the 85 has a small knock - top end???

[85crownHPP]

if you hear a random clicking, I think the camera makes that sound... lol

I can barely hear it if you turn the volume way up... a "tap tap tap tap" right before the gears change, is that what you mean Pete?
Ill pull the starter and have a look see if the thingy is loose.

And this tapping sound has been around before the one loud startup recently, so i dont think its related to the cause

[Mercmarquis]

ok so it was the camera, my bad... lol

hmmm...You can try taking a piece of rubber hose and using it as a stethescope and see if you can narrow the sound down to a paticular spot if it knocks on startup. It could tell ya if its a rocker or a lifter.

Then shove some heavier dino oil and see if it goes away.

[Grand Marquis GT]

A can o restore. I use it with every oil change, it's good shit!

[86VickyLX]

Could it be a sticking valve? My old engine had sticking valves. It made the head gasket louder. It always made that noise but louder. It could be the first signs of sticking valves. It's just an annoying noise. But I would fix it if I were you. Good Luck!!!!!

[1987cp]

A Ford race engine builder told me it's pretty normal to have zero-lash rocker arms like ours rock back and forth a little. I'm still uncomfortable with it, though, and all my rockers have a zillion miles on them and are probably a little worn, so I'm thinking of changing to a full-roller rocker arm in the future.

I don't suppose you put a different cam in it? My '87 lopo motor with a HO cam is experiencing a noisy valvetrain in part because the valve lift is going past the established wear pattern on the valves from their first 130k miles of service. There's also a slight miss that I can't correlate with anything but the heads (fresh bottom end, entirely different induction and ignition setup). I'm expecting to be rid of both symptoms when I get around to installing the rebuilt E7 heads I've got. I'm also going to throw in fresh lifters, just for good measure.

[85crownHPP]

fresh lifters...mmmmm... I like the sound of that.
Would an engine that gets a machine-shop short block rebuild have new lifters in it???
I didnt know what a lifter was at the time the block was done, but I did see the 0.030 stamped on the pistons and the double roller timey chain

[1987cp]

fresh lifters...mmmmm... I like the sound of that.
Would an engine that gets a machine-shop short block rebuild have new lifters in it???

You know, it might depend on the attitude of the shop, among other things. As I understand it, roller lifters are generally considered reusable as long as the rollers still turn freely, so if it's a service-replacement kind of rebuild and/or the shop wanted to work within a tight budget, I suppose they may have been reused. That's why I reused the old lifters when I originally reringed my '87 shortblock with the original pistons - basically just a hone and polish, and reassembled the whole darn thing without even a valve job! Obviously, a service rebuild on a flat-tappet motor would include a new stock cam and lifters because they're not considered reusable.

Another guy I know will NEVER reuse even a roller camshaft, and definitely never reuses any lifter under any circumstances. And he told me that many larger rebuild shops don't give as much individual attention to the motor - they get the pistons and bearings cheap in bulk, so everything gets punched .030" over no matter what. We ran into an issue with this on a '70 Cleveland that was rebuilt in '72 by such a shop and was already 30 over when we found water in the bores, so the block had to be junked. But yeah, I'd think this sort of shop would probably not reuse lifters at all.

So who knows.

[gadget73]

Very much depends but I doubt they'd replace them unless its bad. Roller lifters are seldom replaced if only because they fail fairly rarely, flats might be replaced if they have wear spots. What year shortblock is in your car? 85 would be flat tappet, 86+ would be roller lifters, unless for whatever reason someone swapped the 85 flat cam in place of an 86 roller job.

[85crownHPP]

it actually is an 86 motor... the 85 motor got dumped in the dirt out back while the "good" used 86 motor went in, and some how mysteriously wound up locked up... so Instead of the guy looking for another used motor, I said "just have this one short block rebiult!! and so it was.

[gadget73]

Could still be either style of lifter honestly, depends if they decided to use the 85 cam or leave the 86 cam in there. Slight ticking after sitting for a while is not that uncommon. My truck does it in the winter, 2 worn lifters tick up top till it warms up. Usually not much of a cause for concern.

[85crownHPP]

nonono the tapping was around before the short weeks of sitting its been there for a few months... and the 85 engine never got taken apart it got dumped out back whole as soon as it came out of the car

[86VickyLX]

How about an oil change? It may just be time for an oil change. When's the last time you did one? Also put a cleaner in the oil. It may quiet more or completely remove the noise.

[1987cp]

Could still be either style of lifter honestly, depends if they decided to use the 85 cam or leave the 86 cam in there. Slight ticking after sitting for a while is not that uncommon. My truck does it in the winter, 2 worn lifters tick up top till it warms up. Usually not much of a cause for concern.

Would you reuse a 20-year-old flat-tappet cam?

[85crownHPP]

I just did an oil change not 3 weeks ago........ eeeyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!

[gadget73]

Would you reuse a 20-year-old flat-tappet cam?

No, but I'm not everyone. What may be fine to me is not neccesarily fine to everyone else. My engine block was pronounced fine, but the cylinders are egg shaped. The crank was pronounced fine, but it was at the extreme outer edge of tolerance. Whats correct and ideal is a fair bit off from what will get the job done. A 20 year old flat tappet cam will probably still function but I would not quite call it ideal.