Any ideas on this one? 250, all lifters tapping - 08/14/08 08:06 PM
I took my other stock 1975 250 into the shop the other day. Here's the scoop on it. It was running perfect, then ALL the rockers started tapping like crazy all of a sudden when I was driving home one day. All of them, not one or a couple. I pulled off the road, tried to adjust the timing and then the rockers in the parking lot, but nothing doing. I drove it home and it ran perfect, no missing, perfect idle at stop lights, good power, good oil pressure, good temp, everything was perfect except it was tapping like the oil pump was gone or I ran it out of oil or something. Yes, it had oil and a fresh filter too. Again, it ran perfect still and all the guages were normal. I came across a deal on a new engine from a friend so I didn't mess with it, and I a yanked it and it has been sitting ever since.
Fast forward a year and now I am toying with it and I took it to my engine rebuilder who says that a commin problem is that the cam gear gets messed up and the cam slides out of position a little and the lifters dont seat directly on the cam lobes. Usually all that is needed is a new cam and gear set. BUT he called me today saying the cam looks perfect. He cannot find anything wrong with it. he said there are no metal flakes but he did find TWO gear teeth that look like they are from the distributor in the oil pan. Who knows when they could have gotten there. the engine still ran good and when I got a new engine I pulled the distributor out and out it in the new engine, so it simply cannot be the distributor as he is thinking it is.
So taking what has said, and also ignoring what he has said, any ideas? The oil filter was a FRAM could it have collapsed and still read good oil pressure? That is the oly thing I can think of.
Fast forward a year and now I am toying with it and I took it to my engine rebuilder who says that a commin problem is that the cam gear gets messed up and the cam slides out of position a little and the lifters dont seat directly on the cam lobes. Usually all that is needed is a new cam and gear set. BUT he called me today saying the cam looks perfect. He cannot find anything wrong with it. he said there are no metal flakes but he did find TWO gear teeth that look like they are from the distributor in the oil pan. Who knows when they could have gotten there. the engine still ran good and when I got a new engine I pulled the distributor out and out it in the new engine, so it simply cannot be the distributor as he is thinking it is.
So taking what has said, and also ignoring what he has said, any ideas? The oil filter was a FRAM could it have collapsed and still read good oil pressure? That is the oly thing I can think of.