I have a 66 330 2-barrel in a f-85,it has 12000 miles on it , Had been sitting in the barn since 1977, oil is aways clean ,runs great, just some lifter ticking at idle, is this normal? Or is there a adjustment to be made?

 

Most likely its a worn or dry rocker that is ticking. There is no adjustment on these but are easy to replace.

 

do you think it could have dirt in the pushrod? I had to replace 2 bent ones when i first started it

 

does anyone know what the torQue is for the lifters??? thanks

 

Hmmm, bent pushrods.....sometimes this happens when valves are stuck. There could be a blockage in the pushrod or lifter resulting in no oil to rockers. The rockers are bolted down tight, no "lifter torque?"....You should pull valve covers and make sure oil returns are not blocked in the heads and make sure rockers are getting oil.

 

I meant to say,what is the torque for the nuts on top of the rockers, sorry for the confusion

 

It's been sitting for 32 years?!!!
I agree with Oldsmaniac, pull the valve covers to make sure you're getting oil to the rockers. There could be some gumming up of old oil.

If you have an extra distributor (or even one from a junk yard from any Olds V8) it can be modified (just cut the top off) and connected to the oil pump (of course remove the current distributor) and used with a drill to pump oil thru the system. That way you can check for flow without the motor running and it pumps up your lifters before starting the motor. This is what I remember reading years ago of the right way to get oil into where it belongs after long storage and before first start after a rebuild.

Have you changed the oil?
How about running some engine oil cleaner thru it for awhile?

 

yeah it sat that long, maybe longer? I turned it over a while with the points out and ran oil through the motor. When i got it started it had about 4 stuck valves, 2 of the pushrods i replaced, and the others i soaked with MMO and tapped lose, this was 4 years ago, i also changed the oil. 6 months ago i replaced the brakes lines,radiator,new tran seals, and so on, and a oil change. The motor is like new under the valve covers, you can still see the yellow paint numbers on the heads, and the oil still looks new after 1000 miles. I dont hear the tick above idle. Its not real loud but it can be heard.

 

Hopefully for you others with better engine expertise than me chime in but it sounds like you may have a few collapsed lifters?

 

Just finished with a gunk 5min flush , drain, new oil&filter, same tick , but queiter. Taking the valve cover of next

 

took the valve cover off, took all the pushrods out, cleaned and blew brake clean through them , put it all back together, ran it ,oil spit out of each rocker, looked good to me, still a slight tick, its 44 years old, guess its just old????????????/

 

You should have tried to wiggle each set of rockers while both valves were closed to check for worn/loose rockers and stands. Engine off.

 

Try your next oil change with synthectic oil.
That has helped me a couple of times in the past.

 

Old my ***.
The lifter should adjust this out-unless it is stuck, or there was more wear than the lifter can compensate for.
If there was any wear while oil was not going to the rocker, there is no oil that will take up that slack. A shortening of the offending pedestal will take care of that noise, although I am not crazy about that idea for most people.
See where you have the slop, and why first.
Jim