If im using the wrong term or something please explain the right one. I’m looking for an explanation on the process. im very determined to learn it myself. have watched it done i know you loosen it up until it starts tappin right? then 1 quarter turn listen for the engine to bog down then another quarter turn 3 quarter turns in all is that it?
That’s close enough…Expect a BIG mess when doing this, unless you have a set of clips to deflect the oil…
ty i was just plannin on havin someone i can signal to turn the engine off when it gets hot. is that the right way to do it? also only the passenger side is rattling. so do i even need to open up the other side?
Adjusting the lifters may not really be what you need to do. If a lifter is rattling this could point to a faulty collapsed lifter, bad pushrod, or a cam lobe going flat.
If it were me, I’d locate the loose lifter(s) and remove the rocker arm, pushrod, and lifter itself and closely examine them.
Pushrod ball ends have been known to disentegrate and if the face of the lifter is beat up you may be looking at a camshaft problem.
A friend of mine is dead set that it is the camshaft. Removing all that I’d have to admit without a clear explanation… is definitely out of my grasp right now. I watched him adjust the lifters. I know it’s not the underlying problem… but i drive to see my girl every weekend. It ran great for about 3 weeks after he did that. If i have something wrong about the process please let me know if you don’t mind =) I need the truck to run as it is for awhile until i can afford the camshaft and timing chain since it’s already opened up.Thank you for the idea on the Pushrod ball ends i had another friend who actually is a mechanic (owns his own shop and all), he suggested buying a lifter kit? would the Pushrods be included in that? It’s 105$ at auto-zone he said.
A lifter kit would not include pushrods and I think it would be a mistake to buy anything until it was partially disassembled to see exactly what’s going on in there.
Removing the valve cover, rockers, pushrods, and lifter(s) is not that big a job. I would look for excessively loose rockers and pull those first. If the bottom of the lifter is badly beaten up then you can probably assume the cam lobes are also equally beaten.
If the lifter is badly pitted it’s junk. If the bottom of the lifter is badly dished it’s junk. The latter can be checked by laying a straightedge over the lifter face and determining if you can see daylight under the straightedge.
With a good lifter, you should not see daylight in the middle and a straightedge should actually rock a tiny bit because the lifter face should be convex. The odds of an 85 lifter being convex are probably pretty slim.