KW's 1979 Ford LTD Landau

[Tiggie]

Something's not right. No exhaust leaks, correct?

How did the new lifters fit in the bores? Could they spin freely?

Any chance you checked the lifters to see if the plunger moved freely in them?

[gadget73]

couldn't watch the vid earlier

yeah that doesn't sound right. Do all of them give you proper preload? Like 0 lash and then about 1/2 to 1 turn beyond that to hit torque when the valves are fully shut on that cylinder? I've heard enough horror stories about bad lifters and cam problems lately, stuff that just wipes out on initial run-in because it was made wrong that changing flat tappet valvetrain bits kinda scares me.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Something's not right. No exhaust leaks, correct?

How did the new lifters fit in the bores? Could they spin freely?

Any chance you checked the lifters to see if the plunger moved freely in them?

Uncertain about exhaust leaks. Sounds valvetrain like.

Lifters fit fine, all spun without issue. I did not check for plunger action prior to install.

I know all of them had oil come up through them. I cleaned all the push rod centers out. One or two definitely had some crap in them which may have restricted flow to a rocker prior.

[Tiggie]

I think I would pull the valve cover. Start it and basically see what you can see or hear. Are all of the rockers oiling, and of course can you pinpoint the noise? It kind of sounds like maybe a lifter isn't getting sufficient oil flow through it (it's blocked partially) and is taking the extra rpm to get enough volume to pump up, which might show up as an oil flow issue at the rocker arm.
I'm leaning towards a bad lifter.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Alright, I brought the car home. Ticking got no better/worse over the ~80 mile return trip. Worth noting when I got off the interstate, the 'ENGINE' light flickered on kept somewhat steady while I was waiting at a red light. Once I got to the next light about a mile down the road, it was not doing it anymore. Seems that perhaps the oil really thinned out running at interstate speed for over an hour. That was not an issue I had on the trip up with the old stuff, but I also had a different brand of oil in the engine then.

couldn't watch the vid earlier

yeah that doesn't sound right. Do all of them give you proper preload? Like 0 lash and then about 1/2 to 1 turn beyond that to hit torque when the valves are fully shut on that cylinder? I've heard enough horror stories about bad lifters and cam problems lately, stuff that just wipes out on initial run-in because it was made wrong that changing flat tappet valvetrain bits kinda scares me.

Checked them in the same way I checked the '87 back when I HO swapped that car, but obviously roller vs flat tappet here. Followed the 1/2-1 turn to hit 20 ft-lbs when torquing the rockers down. I figured if the lifter was bad, the push rod would not be turning.

I think I would pull the valve cover. Start it and basically see what you can see or hear. Are all of the rockers oiling, and of course can you pinpoint the noise? It kind of sounds like maybe a lifter isn't getting sufficient oil flow through it (it's blocked partially) and is taking the extra rpm to get enough volume to pump up, which might show up as an oil flow issue at the rocker arm.
I'm leaning towards a bad lifter.

All the smoke in the video was from having done that and running the engine with the cover off and getting oil about the place. Couldn't right figure the offending cylinder, however it kinda sounds "about in the middle" of the engine. It's probably a shit lifter, since once the engine warms a bit, it gets to clicking. All the rockers were oiling very well.

Hopefully I have not ate the cam up driving it home, but I needed to get it back down this way. Noted with another 2150 clone fitted and more reasonably adjusted with appropriate gaskets, it actually idles in gear reasonably well. It did not give signs of misfiring or skipping, and pulled decently on the interstate journey, kept around 75 MPH with the cruise on.


I guess once I'm kinda in the headspace to pop the intake back off, I'll do so. Right now, I'm just a little frustrated with the experience (probably a lot to due with the heat) and things just kinda not working as desired. Probably gonna kinda let it settle for a day or two, then I'll start looking at it again and kinda do it in smaller spurts so I don't burn out and stress excessively. Not to make this excessively personal, but this thing definitely gave me some anxiety trouble thinking if it would make the whole return trip. I was not very confident feeling on the return run. Nick was very kind to allow me to have access to some of his working space and keeping the car up there for two weekends along with providing lodging and a loaner vehicle in the interim period between last week and this week.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Haven't done much since last month. Driven the car once since I brought it back over to my new place to get keys, and back. Got to drive through a massive thunderstorm while doing that, very fun without the A/C, very stuffy inside. Drove good through it though.

I also added some LiquiMoly Lifter Additive to the oil. Surprisingly, the ticking has gone way down once the car gets warm. I distinctly noted two lifters were ticking at one point, now its just the one on the passenger side, but it's much quieter now. The oil has also gotten dark very quickly since adding it. Considering the massive chunks of sludge that was removed from the valley, I'm wondering about the oil passages just having some crud in there and slowly getting it out of the system. Guess I'll keep running it and change the oil in about another 100 miles with some HDEO with good zinc content instead and a little more additive.


