With 105,000 miles of excellent care, my Expedition is starting some "clatter" slightly. Just enough to be annoying and warrant attention. Obviously just one valve with a little too much clearance. Is there any adjustment under those covers? Any experience and/or advice? If it were an older OHV motor, I would be thinking tighten the rocker arm stud up a pinch...any similiar fixes for the new OHC motors? THANKS

 

If you can find which valve is clattering, the lash adjuster (lifter) is easy to change. You can buy them one at a time from NAPA.

Using a flat head screw driver pry the stock cam followers off. This works best if the cam is at the bottom of the lobe so there is less tension on them. Work the screw driver under the side of the follower just below the lash adjuster. Pry on the side of the follower. This should lift the follower off the lash adjuster and it will pop off.

To put the cam followers back in: The back of the follow sits on the valve and the front on the lifter. Find a cam lobe that is at the base of its circle (shortest point) and slide the follower under it so that the rear is over the valve, the roller is under the cam lobe and the front of it is directly in front of the lifter. Now take a large screwdriver and position the flat head of it behind the lip on top of the follower and pull backwards using the cam lobe or the girdle for leverage (fig 15). It will pop the follower back into place. Don’t worry about the cam lobe surface it is very strong and will not scratch. Do this for all followers and make sure to rotate the motor as you go so you can access each one while the base circle is facing down.

Most of the text and the picture came from Modular Depot.com

 

Holy cow, that is a much appreciated reply! Thanks for the link, detail info., and graphic! THANKS!!

 

Finally ready to start tearing into this further. Don't drive the truck alot anymore so it hasn't been a big rush. Anyone else done similiar? Easy as it looks in yardbird's excellent tutorial? If these are valvae lash "adjusters", can they be adjusted in place or are they called that due to their hydraulic self adjusting? THANKS AGAIN -especialloy yardbird for the reply and the link to the mod site!!

 

The lash adjusters are basically hydraulic lifters, except instead of being under a pushrod the rocker rest on them. There is no adjustment necessary for daily operation.

The only adjustment checked is with the valvetrain assembled and the lifter(lash adjuster) bled completely down. You will check the clearance between the base of the cam and the roller. I think the clearances are lister in the Modular Depot. If there is too much clearance you can put shims under the lifter to make up for the difference.

I checked mine when I put new lash adjusters in and had one with slightly more clearance that the rest. I cut a shim out of a feeler gauge blade, .002 I think, and put it under the adjuster, and it worked out to be the perfect clearance the first time.

As long as you are within the tolerance there won't be any problems.

 

Yep, Now I see. Spent the majority of this afternoon pulling valve cover. Man they hang alot of $h_t over the top of that cover. Popped an adjuster out and put it back in just as described. Easiest part so far. I'll have to go through and check the clearances now and see whwere my clatter actually comes from. Hoping I can determine which one it is and not find out that it is actually just on that is not "pumping up" while it is running. Found .018-.032" as a spec @ Modular Depot. Sound OK? THANKS AGAIN!!!! Any advise for getting those hoses and wires out of the way?

 

Any info. on "bleeding down" the adjuster? Does that occur just by lack of oil pressure or is there a method of releasing this? THANKS AGAIN!!

 

Anyone else had to do similiar? Any help identifing the noisy culprit once that I have the valve cover off now? Thought I'd be able to see something fairly obvious now, but none seem to have excessive clearance. Appreciate any help/advice. Thanks again Yardbird for what you've already gave!

 

Try cranking it with the valve cover off and listen to each adjuster, roller, and valve with a piece of garden hose. If the noise is in the valve train you should be able to narrow it down.

You can make a timing chain shield out of a gallon oil jug to keep too much oil from slinging around. There is not much oil at the cam, but the timing chain slings it everywhere.

My tapping noise is not in the valvetrain. I am afraid it is a valve guide as stated in a TSB.

 

Looking like it is probably my exhaust manifold. I did find a stud that rusted off and broke. Held the starter cables in place. Didn't think that was the noisemaker, but must be. I'll have to get out the drill, ez outs, and replace that. Keeping my fingers crossed that does it. I will HATE having to put that valve cover on and off again. They stack ALOT of hoses and wires on top of that thing!

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

Wrestled that valve cover on and off (what a pain) for nothing. Found TWO broken exhaust manifold bolts. Both on the same port. Rear most passengers side. Almost sounds like a slapping as throttle is applied. Going to attempt getting these out. Probably try and get the inner fender out of the way. Hope it is easier and more worthwhile than my valve train exploring. Atleast I got to learn some stuff...the hard way.

 

Pulled the inner fender 1/2 out of the way. Had to do alot of heating to get all the manifold nuts and some studs out. Going to get a new gasket and some hardware. Maybe fixing the rusty leaky exhaust will get rid of what I thought to be valve train noise!

 

So they did come out nicely? If so, awesome. I hate working on exhaust bolts.

You might notice that the truck runs better with the exhaust fixed since the O2 readings are not skewed by the "missing" exhaust that leaked out.

Also, this would be a great time to put in some headers.

 

Would not say that it was real nice the way they came out.

When I pulled the manifold out...HEADERS did come to mind real quick!