I replaced the head gaskets on my engine a few months ago and I've been fighting what I thought was a noisy valvetrain ever since. At the time, I had my AFR 165s resurfaced, installed new valve springs and seals from Ed Curtis, then reused the same Crane Cobra 1.7 pedestal roller rockers I had before and capped it off with new (to me) Ford racing black finned valve covers.
At first I thought I had adjusted/shimmed the rockers incorrectly. When I first put the motor back together, I used the same stock pushrods I was using before, and didn't account for the fact that the heads were slightly machined. So I checked the rocker sweep on the end of the valve stems and determined I needed longer push rods. Threw them in, adjusted them, no change. I've re-adjusted them several times with no improvement. I had read multiple times that the Crane Cobra rockers were noisy by nature, so I bought some new brand Scorpion 1.7s. Dialed everything in correctly and I still have the noise. I am at my wit's end!
The engine is fine when cold, but gets progressively louder as the engine warms up. It's not a knocking noise, but in my opinion not quite a "ticking." To me it sounds loudest on the upper driver's side of the engine, but you can hear it from underneath. Oil pressure according to my Autometer mechanical gauge is fine, the car runs great, and other than the noise, I can't find anything wrong.
Here are some videos of the noise. First is one above and under the engine:
LTD ticking - YouTube
Second is up close to the driver's side valve cover:
LTD ticking 2 - YouTube
Any ideas?
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