Also because I have no chill:


Here's a 2700VV carburetor. Got it and the 1979 manual for $100, so I'm cool with that. Added an extra inline filter since I'm not 100% of the fuel tank condition and I'd rather not make the internal filter dirty quickly. Slapped it on, cranked the engine over and it lit off fine. Took it on a test drive and found the throttle response is much nicer. Pleasantly responsive at part throttle cruising.

I think one thing I'd like to look into is the shift schedule, sometimes at lower speed around 12-16 MPH, it kinda hunts between 1-2. It'll upshift into 2nd, you'll give a touch of throttle and it'll go back to 1st, then promptly back to 2nd. Not sure if a different vacuum modulator would improve that condition.

[gadget73]

The idea behind the VV really isn't bad. Keep the venturi size only as big as it has to be so the air speed through the carb is high and you get better mixing than a reg 2bbl carb. The bores are kind of small though so I have to wonder if its not a choke point at higher rpm.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

The idea behind the VV really isn't bad. Keep the venturi size only as big as it has to be so the air speed through the carb is high and you get better mixing than a reg 2bbl carb. The bores are kind of small though so I have to wonder if its not a choke point at higher rpm.

At WOT, I couldn't tell a difference between this and the clone 2150. Part throttle operation definitely was better, but I know I didn't have that 2150 dialed in properly, and that's mostly on me since I have my vacuum gauge on loan to a friend and I really needed that to best set the idle screws.

This unit seems to be responding fine to throttle input and vacuum changes. You can definitely see the fuel spray with high throttle opening, otherwise it's considerably more limited in normal throttle input. I'm sure folks will think I'm wonky, but after reading more about this particular unit, I think it's worth giving a whirl. The manual seems to note issues with the early 2700VV units, with most issues resolved by late 1978. This is a true 1979 model from what I can tell. There's also a lot of notation in the book regarding the 7200VV feedback units from techs in years prior. Much more of the fuel enrichment and some metering aspects were controlled via the MCU feedback controls.

[gadget73]

I wonder if there is anything to be gained with distributor re-curving.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I wonder if there is anything to be gained with distributor re-curving.

I'm sure this engine might wake up a little bit more with a slightly hotter advance. I probably should make sure the mechanical advance is working properly. I know the vacuum side is functional, but I guess I just need to throw the timing light on there again and mark the balancer beyond TDC and base timing to verify it gets past what vacuum advance provides.



It survived the trip to my new place without any fuss. It and the '87 took much of my stuff packed as tight as they could be. Moving sucks and just gets my anxiety up, but at least I have some cars I can trust to handle at least most of my stuff. No more garage to stuff a car in while the other is out, but I've got a carport that just barely fits either car. Funny for a place built in 1964, one would almost think it would have handled a full size car of the period. Guess I can always start considering storage improvements as future property improvements. Maybe a combo shed and lean-to in the backyard wouldn't be a bad idea. Anyway, ideas for another time.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I'll be fair and say I've never had a gasoline engine diesel on me, but I got this car to do it rather well the other day when I got home. Figured it was a nice enough day to take it out and drive it, but when I got back, I could hear that one lifter carrying on, the ENGINE light was starting to flicker at idle, and when I shut it down, it dieseled for several seconds. Popped the hood, and it was ungodly hot.

Fired it up for a second to hit it with the IR gun:


Wee toasty, and apparently that's below the threshold for triggering that silly ENGINE light, not that I trust it much anyway. Cooling system has clean looking coolant, but that's not to say there's not scale build up or some blocked tubes in the radiator. Got some ThermoCure on order and fresh coolant, gonna do some flushing when time permits. I'll also take the time to wire up my temperature gauge, since it's obvious that's needed so I don't cook this thing.

[Tiggie]

IIRC the temp light comes on at 250. Too late IMO. I've seen at least one you can adjust by screwing the post in.
I got my 82 pretty hot once. Combo of warm temps, A/C on, stop and go traffic, a dead fan clutch, and an idle that was too low with the A/C on.

[DerekTheGreat]

Lotsa carbon in the combustion chambers and/or stupidly hot exhaust valves and/or too hot a spark plug. You could try spraying water into the venturis as you hold the rpm around 2,000. Not sure how much is needed, I typically spray about a liter through. If it diesels again, just drop it in gear.

[gadget73]

I always referred to that as the "replace engine" light. By the time it comes on, you're SOL.

Too hot and/or too high an idle are usually the reasons for it. If that radiator is old, maybe yank it, flush it, lay it flat and fill with vinegar or mix up some citric acid powder and water to let it dissolve any scale out of it.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I always referred to that as the "replace engine" light. By the time it comes on, you're SOL.

Too hot and/or too high an idle are usually the reasons for it. If that radiator is old, maybe yank it, flush it, lay it flat and fill with vinegar or mix up some citric acid powder and water to let it dissolve any scale out of it.

I've set the idle according to the decal, but I had my suspicions since it hasn't done that before.

As far as I know, the radiator is original. I'm going to try getting it cleaned out, and if it that doesn't work out, I'll bite the bullet and get one of those fancy aluminum deals.