I have a 1978 F-250 with a rebuilt 400 converted from a 351M. I added a Comp. Cam, Headers, Intake, etc. The truck runs great. I use it to tow mostly. anyway I have two problems.

First. I seem to have dry starts. When I start the engine it will tick for about 2 seconds and then stop. Is this normal?

Second. I seem to have lifter tick. I am sure they are adjusted right however they still make a little noise. Not what I would like to hear after a complete rebuild and upgrade.

Can any of you experts help guid me to a resolution?

Thanks

David McCorkle
davemc@itinet.com

 

I only see this as One problem not two.

Lifter tick.

Did you replace the check valve near the oil filter when you re-built the engine?

How long are you letting it set before re-starting it to get this tick?

Are there any oil additives in the oil?

What oil are you using ?

 

What is your oil pressure? Do you have the right oil in it? And if you reused the rocker arms it is highly possible that what sounds like a lifter tick is really coming from the rocker arms , even if they looked good (speaking from experiance here).

If the engine sits for a long while (like overnight or so) a temporary lifter tick isn't very abnormal, what happens is spring pressure collapses a lifter or two and until it pressurizes again (usually a second or two) it ticks. I've diagnoses this more than a few times but besides being a little annoying it doesn't seem to cause any probs.

BTW I could of sworn the check valve on these engines was in the oil filter.

 

What lifters and cam did you use? CC is famous for grinding really steep lobe lift angles and creating tick.