The General
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2012
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Cincinnati, OH
- My Car
- 72 Mach I (Wrecked & Sold)
72 Q Convertible (The General)
The 72 Q code vert (351C) has been sitting for a few weeks when I finally decided to adjust the thermal choke for easier starts. I fired it up and heard a loud tick. I have heard this before but not this bad. By the time I got the stethoscope out it quieted down some. It seemed like the sound was coming from the driver side. I shut it down because the tranny shifter seal was leaking on the exhaust causing smoke. So I started reading some of the posts about possible causes. Right or probably wrong I decided to start pulling parts. I believe the car to be mostly original with 84k miles and seems to run well.
I pulled the autolite af42 plugs found them to have some carbon deposits with a gap of .030-.035". I pulled the rocker covers and the intake manifold. I did not find anything unusual. Most of the rods spin freely without any play. The rocker arms will move side to side. Sorry to be long winded... The questions.
I use the car as a driver and wish to keep it original/stock. I assume I need to replace all the lifters, what about the rods and rocker arms? What brand is recommended and from where? I realize I need to mark the location of the old parts coming out so if I reuse them I put them back in the same spot. How do I confirm the piston is at Tdc on the compression stroke?
There are plenty of burnt oil deposits. Any recommendation if I can clean anything or do I just leave it alone? Any advice would be great. Thanks
I pulled the autolite af42 plugs found them to have some carbon deposits with a gap of .030-.035". I pulled the rocker covers and the intake manifold. I did not find anything unusual. Most of the rods spin freely without any play. The rocker arms will move side to side. Sorry to be long winded... The questions.
I use the car as a driver and wish to keep it original/stock. I assume I need to replace all the lifters, what about the rods and rocker arms? What brand is recommended and from where? I realize I need to mark the location of the old parts coming out so if I reuse them I put them back in the same spot. How do I confirm the piston is at Tdc on the compression stroke?
There are plenty of burnt oil deposits. Any recommendation if I can clean anything or do I just leave it alone? Any advice would be great. Thanks