valve clearance ford 223

Hi all
I have a question in the adjustment of the valves of my 223 of the 61. After restoring the engine I have adjusted the valves to 019. But the engine claps more than before, at least I think so. Some time ago I read that it could be adjusted to 016 and even to 014 and that this reduces noise and even improves performance.

Is this possible?

Could you adjust the valves to 016 without causing damage?

Should I make some other adjustment to avoid damage?

Is there any other trick to reduce the clack?

I am sure more experienced and knowledgeable members will chime in. If you have adjusted them with a slight drag and they are noisier than before I would suggest you have your rocker arms lapped at a machine shop to insure they are not center worn creating a larger gap

Psychobicho":34ljikns said:

Hi all
I have a question in the adjustment of the valves of my 223 of the 61. After restoring the engine I have adjusted the valves to 019. But the engine claps more than before, at least I think so. Some time ago I read that it could be adjusted to 016 and even to 014 and that this reduces noise and even improves performance.

Is this possible?

Could you adjust the valves to 016 without causing damage?

Should I make some other adjustment to avoid damage?

Is there any other trick to reduce the clack?

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223 engine preformance is effected by the valve lash setting! From my experiences with many 223's when the valve lash setting starts getting too tight the engines performance starts falling off some. Yes you could set the valves to .016 without harming the camshaft, yet I got the best engine performance using the stock lash setting. Is your rocker arm assembly still in good condition? If the rocker shaft is worn down from factory specs and or the rocker arm bushings are also worn oversize then this excessive clearance could be the cause of your noise. With the valve cover off you can sometimes see this excessive rocker shaft and arm clearance with the engine running at idle, the rocker arm will be bouncing up and down on the shaft. Good luck