Steve;
It may not be the lifters; another good possibility is that the valves are
sticking in the guides. To check this out, you'll need to pull the rocker
shafts, then take the keepers off the valve stem to see how easily they
slide in the guides. It is very common for engines that are left undriven,
or driven on short trips only, for a sort of varnish to build up on the
valve stems, making the valves seize up when the engine gets hot. The cure
for this is to clean the stems and guides, but if you don't want to remove
the heads, try soaking the valve stems with carburetor spray cleaner, then
working the valves up and down a few times until the stems seem to be clean
and slide easily in the guides.
If this doesn't seem likely to you, you can try running a detergent booster
additive to your oil for a while to see if you can free up whatever is
sticking in the lifters to make them pump up too high. The problem with
bent pushrods is that this is a symptom which also tells you the valves have
been driven into the piston tops, if the cause was pumped up lifters. At
least in the case of the sticky guides, there is probably no damage to the
valves or pistons - so hope for that!
Good Luck - I think you are going to need it
Dick Benjamin
----- Original Message -----
From: <ImpSvcs@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 7:56 AM
Subject: IML: '68 440 woes
> Hi All,
> Just dropped in to see what was going on and saw the thread about
'68's.
> My '68 seems to have developed an appetite for pushrods... I straightened,
> then replaced a few, then started replacing lifters one-at-a time where
pushrods
> kept getting bent, thinking the lifters may be sticking. This is a 44,000
> mile car that sat in a barn from 1979 until almost 2000 when it came to
live
> here.
>
> Has anyone else been through this with a 440 that's sat a long time?
I
> should probably just replace all the lifters, by the sound of it, but
wonder if
> anyone else has some input?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Charette
> '63 Custom
> '68 Crown
> '81 Coupe
>
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network