compression readings from #1 and 2 and 5-8-were 200-202-200-195-200-197. did not check 3 and 4 as they are kind of a pain to get to and my starter sounds as if it is going out. it is usually not a problem as i only have to bump it to start the truck, but it was having trouble with the 5 or so cranks req for test and after seeing other readings i kinda assumed....

i  also recalled the guy that had the motor said " it tested pretty even at around 195"  seemed high at the time so i did nt really trust his test but when i got about the same thing... maybe so

anyway i was trying to detemine if i should rebuild heads( i have an extra set and kinda assumed the ones on engine would not have hardened seats and condition probably questionable) i have a slight knock on upper end of driverside. you can feel it on the valve cover but not on head or block. Passenger side sounds fine. rocker assembly looks ok and after i adjusted  valves, the knock went away.... til i revved it..... then came right back.

 i was checking compression to see if it would tell me if lower end of motor was in good enough condition to go to expense of head rebuild ( if thats possible)  and i was curious anyway to what they may read.

any body have any input or suggestions for other tests? do those compression readings seem normal? high? good?

thank you for any feedback 

Those numbers look good to me, my shop manual tells that you would be fine even with 130 lbs.

More important yet is that the pressure is even, with small variations from one cylinder to the other.



On the noise, it can be one of the adjusting nuts on the rockers. If one is "too loose" it can loose its seting shortly after the lash had being adjusted. Had this problem once.

Those nuts are supposed to have a "interference" tread, and if one is easy spining, that can be your trouble.

Túlio Lazzaroni "FORD", Florianópolis SC Brasil.

'74 Ford Galaxie 500 292 V8

'82 Ford Galaxie Landau 302 V8

'98 Chevrolet S10 4.3 V6

'01 Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec

thanks for the speedy reply. Ill look at that this morning

Uni: You didn't say what heads & so on you have. Those readings are fairly high but even. Tulio's remarks will only apply to rockers that are of the "interference fit" type. Earlier rockers have lock nuts. Re the noise, you could very likely have a rocker that has a worn spot, so you get a somewhat false reading when setting the valves. If you can determine which one is noisy, try setting it slightly tighter than the normal setting. Also is your top end oiling normal?

Paul

You asked "i was checking compression to see if it would tell me if lower end of motor was in good enough condition to go to expense of head rebuild ( if thats possible)  and i was curious anyway to what they may read."

There is no real connection between the condition of the rings/valves and what kind of shape the bearings or wrist pins are in so what kind of oil pressure you read is a much better tell.

With that much compression you either have fairly high compression ratio or lots of carbon on the piston tops or a very mild cam or a combo of all three. Pete

My 292with no more than 10 k miles has a 190 reading +-5 on all 8 cylinders. The heads are the the factory originals with small valves, and a Isky e-4 cam.

We here only have one kind of head, and is comon to find numbers from 140 to 190 on most engines I worked on.

Túlio Lazzaroni "FORD", Florianópolis SC Brasil.

'74 Ford Galaxie 500 292 V8

'82 Ford Galaxie Landau 302 V8

'98 Chevrolet S10 4.3 V6

'01 Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec

Thanks guys. I cant remember where to look to find casting numbers on heads but original motor had CITE heads and i seem to recall the ones on this motor were the same. not sure what normal oiling is but there seams to be a steady stream of oil dripping down all pushrods and a steady drip to each valve spring base. no lock nuts on valve adjustment and all adjustments firm to adjust. found three that were noisey and snugged them up abit( 1/8 - 1/4 turn) till they sounded like the rest. (with the help of a home made stethescope, ok plastic tube)    again sounded nice and quiet till i drove around block then noisey again but i think its better. when you say worn rocker do you mean where it contacts valve? can that be filed/machined flat and reinstalled?

no idea about what cam is in it. other than pulling head is there a way to check for cabon build up? is it something i should be conscerned about?

a little more background, This motor was an ebay $500 find that i put in my 63 250 unibody daily driver about 14 mo.s ago. came from a guy that sold mostly big equipment engines and my mechanic thinks it came out of a big truck becuse it has a triple pulley on the crank an a double on the water pump. thanks guys

Yes, looks like it can be a worn rocker.

A worn rocker will have a depression where it touches the valve, and the tool can't get inside the depression, so you end edjusting the valve "wrong". Mine were this way before I rebuilt the engine, and I swaped them by a remanufactured set that had being regrouded. It's possible to regound the contact surfaces, and while you are there, you can also check the rocker for excessive play on the shaft.

Another detail I just remembered, is that I do the valve adjusts after the engine is hot. had always good results this way.

Túlio Lazzaroni "FORD", Florianópolis SC Brasil.

'74 Ford Galaxie 500 292 V8

'82 Ford Galaxie Landau 302 V8

'98 Chevrolet S10 4.3 V6

'01 Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec

what is "excessive play" rocker to shaft? if i pull rocker assembly am i more likely to see the rocker worn or shaft?

my mechanic (Chevy guy, mostly alignment and frame but dropped motor in and doing other stucyural work for me) said it might be a grooved cam but is it more likely to be in the rocker assembly?