I was adjusting the valves again today on the Tbird 312. I have a some clacking type racket coming from the area of the timing cover/fuel pump. I was thinking it may be a water pump so I removed the belts. Same noise. Seems to be getting worse. The fuel pump is sending fuel to the carb, no problem there. I put my stethoscope on it and can hear the noise where the pump goes into the timing cover and I can also hear air pumping out from the bottom of the vacuum pump part of it. I can't imagine what else it could be. I finished putting the engine together last week and it runs good. The fuel pump eccentric went on as per the manual. Any advice? Carter or Airtex pump best?

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

the spring might have broke in your pump.they will knock like crazy.just pull it of and look.

I pulled the fuel pump and the spring is good. No sign of any distortion or damage to the arm, etc. When I used a mirror to look inside the timing cover, it looks normal although kind of dry. When I poked around with a long thin screwdriver I found the oil slinger is kind of loose on the crankshaft. Makes a tiny kind of sound when I tap it with the screwdriver. What secures the slinger on the shaft. My manual just shows it being slid on to the shaft behind the timing cover seal. Is the crank dampener snout push up against it to hold it in place? The crank key doesn't engage it at the lower timing gear.

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

You are correct about the damper holding the slinger in place.  If it is loose, that also means the timing gear is free to move back and forth on the crank.  You need to tighten the damper retaining bolt.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Thanks John,



It was getting late last night so this morning I took another look. I was able to get my finger on the slinger and it is tight. I tried pushing the crank sprocket back away from the slinger and it won't move. In an earlier post I described following the shop manual torque spec for the crank pulley bolt. I got to 115-120 before I stopped and checked in here. The spec in the manual is 135 to 140. At that point I backed off the bolt and re-torqued it to 95. The damper timing marks and the pointer are lining up correctly. The timing chain is dry without or very little lube on it. I used Moly lube on assembly for it but it doesn't show any crankcase lube. I haven't done the oil modification for the timing chain. Is this possibly timing chain noise at idle caused by a lack of oiling? Is the timing chain dependent on oil sloshing in the pan?

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

I just finished reading all the archived stuff about pressurized rocker shafts. It looks like the difference in oiling to the timing chain is related to my now pressurized shafts. I guess a dry timing chain can make some disconcerting noise at idle. It looks like the timing cover comes off and Tim's oil modification needs to be done. Before I do that, the other issue is valve adjustment. I did the 2000RPM break-in without problems using Gibbs break-in oil and CompCams break-in additive. Seems like if the cam was going to take a dump, it would be during that. I originally set the lash at 19 cold. Then after driving a few miles reset them at 18 cold replacing 2 adjusters with new friction style. Ran several more miles yesterday and still had rocker noise. Rechecked a found a some tightening and replaced three more adjusters with new friction pieces. Reset the warm engine lash at a tight 18 again using Mummerts spec that came with the new aluminum heads and 270 cam. I am wondering if the cam is slowly eating itself. So the fuel pump goes on and another long road test and recheck of the lash. Oil on the dipstick is clear. If I cut open the FL1A that has been on since the break-in, will I be able to see metal if it is present? Thanks to all for the help.

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

Why not just unpressurize your rockers?  Of course, I've gone on record as not approving pressurized rockers, so I'm prejudiced.  Also, performance cams sometimes increase valve noise because the acceleration ramps on the lobes are more aggressive.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

John,



I could remove the set screws that block the oil passage from the rocker shafts that are part of the Mummert aluminum head kit and modify the original drain tubes to fit. I assume that would speed up the oil flow and fill the valley area allowing more oil to spill out on the upper timing chain area. Is that what you are thinking?



Damn sure worth a try over taking off the front of the engine. I didn't realize that pressurized/non-pressurized rocker shafts each have their proponents.


57 Black Tbird 312/auto

Mark:

Actually, the overflow tubes won't flood the valley area.  In the front is a cast trough that the tube oil flows into, and it is directed through a hole in the front wall of the block where it can dribble down the front to help oil the chain, pump eccentric, etc.  The rear one drains in the direction of the distributor gear.  I know John favors pressurized rockers, and if he feels that is the best thing when using his heads, by all means do so.  I have not used any of his heads.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

John,



It is an easy thing to do and just as easy to reverse in a few minutes. Matter removing two set screws and attaching the drain tubes. No big deal. I like the idea of getting oil into the channel in the valley to the holes to the timing chain now. Once I decide to plug them again, I can remove the timing cover, gears, etc. and make the oil modification that Tim recommends. I should have done it when I assembled the engine. Thanks for your help.

57 Black Tbird 312/auto