New valve springs and lifters on the 306

[Jbrown1238]

Now that the "new" motor is over the 200,000 mile mark I thought new valve springs and lifters were in order. A few weeks ago I had my son swap the lifters and valve springs for me while we were chasing down some top end noise. This is the first time I have had the valve covers off and it was nice to see how clean everything is after all those miles.

 

[Jbrown1238]

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[Junglejoe]

200,000mile J!!? Man.. You aint kidding when you say you drive daily!! Did it fix the little noise?

 

[Jbrown1238]

200,000mile J!!? Man.. You aint kidding when you say you drive daily!! Did it fix the little noise?

I run it pretty hard! No it didn't correct the noise. It runs great, sounds great up to 3000 rpms and then it starts tapping pretty good. A few weeks after it was back together I took a closer look with a magnifier glass at the lifters that came out at 200,000 miles. Both on the number eight cylinder were a little pitted. One had a noticible flat spot which probably scuffed the cam lobe. After the holidays I will have a new cam and lifters along with a timing chain and water pump going in. I have a magnet on the filter and another one on the oil pan. No metal in the oil, no metal in the filter, just keeping a close eye on things while the miles build over the next few weeks.

 

[Junglejoe]

Hmmm... So the new lifters didnt change anything? Only other thing it can be as you stated cam lobe has gotten worn off a little just enough that is it tapping. Just weird.I know you checked..but no timing chain slack?

 

[Jbrown1238]

Hmmm... So the new lifters didnt change anything? Only other thing it can be as you stated cam lobe has gotten worn off a little just enough that is it tapping. Just weird.I know you checked..but no timing chain slack?

It is possible that the timing chain has slack. I figure since I have to open it up I might as well plan on doing everything. Remember, it is a work truck and I try hard to avoid any down time. Everything needs to be done over the course of a weekend. It is just weird like you said, it only makes noise after 3000 rpms.

 

[Junglejoe]

It is possible that the timing chain has slack. I figure since I have to open it up I might as well plan on doing everything. Remember, it is a work truck and I try hard to avoid any down time. Everything needs to be done over the course of a weekend. It is just weird like you said, it only makes noise after 3000 rpms.

Oh trust me Jeff, when the EGR and oil cooler ruptured on my powerstroke,which is my work truck.. It was crunch time.world record on changing those things out.
At that point it was time to get rid of one of the problems with the 6.0's. .. But yes... The work truck has to stay rolling at all costs!!
By the way.. That motor is real clean!!

 

[reef93]

For 200000 miles that thing is amazingly clean

 

[bobbywalter]

looks normal to me.


for quality of oil and strict service regimen...miles driven over time... it is expected.

whats the oil psi do after 2500 psi?

 

[Jbrown1238]

looks normal to me.


for quality of oil and strict service regimen...miles driven over time... it is expected.

whats the oil psi do after 2500 psi?

The oil pressure is good from idle through the entire rpm range. The gauge reads about 20 psi at idle and about 40-45 around 2500 rpms at normal operating temps.

After installing a new set of Ford Racing Lifters and Trick Flow Valve Springs the noise is still present. I went back and took a close look at the lifters that came out and one had a noticible flat spot that probably scuffed a cam lobe. It looks like it may have skidded. I will be installing a new cam, lifters, timing chain, and water pump over the next 30 days.

 

[bobbywalter]

hopefully its what your thinking.


i would have to hear it in person to understand it. i have seen cracked blocks do this but there were fluctuations above 2500...

 

[Jbrown1238]

hopefully its what your thinking.


i would have to hear it in person to understand it. i have seen cracked blocks do this but there were fluctuations above 2500...

I hope so as well. Other then the noise there is no issues at all. All systems are normal.

 

[Jbrown1238]

Found the real issue! Wait until you see this! Turned out to be a little bit of excessive cam wear. Apparently the cam is the week link in this build. The metal properties of the Comp Cam limits the maximum mileage to about 150,000 miles with .512 lift, Trick Flow Springs, and 1.6 rockers.

Up until this cam was removed the truck still ran very well. It would idle fine, run strong and smooth with no missing. The one and only sign was rocker noise above 3000 rpms. I knew something was going on and over several months that it took to identify the issue I was careful to look for any metal in the oil. I placed a magnet on the oil pan near the drain plug and another one on the oil filter. When I changed oil I would bend a Q-Tip and swab the inside of the oil pan above the magnet and found no metal there. I would also cut open the oil filters and inspect the inside and found no metal there. I would strain the used oil and only found a very small amount of metal debris in the strainer, no more then what you would expect with a few new components like valve springs, lifters, etc. It looks like the filter was probably catching and pretty much holding everything that was running through the system.

 

[Jbrown1238]

Although cylinder 8 showed the most wear you can see other lobes are starting to break through on the ramps and peaks of the lobes. I started getting a little noise around 183,000 miles. It was all down hill from there.

All of the other components looked fine when removed with the exception of one lifter. With cam wear like this it is understandable why one lifter removed from cylinder 8 showed an unusual wear pattern, slight pitting and one small flat spot. The Ford Racing double roller timing chain looked almost new after 210,000 miles with only very minor slack. It would have gone another 100,000 miles without concern. The Trick Flow Valve Springs looked almost new when they were removed around 195,000 miles. They still had good seat pressure and no signs of visible wear. The valve stems and valve guides were fine and still had plenty of life left. No side to side movement and most valves would stay closed and support their own weight when the springs were removed. The Stock Steel Stamped Rockers have 312,000 miles and are in very good condition with only minor wear patterns. The Crane push rods were in perfect condition with no signs of wear.

 

[Jbrown1238]

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