Will new lifters make it quiet?

[jzjames]

My trucks got an Inline 6. Good gas mileage for one of these trucks, good torque with the 3.70 differential.

This question is for those of you who have alot of engine knowledge, which I do not; What can I expect if I buy a set of hydraulic lifters and change out all my lifters with new ones? Will it sound quiet like a normal engine? The rest of the engine seems to be pretty good, with no oil burning, and although Ive never done a compression test, since Ive owned it, it seems to have alright compression. When i did open the valve cover I saw a few pieces of brown plastic (valve seals?). I cleaned it out carefully and put it back together with a new VC gasket.
I have a vision of replacing those lifters and having a much quieter engine. Thanks.

[Dragon]

If the cam is not worn excessively then I would pop the lifters right in and the sewing machine would become a Ford truck.

[bb429power]

X2, and yes those were valve seals that you pulled out. Before you do anything though, you should put Seafoam in it to clean the engine up. That by itself might just do the trick who knows. Do that first before you replace the lifters, it couldn't hurt to get it cleaned up before you replace the lifters. That is, if you do replace them.

[fomocoguy]

This may seem like a silly question, but have you tried adjusting the valve lash? The lifters may just be a little loose and need to be torqued down a bit.

[Dragon]

Run Rotella 15-40 and it will clean the engine up and maybe quiet the engine. Still on an I6 replacing the lifters are so easy to do.

[jzjames]

Thank you. Yes I did run a qt. of mystery oil a couple times in the first years that I owned it. It was in a sorry neglected state when I got it, but I did my best to shore it up. The mystery oil made a big difference in quieting things down, but they're still noisy. Could they just be too gummed up.

I did go through it and adjusted the lash on them and rechecked it. It is on.
I think I may go for some new lifters this summer since I dont think I need to rebuild or replace this engine yet. It would be great to get it quieted down.

[Dragon]

Just replace the lifters. Sea Foam is a real thin solvent and it might free up a lifter sitting in it but diluted in the oil you would have to dump a lot in to get that much gunk cleaned and then your oil would be too thin. Mystery Oil and Lucas are just thickeners just like STP.

[NM5K]

May not need new lifters.. Could also be slightly bent pushrods, or due to wear
the valves are a bit out of adjustment. What can be a problem is most of those
engines use "non adjustable" rockers and nuts. IE: instead of being tightened
down to zero lash, they are designed to be tightened all the way down to the stops.
With all specs normal the valves will be adjusted properly.
With normal adjustable rockers, you would just readjust to get zero lash, and
the nuts would hold, and end of story. But with most of those non adjustable types,
if you try to adjust them, and it ends up not being fully down to the stop, it will
run good at idle, but likely come loose 1/2 mile down the road.
What I did was use a second inverted nut as a "lock nut" and I was able to
adjust it and not have to be down to the stop.
Anyway, It probably needs more an adjustment, than actual new lifters.
And usually if you have sticking lifters from sitting up, they will usually free
up with some driving, and something in the oil to help free the varnish.
Like marvel mystery oil, rislone, etc..
In minor cases, just driving with clean oil will usually free em up.
But generally a rocker that clacks all the time, and does not vary is
out of adjustment. Which like I say can include the pushrod, and even the rocker
itself if it's galled, or the oil hole is plugged, etc..

[MadMaxetc]

I6s are always niosy. I rebuilt mine completely and it ticked from day one.

I still can't figure out why, but it does.

[Dragon]

I6s are not always noisy. Not a single one I ever worked on was noisy after I got done with it. Main causes of I6 noise, low oil pressure, misadjusted rocker arms and pinging . You have something wrong with yours.

[jzjames]

Hmmm, thats what averagef250 said. Some were noisey, others you couldnt tell they were running standing next to them.
low oil pressure, misadjusted rocker arms and pinging are all possibilities.

For the lash on them I turned the lash down to contact, and then like another 1/2 turm if I recall.
As for pinging, sometimes I think I cant tell the difference in the sound of pinging, and tappets!!!
Who knows about the low oil pressure, but it sure as hell could be a possibility! I appreciate your comment.

[NM5K]

1/2 a turn down from zero is generally fine. I think I have mine a 1/4 down, but I wanted to
make sure I didn't burn exhaust valves. But if I remember right, it's SOP for those to be
turn a full turn down from zero if you go by the Ford manual. So 1/2 should be fine.
Mine does not clack at all. You will hear knock only acceleration in general.
Ticking at any rpm are the valves being out of adjustment if it['s coming from
the valve cover area.
It's most definitely not normal to have valve/rocker ticking on any I6.

[Dragon]

At Ford our biggest hassle was the YF carb what a POS. Ticking was rare and I found one with nylon covered cam gear with no nylon on it. That was noisy Whirrrrrrr. Service replacement was without nylon. As long as the oil is changed the I6 is pretty solid.

[wildcard]

Since this a tapping thread, I have to ask a question. I have a tapping after warmup and I was told it could be a pushrod or lifter. It sounds to me like it is loudest near bottom. My question is, if it's a pushrod, would it tap at the top, bottom or both ?

[Dragon]

Bottom mostly the solid block carries the sound better. Tappets change with rpm, rods change with load.