One valve ticking in a 302 Ford

[junkyardjeff]

I bought a very low mile 70 302 that had a tick in it since I got it and I changed the lifters when I changed over to a 4 bbl ands still the same,it did have a broken rocker arm nut so I suspected that was the valve in question but its not.   Last night I removed the valve spring from the valve in question and replaced it with one that I thought was weak last year but the tick is still there,I examined the rocker arm,push rod and while the spring was off checked to see if the valve had too much play but it seemed like the rest.    One thing I noticed was the valve spring that came off the valve that is ticking had alot more of the paint wore off it on the edges then did the other spring so I am thinking it could be a bent valve but did not look bent when I had the spring off,it seems like the washer on the top of the spring was moving around more then the others by looking at the paint loss but it seemed like all the others.  I am going to napa and order one push rod,rocker arm and valve spring and if the tick is still there the head will come off as it has to be a valve or guide.  Jeff

[junkyardjeff]

I forgot to add that the motor had sat for 30 years.

[phat46]

Are you 100% sure it's the valve train ticking? I have seen two ticking "valves" that turned out to be tiny exhaust leaks at the manifold/header.  I would have bet the farm that both were valves. One was my brother who chased the noise for a couple days. I listened and suggested he tighten the header bolts because i had seen my neighbor do the same thing and cure it. He tightened the bolts on the first side and the noise dissapeared. Maybe not your problem, but it's worth a try.

[enjenjo]

I had a SBC with a ticking valve, fresh motor. If you tightened up the intake valve, it would go away, then slowly come back. I checked the cam, no problem, changed the lifter, same thing. Changed the cam and lifters, same thing. Tore it back down, and found a cracked piston skirt on a new piston, replaced that, and no more noise.

[wayne petty]

70 motor...  i have one... non adjustable rocker nuts.. as i recall...

i fixed one a long time ago... i went to the hardware store..

super thin washers... but from where...  try the plumbing department...
remember the faucet supply tubes... that go between the angle stop and the bottom of the faucets....  they had little tapered grey seals. and a thin copper or brass washer that fit over the tube but under the nut .. they are usually 3/8 or 7/16 id...... about 0.015 thick... just right to put on top of the rocker arm ball so the nut drives it on just a tiny bit more... takes out the slack....    +.030 push rods are available at most engine rebuilders.. does the same thing...  but plumbing washers are much cheeper...
( - .030 push rods are also available) but thats a different story..








a tip for other fords...

and later 302's, 351w, all the way to 460's
on pedestal mount rocker arms ford motors... i grind the bottom of the fulcrum down to shorten it... to tighten up the valve lash... one of the cam manufacturers made various thicknesses of shims to fit under the pedestal mount rocker arm fulcrums... (dorman has rocker arm fulcrums separate and inexpensive)

when i am building a motor i check the valve adjustment on the stand with never been filled lifters...   by installing the rocker arms.. and checking how much the lifter piston is pushed down  in it's self...  that way i know that the lifter parts are not pushing against the tiny wire retainer...

you might also want to fire up the motor with the valve cover off for a few seconds.. and see if all the valves are moving the same amount... changing lifters on a cam is almost sure to remove a lobe or two...

card board placed on the low side may stop some of the splash.

[art.flame]

trick i learned and used on a 390 fe , i pored in a 1/2 liter tranny fluid ran for 50 miles or so and the ticking was gone ,refreshed the oil and filter and never done it since

[chimp koose]

I believe ford went to shouldered rocker studs around '70 .You would torque the rocker nut to about 18 lb/ft and the fulcrum would be adjusted against the shoulder below the threaded portion of the stud. Could it  be that one of the rocker studs has jacked out of the head slightly?I used to have that problem with press in rocker studs pulling out slightly on the 351w heads I ran on my 289 .As I remember there was a tool available to drive them back down right on the car but once they start to move they never seemed to stay put.

[junkyardjeff]

I put a straight edge on the studs and they are fine but what ever is causing this happend when it was fired up after the long storage,I have a new rocker arm,push rod and valve spring coming and if that does not fix it the head will be coming off.  When I took off the spring from the valve in question more paint was wore off it then the other so it looks like the spring or valve was moving around more but they all seemd to have the same amount of play so if the parts do not fix the problem its in the valve or guide.  Jeff

[junkyardjeff]

I hope its not a piston but I used a stethoscope to determine what valve was making noise by placing it on the rocker studs with the motor running and I could tell it was coming from that valve.  I hope I dont have to pull the head since the motor only has 27,000 miles but if I do I wil try to find a set of heads with larger combustion chambers and hardened seats.  Jeff

[The Paisano]

A lot of 69 through 74 had a lot of valve guide proiblems,even when they were new.Small blocks and Clevelands were notorious. We used to have to do valve jobs on these and replace the guides.Man it was a pain in the butt when they had to be done under warranty.I used to have a 351 Cleveland 71 Mach 1 that had this problem when it was new.I used to put STP in it to quire it down.Seemed to work but it never got ridr of the noise completely.
Paisano

[junkyardjeff]

The ticking could be the reason it was parked in 75 but I have to deal with it now,the parts are in so if they dont fix it the head will come off and I did find out what heads have a slightly larger combusttion chamber so I can reduce the compression some.  Jeff

[junkyardjeff]

It looks like the head will have to come off since the valve spring,push rod and rocker arm did not fix the problem.