My 350 Olds has a rocker arm ticking and I need some help with how to get rid of the noise. This is a rebuilt 350 with the stock Oldsmobile non-adjustable valvetrain. I have narrowed the noise down to the back two sets of rockers on the passenger side. I have a cut open valve cover on it right now and I am troubleshooting as I write this. I installed two new complete sets of rocker arms, pivots and retainers in the offending area, but the noise is still there. So tightening things up by using new parts didn't help. What is my next move to fix this issue? Would taking some material off the bottom of the pivot be the next thing to try? The pivots I took off had been ground on previously, so I tried using one under the new rocker arm I thought the noise was coming from, but it didn't help. I have tried pushing hard on the rockers with a hammer handle while its running to see if the noise would be affected, but it doesn't appear to have any result. Can this noise come from being too tight, or too loose?

I thought it might be an exhaust leak, I even went so far as to take off my x-pipe and have it welded up rather than use clamps. I can't find any soot or evidence of an exhaust leak anywhere, I have some quality Kooks headers and use Remflex headers gaskets (they just plain NEVER leak!)

This thing runs so good and sounds awesome through the Pypes mufflers, but this annoying ticking noise is ruining everything...

 

If there is no preload they will tick. Do you have good oil flow over the rockers? Did you assemble it or a builder?

 

Is there oil flow to the rockers you suspect? If not, it may be a lifter........

 

Hey Guys, thanks for replying while I'm still working on it. Plenty of oil flow over the rockers, if I knew how to post a video I would. Maybe my better half can help with that. This was built by Josh Howard, I watched a youtube video of it before I bought it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx-K8mh0_lE

I couldn't really tell if there was any ticking going on, it just sounded strong and didn't smoke!

It has a Crane cam 484/.512 216/228@.50 on a 112, and Rhodes hi rev lifters. It runs well, pulls hard, doesn't smoke, just this constant ticking.

I will try to post a video so you can see the oil flow and hear the noise.

 

You may have to double check your push rod length. I don't know the max lift that the stock valve train can tolerate, the rule of thumb has always been .500 your not much over. Did you add the cam? Was replacing the rockers part or your trouble shooting the noise?

 

Whats the lift clearance between the retainer and valve guide ? you need atleast .060 minimum clearance . from that video i hear some from of ticking but it could be noisey lifters. My current cam is a lunati voodoo and most guys say they are noisey . which they are ., I can hear the valve train components working harder due to the ramp speeds and profiles and the valves closing faster etc etc . Try to upload a new video with a full exhaust to isolate the noise. some peoples definition of a tick is diffrent than many others. Check lift clearance , check for pushrod length and proper pre load on the lifters.

 

The cam was already installed. I had read some other posts here on CO that had advised putting on a new set of rockers/pivots/bridges to eliminate a ticking noise from the rocker arm area, so thats what I tried first. The 4 pivots I removed from # 6 & #8 cylinders have all been ground down. Isn't that something thats done to get the desired pre-load? Putting on brand new pivots that are stock length probably reduced the preload didn't it? Am I going to have to pull the intake manifold to actually watch for the lifter to preload when I tighten down the rocker? How much material can you remove from the base of the pivot? Is it a straight 1:1 ratio to the amount of preload achieved by shortening it?

 

What can anyone add about the Rhodes Hi-Rev lifters? I have been reading some information about them and here is one of the questions from the FAQ:

Q. Why do Rhoads Lifters sound similar to solids at low rpm?

A. With Rhoads Lifters there is never any clearance in the valve train. The ticking noise you hear is simply a slightly accelerated valve-closing rate much like that of a solid lifter. This sound gradually disappears as the rpm increases.

I can hear this noise at idle and I can hear it at a cruise speed of 2000 RPM. However, it doesn't sound like ALL of the lifters are ticking, just one or two...

It looks like these lifters are used to "calm down" a radical cam at low RPM's. I wouldn't consider the Crane cam (.484/.512 216/228@ .050) to be very radical, would you?

Here are a couple more lines from the description of these "variable duration" lifters:

"Original Rhoads Lifters reduce lift and duration at idle by approximately .010" to .020". Duration is reduced by approximately 10 to 15 degrees. Total lift and duration are restored at approximately 3500 rpm."

"Their legendary ticking at idle make them sound similar to solid lifters."

Anybody else out there using these Rhodes lifters that can fill me in? Perhaps these lifters are supposed to be "ticking at idle"

 

The more I search on the internet for information about Rhodes lifters, the more I am convincing myself that they are the root of the ticking! I am finding post after post mentioning the ticking at idle with these variable-duration lifters. Some guys are OK with the noise becasue the lifters made their big race cams driavble at low RPM's or helped with vacuum for power brakes. Most are like me and want the noise gone. If I had a big cam that was lazy down low and was low on vacuum, then maybe the ticking noise would be acceptable. I don't think this Crane cam is big enough to warrant the drop in lift and duration these lifters provide.

OK, so I can't stand this noise, and I think its the lifters themselves. Can I put a new set of regular lifters on this Crane cam? Will I have to do the engine break in routine? (2000 RPM for 20 minutes?) Or is the cam already broke in? I believe that new lifters on an existing cam is OK (like replacing a single collasped lifter), but not the other way around, that is, no used lifters on a new cam.

 

If your radio has a **** on the left side, try turning it clockwise.
If you do this well, you should no longer notice the ticking...

[if it ain't broke, don't fix it]

I am hearing that the ticking is a feature, not a bug, of your lifters. Had that on a '66 442 E400 a while back.

Yes you can put new lifters in; damn lot of trouble to solve a problem that isn't a problem.

you can check preload with intake in place if your skill set is well developed.

You say these rockers were "ground" - can you show a pic? Where on the pedestal is the grinding evidence? Or, I am in Lansing, I could take a look.

 

Octania, I would welcome you to come over and take a look! I noticed before you were in Lansing and had considered asking for your help with some other stuff I have asked on CO.

The grinding has been done on the bottom of the pivot, if thats the right term. Its the part that the bridge sits on and has the bolt going through it, its half round on the bottom for the rocker to "rock" on.

I guess some consider the "feature" of it sounding like mechanical lifters at idle a plus...I personally can't stand it. If dropping in a new set of lifters would eliminate it, I wouldn't consider it a lot of trouble. However, that still might not even be what it is. If you could put your 2 cents in it would help. I am not ashamed to admit that your skill set is probably better than mine when it comes to knowing about Oldsmobiles! I will send you a PM with my address and phone number.

 

The 455 in my '72 442 has the same ticking and has been like this since I bought it in 2000. It was rebuilt by Joe Mondello himself in L.A. in 1991 and has maybe 10K miles on it since. It had Rhodes lifters, so I always assumed that was the source of the noise.

However, two years ago, Steve Minore did a cam swap for me with new pushrods, rocker arms and hydraulic lifters. Fired it up, and the ticking was still there. We're going to investigate this further at the end of July.

You're not alone....

Terry

 

I know this is old, but just curious what you may have discovered?