289cu.in. V8 in my 51 (obvious retrofit) is giving me a bit of trouble. We just got home from a 600 mile weekend trip to a family reunion and back. I have a hydraulic lifter tapping and when I accelerate I get a rattling valve train. I don't think they are related, but any suggestions on either would be appreciated.

 

You could have a stuck lifter or possibly a rocker stud that is starting to pull out. Pulling the rocker covers is probably going to be necessary, but if you loathe the idea, try an oil change and then some miles.

With the rocker covers off, you will be able to find any obvious loose rockers by turning the engine, one quarter turn at a time, through two turns with the spark plugs out. Start at the timing marks lining up and then work your way through the firing order one cylinder at a time. (If this does not make sense to you, ask for more detail.) A pulled stud can be located by laying a straight-edge across the tops of the studs on each bank.

While you are at it, look for one or more rockers that are not getting their share of oil through their hollow pushrods. Severe wear could have used up the lifters range of movement.

 

could have a bent push rod. i bent 17 of them in my 352 before i got all the valves loosened up. just pull the valve covers. its like 10 bolts and a couple wires.

 

Spin the pushrods with your fingers - a bent one will be very obvious. (When they are out of the engine, you can roll them on a flat surface.) 289 pushrods are pretty short, so the odds (with a stock engine) are against them being bent.

 

Sorry to hear this, Doug! What is your oil pressure? Lifters are your last warning that your oil pump isn't making the grade!

 

I agree, and I'll add check your oil level, just for the record. My daughter waited for the lifters to clatter before she added oil to a clunker she drove.

 

I'm running around 30psi on the highway. I put a new Melling pump in the motor last summer while I was getting it "road worthy". I'll be pulling the valve covers later this week to have a look at what's going on in there. Maybe I'll drop the oil pan while I'm at it and see what's up with the pump.
This is the same motor that sat for 20 years that I didn't tear down when I got it running. Maybe I should count my blessings for the last 5,000 miles and just go ahead and rebuild it.

 

I check the oil pretty regularly, but since we were on a trip when it started and 200 miles from home, it was my first check.
Your daughter sounds like mine, only mine waits for the engine to stop running and wonders why a broken rod can't be fixed with oil........

 

I figured you had oil & pressure on the gage. As I said: "for the record . . ." I figure that there is a non-posting reader out there right now that is thinking: "Maybe I'd better check my oil."

Just to defend my daughter, she only has to make a mistake like this once, and then she is on top of it. The car was an oil burner, so the level went down faster than she expected and the idiot light never went on, confirming ALBUQ F-1's post.

P.S.: She also learned about checking the auto trans level a month later. She is very independent and I thought she already new more than she did. She knew these things needed to be checked, but not how often.

 

30 psi as indicated on the stock gauge? Are you using a flathead pressure sender with the stock gauge? I wouldn't trust it. 30 isn't that great at cruising speed, with a new pump especially. I'd check it with a known good mechanical gauge. If that shows at least 30 hot, I would drop the pan and check a couple of rod bearings and the center main (thrust) bearings. I think it's rebuild time, count your blessing for 5,000 miles like you say! It should be a cheap rebuild now, but not if you throw a rod!

A friend of mine's daughter blew her Saturn's motor due to lack of oil, she had never checked it in a year. Her next car, a Jetta, was brought home with a spark plug missing (it blew out of its hole!) making god-awful noise, which she said was "just a rusty muffler". Then later she complained about the steering -- it had only one nut left on the LF wheel!! Of course, in the same period, my son wrecked his car twice, not sure which is worse

 

Certainly didn't mean to imply anything about your daughter, mine is just not altogether with it as far as cars go.

 

Yeah Ross, I've got the flatty sender and the stock guage. I'm searching for the SW Mechanical that I took out of it so I can check what's really happening with the pressure. I'm not too sure about the reliability of the stock guage in it's present set up. I plan to open up the motor this week and see just what's going on. I hope it's not as bad as I am thinking it's going to be.

 

Ok, Ross, I put my old Stewart Warner mechanical back on the motor to see what the pressure really is. I have about 25 at idle with the engine up to temp, and 47-48psi at highway speed. I don't think it's a pressure/bearing issue anymore. The bottom end of the motor looked really good when I had the pan off a few months ago. That's the good news.
While under the truck I found the pan needs to come off anyway, it's leaking like granny's colander. The C4 automatic is going to need to come out and have every seal replaced as well. It works fine, but it's literally dripping everywhere that there is a seal.
The other good news is that I checked the ignition timing and it was WAAAAYYYY advanced at idle. Like 12+ degrees BTC. You think maybe I had a little ingition pinging going on? I reset it to 7degrees BTC and it seems to have cleared up a lot of the valve noise that I did have, but there is still the lifter making a little noise. Off with the valve covers tomorrow after work to check the rocker studs, etc..
And now for the coup de grace, motor is starting to smoke a bit. I think it might be time to track down a 289/302 long block and a rebuilt tranny.
If I can just get a few more months out of it...........

 

Doug, I don't think 12 deg BTDC is out of line for a 289, they needed a lot of advance. But that was also with leaded gas.

If it's a sticking lifter, shuck in a can of SeaFoam and run it for an hour or two (on the road) and then change the oil. It's powerful stuff! (maybe want to use only half a can)

 

I think the smoking is probably valve "umbrella" seals and perhaps the valve guides being a little worn.
What is SeaFoam? Never heard of it...