Engine blow up in my future?

[Furbo]

Bad noise, sounds likde a valve - sorta, but have recently replaced the hydraulic lifters with best quality I could find (AC.net) ,but hard ticking noise persists....think it may be a small end bushing going, which usually leads to a busted rod.

Can this be easily fixed?

Am personally tired of working in this engine. Have had many T1's, not as powerful for sure, but not nearly the ass pain that this had been. That said, I dig the westy and will perservere. Would live with less power for less ass pain...

[blue77bay]

Firstly ,you cannot replace lifters on a worn cam without some problem ,the cam and lifters are a matched system ,to replace 1/2 of that system is inviting trouble regardless of the quality of what you put in there
No it cant be fixed easily, you MUST split the case IF there is a problem with the cam
Not to ignite any wars again BUT a T4 built with a little care will last MUCH longer and be more powerful with less hassle than any T1 ever,T4 is the factory big block with all the T1 design flaws eliminated at the factory.
One cannot expect to do half assed work and then have reliability ,do it once and do it right ,then you wont have this pain in the ass
Now are the valves adjusted correctly?? is the oil new ?? have you replaced the oil filter ??

[Furbo]

Blue,

to clarify - which I should have done earlier, it's a 79 2L with hydraulic lifters - replacing them w/o replacing the cam is not nearly the issue it is on a solid lifter machine.

Thanks for the lecture tho - much appreciated.

[Pillow]

I am pretty certain it is okay for lifter swaps on a hydro T4 and/or T5. At least there are plenty of shops doing it for blown out hydro lifters.

T4 motors for what they gain in longevity are also negatively affected by what a PITA they are to work on.

You want a motor that is really a workhorse with power call Rocky Jennings and tell him to make you a T5 oxy-boxer

FWIW I have a 2014 in my bus currently and it can run all day at 70 (real not the incorrect speedo readings) and keep all the temps in check. With one caveat, at 4000RPM (75ish) the revs do start to build heat on the oil when on sustained interstate cruising.

As for your engine, is the flywheel on tight? Sometimes a loosening flywheel will make some noise. Granted that is a long shot because it is rare.

[Piledriver]

Most shops probably still adjust the lash to 2 turns, which makes for lifters that won't pump the air out well, and are replaced as being bad when they probably aren't.

The hydros are also absolutely intolerant of dirty oil and abhor FRAM or other junk oil filters... Use filetrs from Mobil1 or Purolator, WIX or MANN.

An "abused" WBX w/noisy lifters can be eventually "cured" bu running Rotella T synthetic oil, worked for me anyway.

Correct lash is 1/4-1/2 turn.
There are arguments for setting it anywhere between 1/2 turn and zero.

Yes, the manuals are wrong.

Brand new manuals (recent publication) supposedly have been updated.

What exactly is harder on a T4?
(OK, installing the exhaust, sometimes)

The T1//5 will require far more frequent valve adjustments (W/solid lifters) and having ~30+ percent less cooling capacity with the T1 heads, as well as (most) smaller main bearings, but otherwise I don't see much of a difference in practice.

Parts are POTENTIALLY cheaper, but you get what you pay for.