Valve knock

[rthmpoet]

Started up my 68 today and noticed a major knocking coming from passenger side valve area. Question, when I remove the valve cover to tighten the loose valve(I hope thats what's causing the sound!) do I need it replace the gasket? Any advice or insight would help. Thanks fellas

[austin]

i dont know what you mean buy tightining the valve you must mean the rocker arm. just put your valve cover back on and make sure that fixed the noise and if everything checks out but it leaks oil go buy a valve cover gasket set and replace both the gaskets

[rthmpoet]

Rocker arm... I was half asleep when I posted!

[fordman]

it depends if it tears when coming off. and if it is good enough to reuse.

[R.Smith]

What engine? I didn't know you could adjust a rocker arm when hydraulic lifters are involved.

I had a similar knocking in my 390 when I bought it. The owner said it had just started doing that after sitting for a year and was likely a bent push rod. Made sense to me so I drove it home (100 miles)thinking it wouldn't do too much damage.

Turned out that the exhaust lifter on the no 1 cylinder had become stuck while sitting and nicked the cam so by the time I got home the cam had ground a hole in the bottom of the lifter. The grindings had been sucked into the oil pump and ruined that as well. I don't know what damage was done to the rest of the engine. I'm too broke to rebuild it and scared to look anyway.

So..the moral of the story is, don't drive it 100 miles until you're sure it's nothing serious!

[71fordkid]

Valve cover gasket? yes, unless it is a re-usable type. I have the black rubber gaskets on mine, and after 4 or 5 times or R&R, they leak.

[SteveC]

depends on the motor 353-360-390 etc the only way to adjust those is push rod length but i believe on a inline 6 they are adjustable

[R.Smith]

After reading and posting on this thread I started thinking about my own lifter problem...and thinking and thinking. I starting hearing the tick tick tick coming from under the valve cover. The idea of tiny metal crunchies flowing thru my engine began to gnaw at my brain like something out of an Edgar Allen Poe story...

I could hear the lifter tapping, tapping, gently rapping at the combustion chamber door...

So yesterday I pulled the top of the engine apart to get at the tell tale lifter. It was fine. I put in a new one anyway. Now I have a hernia from laying on the radiator support for 3 hours.

[englertstephen]

what engine?