Just had a new engine installed into my '96 f150. I built it with a Crower cam and lifters. As I mentioned in another thread the Crower lifters were different that any other I've seen - the pushrod seat was loose, you can shake it back and forth in the lifter. Crower says to pump them up before setting preload so I did that. To get the preload to their specs takes a .060" shim under the rocker pedestal.

The shop calls and says the engine is in and running but the rockers are making noise. Indeed they are, almost sounds like a diesel. Shop suggests removing the shims.

I crack the valve cover back open and not only remove the shims but also replace all the rockers and pedestals with new Sealed Power replacements. At start up it sounds better but still not quiet. The truck runs fine except for the rockers clattering.

Anyway, I start a postmortem on the old engine and notice the pushrods turn easily and the rockers have no play in them.

The new rockers were sort of loosey goosey even when torqued to spec and the lifter still holding the pushrod tight. I could wiggle some of them back and forth.

So I crack the valve cover back open to re-reset the preload. I decided to try the rockers off the old engine, which after cleaning and torquing to spec also have some side-to-side play.

I went cylinder by cylinder and reinstalled every rocker. Tighten the bolt until there is some resistance when turning the pushrod then torque to 18-20 pdft using shims to ensure 1/4 to 1 full turn past zero lash.

Still about as noisy. Any suggestions?

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install OEM lifters

 

Yeah, maybe. What are the odds of new lifters damaging the cam? Probably has about 2 hours run time on it now.

 

You haven't ran it long enough to cause any issue from swapping them.

 

Groovy, got a set of Melling lifters and a new set of pushrods on the way. Thanks.

Of course I sealed the lifter cover with RTV when I buttoned it up. At least the oil pan seal will still be intact.

This may totally be a case of user error but it's sort of put me off Crower. Hopefully the cam lobes survive the adventure.

 

Mmm, follow-up question - pump up the new lifters before installing or no?

 

nil
I used to do it all the time.

 

what about my engine? it has about a thousand-ish miles and an hour or so idle time doing heat cycles?

 

I think as long as the cam is in good shape there should be no problems.

 

I think as long as the cam is in good shape there should be no problems, regardless of the amount of running time on the cam.

 

Got about 70% through replacing the lifters today. The valvetrain is all new now - lifters, pushrods, rocker arms. I'm going to recheck the rockers tomorrow and buttoning everything back up should only take another two or three hours.

After installing a new lifter and pushrod, I tightened the rocker nut until the pushrod was at zero lash. Used a felt tip pen to color the side, then used a straight edge and knife to scribe the pushrod, torqued to spec, scribe again, remove and measure. Two came out at ~.11" and the rest were .12-.13". So I ended up having to stack a thin and thick shim (advertised as adjusting by .090" per Ford) under the pedestal to get the preload in spec.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have the rockers that we just tighten and they align within in a certain spec, correct?

You don't have really adjustable rockers with nut on top and bottom or "regular" if I dare use that work. You have a press in stud and not a screw in.

I hope I made that sound right. I lost myself there a little bit to be honest.

 

Affirmative, EFI head with non-adjustable bolt-down pedestal rockers. Like these:

 

Well got everything together, fired it up and there's still chatter in the rockers. I'm stumped. Every lifter was preloaded to spec.

Most of the rockers had side-to-side play after being torqued to spec. Is that normal with new rockers?

How easily should the pushrods turn once the engine has been started and run then shut down long enough for the lifters to bleed down?

 

You should be able to spin them but not go up or down.

Good luck BVA hang in there