slight clicking/tapping noise after a head rebuild

[SANdMAN_the]

i recently put back the head on my 69 midget and fired her up...and i have a strange tapping/clicking noise which appears to be coming from under the valve cover. i did set the clearence to .012 when the engine was cold.

i spoke to my friend and he said that with a "big" clearence like .012, i can expect to hear some clicking.

is this just another quirk on owning a midget?

thanks,
john

 

[jcatnite]

Don't know what the valve clearance spec for your engine is but that can very well be the source of the noise. I have a 76 with a 1500 in it and the spec is .010 cold. I set them to that spec a little while ago and the valves are a great deal noisier now. The PO had them set to anywhere from .006 to .014 cold. It has to do with the solid lifters that are in these engines. I would let them "run in" a bit and then check them to see if the clearances have shifted at all.
JC

 

[aeronca65t]

Always safer to have slightly loose (and noisey) valves. If they are too tight, they may burn. If they are a bit loose (by a few thousands of an inch) no harm will be done. 0.012" is correct for the 1275 cc enigne.
When you adjust valves in all Brit inline pushrod fours, use the "Adds to Nine" method.
When valve #1 is fully down, adjust #8.
When valve #2 is down, adjust #7...and so forth.
To get valve in position, it's easier to put the car in fourth gear with handbrake off and push it until the valve is where you want it.

 

[dklawson]

When you put the head back together, did you check the condition of the rocker arm pads? Regardless of whether you have the forged steel, stamped steel, or sintered arms, if the pads are worn (flat spots or ridges) they can add to the ever present ticking of the valve train.

 

[SANdMAN_the]

thanks for the advice everyone! i'll double check the valve clearences tonight, but it's sounding more like it's just a normal sound for this car

john