Hello all...
I recently finished my 69 442 with 4 speed 400 engine. All that was done is the engine was pulled and new gaskets installed and the rockers and lifters re-sealed. The car was running better than ever; I took it on a 25 mile run and was running great until the last leg of the trip. I stopped at a body shop to talk about possibly buffing the car, when I pulled out of the shop and started down the road I noticed a popping sound when I would press the gas pedal. I limped it home and when I pulled in the garage the coolant started coming out through the overflow. I read on here that when cold the fluid level should be around 4 to 5 inches down in the radiator. I had it filled prior to this run so I was thinking maybe I had too much fluid? The next day I figured I would check the timing since it made that type of sound, the timing was okay and the car idled great but I now have a tapping sound and the popping noise seems to be coming from the carb?

Question: has anyone ever had a problem like this or have any idea what the problem might be? What would cause the sudden change? I'm concerned that I may have overheated but when I was driving the temp gauge was just below the halfway mark.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...
Thank you
Mike

 

I don't understand the statement of rockers and lifters resealed?


I agree the coolant issue may be that you overfilled it.

 

Not sure if that is the correct terminology. The only thing that would have been done would have been to replace any seals or bushings. I did not do the work so I am not sure. The seals or gaskets would have been included in a typical gasket kit. Hope this makes sense

 

Are you referring to valve guide seals? If so your popping sound coming from the carb may be due to a valve not opening. Pull off the valve covers and inspect if a rocker came loose or a spring retainer popped off. If all seems to be ok, then see if all the rockers are moving the same amount as you crank the engine.

 

It could be a few things but I would bet a buck to a box of donuts your gonna be pulling the engine out.

Hung or broken valve or a head gasket at the least.

They always run best right before they give up the ghost.

 

Ain't that the truth!

 

Well Smitty I hope you would lose that bet. I just got done putting this thing together and would hate to have to pull the engine AGAIN. I will try some of the suggestions Eric stated. Fingers crossed---I still don't understand what would have caused this??

 

Yup, the only way to figure it out is to roll up your sleeves and dig in. Hopefully it's nothing major.

 

Did you put a new cam in? If so did you break it in?


What kind of radiator cap are you running? I put an overflow on mine because it used to puke out a little. It works fine now

 

Nothing new, when we removed the intake it was extremely clean, no sludge at all. This is the reason I did not go any further on the rebuild. Just new gaskets and paint.

Not sure on the cap, mine has the overflow tube.

I removed the cap and started with the level at 4 to 5 inches and then left the car idle until it cycled. Kind of worked in conjunction with trying to figure out the tapping noise (Car idled perfect BTW around 900 RPM) nothing puked out after shutting down this time.

 

Pulled the valve cover and rocker. Pulled the rod out and looked in only to find the lifter is destroyed.

 

Did the lifter just come apart? Is the pushrod bent? Are the rockers or perches damaged? When you had the intake off the last time, did you inspect the bottoms of the lifters and cam for wear?

 

The rod is not bent but it does show a little galling on the shaft. Tip is okay. I did not do the work when the intake was out, the garage (my neighbor) did the work. My next step is to remove the intake and inspect everything. When I removed the valve cover the rocker was loose where the bad lifter is. All other rockers were tight. At this point all I know is that the one lifter is bad. I may end up replacing lifters and cam but not sure at this point

 

Let's see what everything looks like after you get it apart. Pull each lifter and inspect the bottoms to see if they are concave. Also inspect each cam lobe for wear if the lifters are really worn, especially the one that failed. Hopefully your neighbor will come over and lend a hand. The pushrod may still be good if it's just a scratch from when it popped off. Roll it on a piece of glass and inspect both ends.

 

Yep I will post the update when I get there. Doubt the neighbor will be available got himself hooked on prescription meds and is now serving 3 to 5. He never did finish the job for me and I ended up with a car in a box. Just recently got everything back together with the help of some friends and now this. Time to call the friends back and get to work AGAIN!!

 

Oh my!


It's a pretty straight forward repair, unless the cam needs to be replaced. How many miles are on the engine?

 

99,000

 

Has the timing set ever been replaced?

 

Have you drained the oil to see what it looks like?

 

Timing set has not as far as I know but I got the car from my dad who bought it from someone else that did a lot of work to the car. I did not drain the oil yet but probably will once I see what's under the intake.

 

Eric/Smitty,
It appears that the 2 of you have extensive knowledge on these cars. With the car having 99k miles and the lifter being damaged do you think it would be a good idea at this point to replace the cam and lifters as well as a new timing set? If so what cam would you recommend? I've seen on other posts that Smitty has sold some to members?

Thanks guys

 

At a minimum I would replace cam/lifter/timing set and possibly push rods. But depends on what the oil looks like and whats in the filter. Did the lifter shatter and fall into the pan sending metal shards throughout the engine? If so, the engine should be taken apart and cleaned to get all metal out of it. If it didnt explode then you can probably get away with jsut a good flushing of the oil and replacing the parts mentioned.

 

Did you get it apart and look to see what all the lifters and the cam looks like?

 

If you've not pulled the intake borrow a coolant system pressure tester and see if it holds pressure. The results are self explanatory.
When you know extent if damage give me a call about camshaft.
330-495-4582

 

Good advice given.
If you replace the cam I'd do an Erson Hi Flow 1. It'll work with your stock valvetrain yet give a good boost in power and torque. Keep us posted of your results.

 

Didn't get to remove the intake yet but everything is loose. Waiting on a buddy of mine who has more knowledge about this to stop in and we will then remove the intake and see what we got. What we have been able to see is the lifter did not come completely apart just the end where the rod goes. I want to thank all you guys on the advice and Smitty I will be calling you after I see what's inside. I might take a few pictures and post them as well.

Thanks again!!

 

Could have been you accidentally knocked a piece of gasket or whatever down into a lifter and that caused it to come apart. Sounds weird but I have seen it happen. If you pull the intake and can see that the hydraulic lifter is blown apart, and all the others are ok, pull out that lifter and if the bottom of it looks ok that's what it is. If so, make sure you get all the pieces out of the engine and if everything else is ok, replace all 16 lifters and put back together. Or if you want to go ahead and replace the cam and lifters, then do that.

 

Update on the lifter issue.

The lifter did not completely come apart the end where the rod goes just came loose. Everything else including the cam looks good. I'm looking for a set of lifters now.

Smitty,
I think you said you might have a set?