Sticky lifters - missing

[ski4evr]

I recently put in a Petronix II and Flamethrower II coil. I replaced the plugs and gapped them to .045. The originals (with the points/condenser) were @ .030. It seems to run smoother. I was able to get the idle with the c4 in drive down to 600. That's a first. I have not had the chance to test drive it yet. I'll test drive it with the port and then the manifold to see which is better.

There is still a miss though. I'm trying to hunt it down.

When I first started it up, one of the front lifters was tapping pretty consistently. After about 5 minutes, it stopped. The lifters were replaced about 10,000 miles ago (~ 8 years ago - I don't drive it much - had it in storage for awhile). Does that oil detergent work to solve sticky hydraulic lifters? (substitute in one quart of the detergent oil, run the engine for five minutes and change the oil again).

I played with the gap between the rotor magnet and the petronix mag pickup - tried to get it as far as I could - I had to file down the aluminum base of the petronix mag pickup to swing it far enough away from the rotor magnet to get the .030 spacing required. The aluminum base was hitting the vac advance arm.

I'll post this as another topic - keep it on track.

Ski

 

[ski4evr]

Forgot to add - when I go to adjust the idle mix, the engine will start to stumble when I turn the screw clockwise (inward). The problem is when I turn it the opposite way, counter clockwise (out), there is no change. I can back the screw all the way out and there is no change. I thought at some point with this carb I could make the rpms drop off in both directions - giving me a "middle" point to go back to. I have an Autolite 1100. What gives?

Ski

 

[wsa111]

ski, the problem is the pertronix II. go to www.pertronix.com for their technical assistance. i bypassed the resisitor for a full 12 volts to the coil. still did not fix the low speed miss at idle & stalling. scrap the pertronix II & replace it with the pertronix I. after i did this i have had no problems since. yes i also had to grind the base plate of the pertronix pick-up to get the proper air gap to the magnetic trigger.
pertronix should pull this #II off the market. as far as i,m concerned it is a $100.00 electronic piece of junk. see my previous posts on this topic.
yes you should not get the lifter noise, but i bet the problem is with the pertronix II. later william

 

[ski4evr]

I've actually had the miss for awhile - even with the point/condenser setup. I'm hoping that the oil detergent stuff will work/help. I also hope that I'm not having issues with the Petronix II like WSA111.

Anyone used the detergent stuff before? Any bad experiences?

Also - what about being able to fully back out the idle mix screw without any noticeable change? I found some web sites talking about setting the idle mix screw anywhere from 1/2 to 1 1/2 turns away from where it stumbles from inward - but nothing on outward. (i.e. turn the idle mix screw CW until it stumbles/rpm drops and then back out 1/2 to 1 1/2 turns). I found some discussions on rejetting the carb if the idle mix screw was set too far away from or too close to fully in - seated. Has anyone had to do this with an Autolite 1100?

Ski

 

[mugsy]

Ski,

I had to grind the Pertronix pickup base to get the right gap in my '65 dizzy. So nothing surprising there.

As for you carb, I'd use a vac gauge to set the idle mixture. Go for the highest reading. You will probably find that the vac readings are more of a range; I set mine on the rich end to help with transition to the main metering circuit. It is very tough to set the idle mixture by ear/feel. OBTW the FoMoCo Shop manual sez to set the idle mixture by RPM. I found that highest vac was a little leaner than by RPM.

Have fun,
Mugsy

 

[ski4evr]

I had a vacuum gage connected to the manifold when I was trying to tune the carb (set the idle mix screw). The vacuum was bouncing between 15 and 16" (wiggling pretty quick). Adjusting the idle mix screw gave no noticeable change to the vacuum reading, but I did see rpm drop when the engine started running rough (when I went too lean).

Ski

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy Ski and all:

If you are tuning the low speed air screw with a vacuum guage, turn the screw in until the engine begins to run rough. Make sure the engine is warmed up and the choke is off. start to back out the screw, richening the idle mixture, watching the vacuum guage needle. When the needle stops going up, stop. Now turn the needle in until the needle starts to fall again. Between those two spots is the engines best lean idle.

Now drive the car to assess the transition from idle to cruise speeds. Make sure the accelerator pump is working as it should. If the transition is smooth, great. If the transition is "chuggy" try another 1/2 turn out on the low speed air screw. That will richen the idle and help to cover on the transition.

The low speed air screw only has about a turn and 1/2 of effective range. Too tight and you will get no idle, to far out and it cannot continue to richen anymore. The size of the idle channel is now the limiting factor.

I've used a variety of porducts to try to free up a sticking lifter. Motor Medic seems to come to my old mind. Look for a product that clains to quiet sticky lifters and follow the directions.

Adios, David

 

[Anonymous]

Another thing: if you replaced the lifters, this means you had the head off. If you used the Fel-Pro head gasket on reassembly, you added almost .030" of effective "distance" between the lifter and the rocker (unless you also milled the head). If you used the Victor head gasket, you added about .025" of extra "distance". This can result in loose lifters, which will occasionally click, especially when cold.

If this is your situation, try installing a couple of .060" overlength pushrods (NAPA has them) in the offending holes. The lifters can accomodate +/-.040" either direction, so you have some room to maneuver.

When engines sit a lot (like my hobby Ford and my camper), the lifters loose their ability to hold oil and it takes some mileage to make the moving plates seal well enough to hold oil tightly again. The 2 schools of thought about this are: 1.) clean the passages to the lifters and/or replace the lifters and 2.) use thicker oil. For instance, if you use 10w30, try 10w40. If you already use 10w40, try 15w40. If the engine has been using Pennsylvania oils (Pennzoil/Quaker State, et al), then there will be wax buildup in the small passages that feed the lifters, complicating the problem. If this is the case, run a hot thermostat (190) and go for a long, hot trip to melt it back out. Havoline or Valvoline will help clear this debris out and keep it clean, if yours is affected.