Need to know a few things. Have the heads been worked on recently or is this a problem that just started on something that has been running fine until now? Second, what cam are you running? Any other mods done to the engine?

 

Acually this It just started a week or so ago after I had a race. I had a clacking noise, I drove home then everytime I start her up after that day it clacks and idles rough for about a minute or so then it smooths out and the noise stops. The heads in my sig were put on the car a week or 2 before this started to happen and Im running the stock cam, and all other mods are in the sig (Its my stan gIm talking about just incase you didnt know)

 

The easiest way to check for a bum lifter is to pull the valve covers and see which ones collapse by hand. You'll want to try this right after running the car, and again in an hour or so.

This could very well be a bad lifter or two. If it is, you need to ask yourself why it went bad, or you may be finding out the hard way= and soon.

 

It sounds more like an oil pressure problem. If it were a lifter, the noise would get worse as you revved it up. These are hydralic lifters, so if they're not getting enough oil they will bleed down and make noise. Try doing an oil change an put some thicker oil in. nosfed had the correct way to check the lifter, but if the lifter has got no oil in it its going to bleed down real easy. Check your oil pressure also.

Trevor

 

It sounds more like an oil pressure problem. If it were a lifter, the noise would get worse as you revved it up. These are hydralic lifters, so if they're not getting enough oil they will bleed down and make noise. Try doing an oil change an put some thicker oil in. nosfed had the correct way to check the lifter, but if the lifter has got no oil in it its going to bleed down real easy. Check your oil pressure also.

Trevor

HUH? My experience is just the opposite. When I've had a weak lifter, it always got QUIETER after being run. I had assumed he'd noticed if the oil pressure gauge was dropping... but you know what they say about assuming Also, bad oil pressure shouldn't make the car run rough when it's first fired.

I would be concerned about spring pressure, oil pressure, coil bind, low oil level....

Good suggestion on the oil change. I'd start with that, and MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HAVE A FRAM FILTER. I had a brand new race motor come --this close to blowing because of a Fram filter that was keeping oil pressure at 15psi. As a last resort I changed to a shelf AC part, and pressure jumped to 40

 

Just a shot in the dark, but I wonder about the spring situation. I've seen motors do the same thing with coil bind, or excessive spring pressure. I'd want to check installed spring pressure immediately.

Sounds like something funny is going on with your valve train, causing the lifters to fail. My guess is replacing the lifters will only get you on the road for another couple weeks.

 

Im using a motorcraft filter, and Oil pressure is good, oil pump is a year old w/ about 4k-5k miles, Now when you say take the valve cover off and collapse the lifter, do you mean press down on the rocker arm and if the lifter goes down the lifter is bad? Also I doubt if its my springs because I can recall the same thing happening when I had my stock heads on, but It just did it for a couple of seconds.. not for a whole minute!

Also how can springs clack?? The way I see it is springs cant clack because they are just being compressed by the rocker arms. BUT a lifter actually is beine push by metal parts, which can cuase a clack.... and rocker arms/pushrods can cuase the same clack... Im just using common sense hear, I guess I could be wrong but I dnt see how. (Sorry If I sounded like an ass)

 

if the springs are either broken or don;t have enough pressure, it will cause the rocker armto make noise, because there will be play in it during the travel. For the lifter just take your valve covers off and ( I would recommend your rocker arms) if the the lifter goes down at all it's bad. Y ou should not be able to move it. Good luck

 

OK when I take the valve cover off, press down on the rocker arm and if it goes down the lifter is bad.... AM I understanding this correctly?

 

First things first, you need to identify which cylinder has the bad lifter. Find the one with the bad miss. That will narrow down your search quite a bit. Then pull off the valve cover and check the lifter via the pushrods like many others have told you. You do have a bad lifter, you just need to find out which one. (or two) probably one. Keep in mind, parts fail, it is the nature of the beast.

 

No one answered my question... Do I just take the valve cover and press down on the pushrod (or rocker arm) and if it goes down while Im appling force, that lifter is baD?

 

UPDATE: I took my valve covers off and the lifters are good... I cant compress them by pushing down on the pushrods. and I turned the motor over with a remote starter while the covers where off and all the valves moved up and down like normal. What else can cuase this noise.... To describe it better it sounds like a bunck of rocks in a can, and when I rev the engine the noise goes away, WTF, this is drivng me crazy!

 

Make sure all of your rocker arms are down tight. If your really serious about figuring where it's coming from, I suggest that you take off both valve covers, run the engine and figure exactly where the noise is coming from, and possibly figure out why. Be advised, you will get your engine bay oily. Don't worry though it's not going to shoot out in streams, just splatter a bit.

Trevor

 

On my last 93 Cobra I had a lifter go bad and I noted some similarities and some differences in your original post. To find out which one it was I took of the valve cover and ran the engine, then used a engine stesthoscope ($10 @ Autozone) on each lifter to find the noise. When i took the intake off i found that the lifter guide had broken and the lifter had turned 90 degrees in the bore. The cam had worn a flat spot in the lifter. My noise was consistent though and changed with rpm (read faster & louder). Hope this helps!

 

I find that many people do not bother to closely check and set hydraulic lifter preload and rocker geometry. You changed heads so this should have been done. Preload is adjusted using shims with pedestal mount rockers, and it is adjusted by turning the rocker arm nuts on stud equipped heads.

Geometry is adjusted via push rod length. (i.e) you want the roller tip on the rocker to wear in the middle of the valve stem top.

I would check the preload on the suspect lifter. If the preload is not enough you will have a noisy lifter.

 

Question I have a tapping noise that all started with the infamous camshaft position sensor codes that seems to be everyone’s problems , was told sounds like a phaser or lifter, hear sound at 2,000-2,500 rpms then it goes away and comes back so on so on , anything to offer fellas ????

 

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