New EB woes, but NOT buyer's remorse

[Mac2Night]

Good morning fella,

I have posted a tech question on the Tech chat regarding my newest purchase this week. If anyone could talk a look at it and make some suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Mac

 

[Mac2Night]

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... more woes.... HELP PLEASE

Aghhhhhhhh....Now it's clack, clack , clack and smoke!

Okay, so I posted yesterday about my newest purchase ('73 w/ a 302 that hadn't be ran in over a year but recently tuned up) that had a tap, tap, tap as I drove it to work yesterday. Sounded like a dirty lifter. Stopped by a friend's house whose a shade tree mechanic and he thought it sounded like a rocker needing tightening as the sound was more of a "clacking" right under the valve covers.

WELL, this morning on the way into work, I started to get blow-by I assume as the thing started smoking on me (bluish gray). The clacking is still there and the oil pressure is good (40 lbs)....... WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? Am I getting blow by due to the loose rocker arm? I realize that it could be old cracked valve seals but I was wondering if the rocker is loose as it sounds, will I get blow by that way to make it smoke (it hasn't smoked before this morning at all)?

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... thanks,
Mac

 

[BUCKETOBOLTS]

Pull a the valve covers and take a look. Its just 6 bolts on either side. Only way to tell whats inside.

 

[Mac2Night]

Bucket,

If it is the rocker loose, how tight should I tighten the loose one?

 

[BUCKETOBOLTS]

The nut bottoms out on the shoulder of the stud. Just snug it down good and tight. I'd also inspect the push rod to see if one looks bent. You can also look inside the valve springs to see if the stem seals are brittle and breaking apart.

 

[tasker]

sounds like a good call, might want to try some mystery oil. always works for me.

 

[Mac2Night]

Thanks guys for all the tips. I am not an idiot when it comes to things like this, but I just bought this truck (on a credit card no less) and I want to not have it look like a bucket of junk the third day out. My wife has been a real supporter of me getting another truck, even though she knows I don't really need more than one, and the smoking is something that will raise her attention that I "wasted money" on a bad purchase, which I accuse her of all the time (I'm justified of course).

 

[tasker]

well of course! I just tell my wife i could be gambling, smoking, chasing women or all of the above. Then i tell her how much i love her. (works every time)

 

[Mac2Night]

MYSTERY SOLVED (over lunch)!

Well, with all the "possibilities" swirling in my head over what could be making the "clacking" racket in my new '73 EB, I took a 2 hour lunch and went home to pull the valve cover.

Sure enough I had (2) rocker arms that were loose. One was just a little loose but the other one the nut was backed of 6 or 7 turns. As I inspected it a little closer, I saw that the nut was completely cracked in half and would tighten at all. Not having another rocker arm nut handy, I put the original one back on and found a nut in my tool box with the same thread pattern (but not a hardened nut like the original one) and installed it over the top of the original nut. I tightened it snug but not too tight (didn't want to strip a weaker threaded nut or the stud). I fired it up with the cover still off and ...... click, click, click..... quitely the valves opened and closed! I had NO knocking or clacking or pecking or anything. AND, I only had a little smoke coming from the exhaust.

After reinstalling the cover, I drove back to work and it ran great with NO noise!

I was also a quart low on oil so I poured in some valve cleaner and will change the oil this weekend. Hopefully whatever was causing the smoke will go away with better quality/clean oil.

Thanks to everyone who threw their .02 into helping me solve this mystery!

Mac