17 replies to this topic

[ADDvanced]

I have a 72 Mini 1000. I had a head gasket fail, so I recently replaced that, and finished putting the car back together last night. Once I got it started, the valvetrain was REALLY loud. I probably ran the engine for a 1 - 2 minutes total (in 10-20 second bursts).  I know I installed the gasket the right way, with "TOP" being upwards.

Anyway, I quit running it because the valvetrain was so loud. I popped off the oil cap, and everything looks dry. Any ideas? I cleaned everything when I was working on it, but I did oil the pushrods/rockers upon reassembly. Why would the head not be getting oil?

 

[Carlos W]

Did you adjust the tappets?

[Ben_O]

Might be worth also disconnecting the plugs and spinning it over until the oil pressure goes up.

 

Was the oil pressure light on when it was running?

[Stiggytoo]

By receiving no oil what do you mean? Is it bone dry? Also have you adjusted the valve clearances?

Edited by Stiggytoo, 03 June 2015 - 04:06 PM.

[ADDvanced]

No, I did not adjust the valves.  

 

I don't think I have an oil pressure light.  I do have an oil pressure gauge, which seemed normal.

 

I mean it's bone dry.  I did not adjust the valves.  

[Carlos W]

You need to reset the tappets, this may have been the noise. If you check them and their out it's worth adjusting and seeing if its quieter.

 

It has got oil in hasn't it?

[Dan]

Did you dismantle the rocker assembly?

[wile e coyote]

Adjusting the tappets really is a must.......but wouldn't account for the rocker gear being dry.....

 

A very long shot - but one that caused me a hell of a lot of head scratching in a similar situation - but obvious with hindsight - if the rocker gear has been changed the oil feed on the head (and I forget the dates / engine variants  but it changed at some point - A to A+ ??? anyway I digress) doesn't match up with the oil hole in the appropriate pedestal  - then no oil feed and very noisy and rapidly wearing rocker gear....

[Cooperman]

If the head comes off the valve clearances MUST be reset before the engine is run using 'rule of nine' to do the adjustment. Set to 0.012" COLD.

As above, if the rocker pillars have had their positions changed the rocker pillar with the oil feed hole will not be in the right position.

[spiguy]

Didn't the early cars have the oil hole on the 1st pedestal, which then changed to the 2nd pedestal? In which case, begs the question - do new gaskets have a hole to feed oil to the 1st pedestal and the 2nd pedestal? Just thinking if the oil hole is on the 1st pedestal, but the gasket only has a hole for the later setup ie to feed the 2nd pedestal, then that would explain the lack of oil?

[wile e coyote]

Didn't the early cars have the oil hole on the 1st pedestal, which then changed to the 2nd pedestal? In which case, begs the question - do new gaskets have a hole to feed oil to the 1st pedestal and the 2nd pedestal? Just thinking if the oil hole is on the 1st pedestal, but the gasket only has a hole for the later setup ie to feed the 2nd pedestal, then that would explain the lack of oil?

No gasket used between head & rocker pedestals - the oilier the better!

[Spider]

While most gaskets have the Oil Feed Hole on both sides, there are a few that don't, so if the gasket was fitted wrong way around, it will block to oil feed off.

 

Also, when cleaning the old gasket off, were you sure no crud ended up in the oil feed holes? There's not a great deal of pressure at this point and it wouldn't take much to stop the oil flow. The Passageways through the head are an ideal crud catcher!

Edited by Moke Spider, 03 June 2015 - 09:31 PM.

[spiguy]

 

Didn't the early cars have the oil hole on the 1st pedestal, which then changed to the 2nd pedestal? In which case, begs the question - do new gaskets have a hole to feed oil to the 1st pedestal and the 2nd pedestal? Just thinking if the oil hole is on the 1st pedestal, but the gasket only has a hole for the later setup ie to feed the 2nd pedestal, then that would explain the lack of oil?

No gasket used between head & rocker pedestals - the oilier the better!

 

But isn't there an oil feed hole in the block which lines up with a hole in the head which then lines up with a rocker pedestal and so there needs to be a corresponding hole in the head gasket to allow oil through to the pedestal? Or is the pedestal fed from oil flow which is already in the head? I don't really understand how the rocker gets its oil feed..

Edited by spiguy, 03 June 2015 - 09:40 PM.

[Spider]

 

But isn't there an oil feed hole in the block which lines up with a hole in the head which then lines up with a rocker pedestal and so there needs to be a corresponding hole in the head gasket to allow oil through to the pedestal? Or is the pedestal fed from oil flow which is already in the head? I don't really understand how the rocker gets its oil feed.

 

 

 

Basically you are right in your thinking here.

 

The Oil comes up through the Block (from the front Cam Bearing), to the deck face, though the gasket, in to the head. There is a few drillings through the head (2 or 3 depending on the head itself) to get the passage to the base of one of the pillars. There is no gasket between the pillar and the head though.

[carbon]

I have a 72 Mini 1000. I had a head gasket fail, so I recently replaced that, and finished putting the car back together last night. Once I got it started, the valvetrain was REALLY loud. I probably ran the engine for a 1 - 2 minutes total (in 10-20 second bursts).  I know I installed the gasket the right way, with "TOP" being upwards.

Anyway, I quit running it because the valvetrain was so loud. I popped off the oil cap, and everything looks dry. Any ideas? I cleaned everything when I was working on it, but I did oil the pushrods/rockers upon reassembly. Why would the head not be getting oil?

 

Two suggestions, first is to check that the rocker cover is not fouling any of the rockers, that would be noisy.

 

Second is when you have the cover off start and run the engine, making sure nothing is going to get caught in the valve gear. You won't do any damage running with the cover off for a short time. Run it for a couple of minutes to see if the oil is getting up to the rocker shaft OK.