I have posted an earlier topic on how i couldnt get my motor in time well i have figured out what is causing the propblem but dont know how to fix it. the motor has no compression and i mean 3 out of 8 cilinders have none at all!! the valves are staying open and wont let the motor get compression. i checked this because you can take the rockers off of the head and turn the motor over and it has perfect compression. the rockers are not adjustible and to the best of my ablility i checked to make sure all the push rods were the same length and they are. Someone told me to check to see if all the valves were the same height in the springs, and they are not if you put a straight edge on it they are not level, and its not like all the exaust valves are taller than my intake ones they are all different. please help if this dose not work i am selling the truck and the motor. this is the third time trying to put this truck back to gether after re-build and i am about to the end of my rope!!

 

You didn't say anything about the cam? Sounds like you used an after market cam to me. Kinda sounds like you may be opening the valves up when you lock the rockers down.

 

what you need to do is get a set of adjustable rocker shafts and the matching push rods to go with the adjustable shafts.
this way you can set the backlash on each valve separately.
they were used on FE engines with mechanical lifter camshafts, and are fairly easy to find.

 

You said you rebuilt the motor, did you put a high lift cam in? Did you pump up (prime) the hyd lifters before installing them. It sounds like you may need the adj rockers. Did you reuse the original push rods? Ford used different length pushrods to adj valve clearance. You can not tell buy just looking at them at a glance that there different unless you have them all side by side.

 

The heads were done improperly, valve seating job without grinding to length and probably head deck resurfacing too. Select length pushrods are the way to go if the heads were built to spec. Adjustable rockers are your best option.

 

Hmmmm with rocker-arms off all valve stem head tips should be same height from end to end if not someone screwed up, maybe wrong seats .H-Balancer slipped with out engine running by 180*or so. Sounds like the cam is setup wrong..If you listen to and think about going to adj rockers to fix the real problem you'll will be in deep shxt. You'll have to pull the engine out and pull it down. Drill & tap the Hyd oil feed holes. Change cams use the longer push rods that have a cup & ball ends. Just for a few things. I would pull the heads and take them back to who did them and make them right!
Doulble check your cam timing with TDC along the your H-balancer .. YOU need to (stop)and quit trying so hard. You need to like us older guys say sleep on this and the answer will come to you after you reread the books a few times you'll see what you did wrong. We all done it..I was your same age when, I started with my first FE.. Remember #1 is on the Left looking from the front of engine..my 2cents
orich

 

Well First Off Dont give up.. We have had worse things happen in this room... What type of cam are you running in it? Solid flat tappet? Solid roller? Hyd Roller? Just a standard Hyd flat tappet cam> What lifters are you running?

Did you go back when doing the rebuild with stock parts? Lets gets some facts about the Valve train first and move from there....

RJ

 

Yeah valve stem height is wrong as well as the push rods could be wrong to. Check the heads first.

 

Place my bet on bad machine work. I just had this happen to me.

Took it apart and the valve stems wobbled in the holes.

John

 

So, when was the clown's funeral????

 

Little boys build chebbies they never grow up, real men use and UNDERSTAND FORDS. I said understand as the FE is different but simple to learn.
Sorry to hear your troubles sounds like your machine work was done by a local chebbie ripoff shop with results you have, yes too common these days.
Don't give up we'll walk you thru it.
Sounds like the heads need to be done properly then the correct length pushrods for the proper lifter preload. This can be done with your standard rockers to save some of your money, no need for adjustables but they are nice to work with and set preload with roller tip rockers.
When the valve stems are at the wrong height they change the rocker geometry causing unecessary valve guide wear.
These old FE hunks of iron if understood will reward you with years of trouble free power. Hang in there bro.

 

when i bought the truck the motor had 427 heads on it and the guy i boought it from had the 428 heads in the toolbox, and he told me that when he had the motor rebuilt he put the 427 heads on because he could run regular gas with the 427's and he couldnt with the 428's. i am begining to think that hee knew the 428's were messed up and thats why he had the 427's on it. as far as i know the cam and pushrods are origional, but this knowledge is only based on what the guy told me. i would ask him where he had it rebuilt but we bought the truck through ebay in Denver Colorado and i live in Arkansas not exactly a short trip. i am only 18 years old and my knowledge has run out so i am having someone who lives close and builds ford racing engines come look at it and if he says he can fix the heads and what ever else is wrong, that is the route that i will take. (that way if i put it back together again and it dosent work still i can hold him to it!!!) thank you guys for the support i wont give up beacuse i would kill to have my truck back.

 

Keith Craft Racing is in Ak. Not sure how close but Keith does good work and top notch shop.

www.keithcraft.com

 

428 heads should have had lower compression with the smog head unless they been milled down..What is it your doing to this enging if it was rebuilt? Or if you our just trying to install those 428 heads right out of the tool box untouched with out doing anything to them. It then maybe the guy you got it from burn the seats out of them and that's way there all uneven at the stem heads... Maybe you don't know this, Do not mix push rods or lifters form there location unless there being replaced.To check for a bent push rod, roll it on flat surface one at a time and remember which end goes down to the lifer and put it back the same way removed this goes for all engine parts.
Now what ever the guy told you that you got the truck from Forget it! beacuse your on your own now kido. And now you have to make sure to have it done or checked yourself.. Cam info should be stamped on front or back of cam ends. You amy know all this little basic stuff already. One last thing on the FE blocks it the oil pump drive rod theres a flat compression (washer) on one end of it. Well that washer goes upword
to the distributor so that it will not be pulled out when the disty is removed it will sometimes stick in the bottom and out it comes. 99.99% you'll have to pull the pan and pump to install that drive rod right..My 2 cents
orich

 

Actually the CJ heads and the standard 427 heads have the same size combustion chambers (72.8-75.8). The early 1963 had smaller (64.0-67.0), as did the high altitude heads (66.0-69.0).