What’s up with my ‘76 2f valve train? (1 Viewer)

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Mar 29, 2010
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Escanaba, MI
Hello!

I picked up a 76 fj55 that was DOA and am resurrecting it from the dead (hopefully). I went to do valve adjustment and things are pretty wonky—almost like there aren’t any lifters present (see photos). Major gaps between the rocker arm and pushrods on several of them!
Obviously it’s not starting and feels like there’s not enough compression when I turn the hand crank (normally you get some pretty good resistance and some hissing from the valves).

Any ideas? I haven’t pulled the side cover yet...

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My guess is a majorly bent push rod.
I would pull them all out to check for straightness. Then if all is good do a base line adjustment. Don't worry about the engine being warm. It makes a nominal difference.

Don't (try to) run it the way it is, or even turn the key. You are asking for problems.
 
I would do the cold valve adjustment (engine off) just to see how they look. Some appear to have a lot of adjustment left. Someone may have been monkeying around with them.
I'll post this in case you need it.

Valve Adjust.jpg
 
How many miles are on this engine ? I’m thinking you have a cam shaft issue turn it by hand and see how much lift your getting from the push rods.
I agree with Tancruiser. Anytime I've seen the valve train that far out of wack the cam and/or lifters were junk. I personally had a 2F that had worn the bottom completely off a lifter.

I strongly suggest you pull the side cover at minimum but I'm quite confident you will be pulling the cam too.

Nick
 
Thank you! I was leaning that way. The only other thing I notice is that the adjustment screws are backed way out in those rocker arms.
 
Thank you! I was leaning that way. The only other thing I notice is that the adjustment screws are backed way out in those rocker arms.
You might luck out that the PO had no clue how to adjust the valves. But I would still at least pull the side cover then the lifters, one at a time. If all looks decent you will at least have the peace of mind you looked rather than wondering "what if..."

Good luck!
Nick
 
I wouldn't take anything apart until I tried to adjust the ones that look like they haven't been tightened up enough. I agree with Steamer that you should loosen all the valve rockers and start from scratch in the proper order. After you get them set properly with a feeler gauge, you might find that you actually have good compression.
 
^^^

This should be your 1st step in your process.
 
Yes. I re-adjusted and the pushrods are where they should be. NOW--the Dizzy is 180 off at TDC. (non contact end of rotor points at TDC point). I pulled dizzy and rotated 180 but no fire. I should've left it where it was, now that I think of it. This is all really odd--I've never had an issue with other F/2F motors. For $500, I guess you never know what you're getting, LOL. More investigation later...
 
I could only tell a big difference on the flywheel TDC when it comes to looking at cylinder #4, regarding valve lash. Or, at least, I could go thru 1-3 without a big time difference.

With the valve cover off, you might be able to see which push rods are down for a given crank TDC. That would tell you with of the two settings, A or B, in Steamer's illustrated post above, to use for setting valve lash.
 

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