New member: I swapped heads on my 390 for a set with hard seats. I screwed up and didn't make sure I marked all the pushrods where they came out!How critical is this? Should I buy a new set of lifters and pushrods to avoid any problems? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

 

To hedge yer bets, yes.

... Welcome to FTE.

 

Thanks HIO silver. What I was thinking too! Don't want to do this again for awhile!

 

First measure what you have, if they are all the same length it would be no different than new ones.

 

Oh, I disagree. Pushrods, lifters, and rocker arms can created their own mating wear pattern. Better and safer to put new pushrods in. I do concur measure the old pushrods 1st.

 

Concur with Jeffafa regarding wear patterns.

...Avoid being penny wise and pound foolish.

 

Of course, now that I read Jefffafa's comment I completely agree about the wear patterns (duh). New is a good idea. But is it a good idea to put new lifters on an old cam?


Since you have the heads off I would do the cam and lifters as well as the timing chain.

 

New lifters on an old Genuine Ford cam is OK. Ford cams are harder than aftermarket cams. Which is also why back in the day SBC cams used to go out 80,000 to 100,000 miles and Ford's didn't. Lifters and cams also get a wear pattern after a long time. But under normal circumstances it is "usually" in the lifter. Unless something happened that made the lifter wipe out the cam all of a sudden. If it's just normal wear the face of the lifter becomes a bit concave. Since new lifters are actually a tiny bit convex, you can put them in with a still "good" Genuine Ford cam. They will work and spin as they are intended to.

 

I bought new lifters and pushrods just to be on the safe side!The old lifters looked great with no wear marks on any of them. I'm gonna go with the new lifters and rods.I am going ahead without replacing cam at this point. Thanks for all your help!

 

You're right there at the cam and they're not that expensive. You'll be happier you did it now....

 

TeachNLive4ever, You're right that I'm right at the cam. Originally I just wanted to have the hardened seats installed. Ideally I would pull the motor and go clear through it but I don't have the time or money. Still considering though!

 

Pull the radiator and grill, it'll go....

 

It is a slippery slope my friend. If that is as far as you are going to go, you should be good.

 

2X Teach.
At the very least I'd pull the timing cover and check the timing chain and gears. All it would cost you is a timing cover gasket set to find out if the chain is still tight or loose as a goose. It would be a bummer if you get it all together and have to tear it back apart. If once you go to set the timing and find the timing mark bouncing all over the place.

 

I am in the middle of replacing the timing components on my 2005 expedition. Of course the project keeps snowballing because replacing other components that can only be accessed when the timing and valve covers are off makes sense. I was getting that ticking sound like the truck was a diesel and the forums suggest that the lifters may be going bad so I decided to change them and the rocker arms out while I had the camshafts loosened up to adjust them for proper timing. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding an affordable but bullet proof brand to go with. I was thinking of going with OEM but a friend said some aftermarket brands are even better but for a lower price. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.