on the intake that’s a common area. If I can’t tee it. There is an unused port on the back of my carb but it’s got a plug and I’d need to buy another port to put in it.

 

The PVC valve is in the correct stock position. the suction hose should go to a large vacuum outlet on the back on the carb. The inlet to the PCV valve should be from a small filter in the air cleaner.

 

Sounds like I need to find a port for the back. Search shows it’s a 1/4-18 npt fittings. 3/8 hose end.

 

To the rear of the stock carb (or it's spacer) is the stock way, but not an absolute requirement. All the Edelbrock and Carter carbs I've used had the tube fitting on the front port, and the rear one was plugged. The valve does not necessarily care where in the common plenum area it get's it's signal from, as long as it's feeding all cylinders and not diluting just one cylinder runner's mixture like it is currently.
Each vacuum hose can go to whichever fitting you choose for convenience then, as long as it's not to one cylinder for the PCV.

What about on the back of the intake though? Is there another runner with a larger threaded hole you can use for the booster? Most factory intakes do take advantage from the rear of the intake, but again that's not a rigid requirement. Since many are connected to the "vacuum tree" rather than just a single port fitting, it's likely just more convenient to run it to the back area of the intake so they can run multiple hoses from a single source. Just whatever works.
Maybe the manufacturer of yours thought this intake was best to use the #5 cylinder runner due to some air flow dynamics? Maybe using #4 or #8 was not desirable they thought due to other issues? No idea.

Paul

 

Yes, 1/4-18 npt fittings 3/8 hose end is correct.