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recurring loose rocker, ticking, miss

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  • Question : recurring loose rocker, ticking, miss

    99 Grand Am, 3400 motor:

    I just finished a head gasket/lower intake/upper intake gasket replacement. It ran well for a while, but then developed a loose rocker arm. I took the valve cover off and tightened up the rocker arm closest to the belt end of the engine on #2 cylinder. Its still making quite a ticking noise and misfiring.

    Prior to the gasket work, this rocker arm had come loose and made a heck of a racket.

    The threads in the head and on the "stud" are in good shape. I put it back in and used correct torque.

    Does this sound like a bad lifter? what is making the rocker arm come loose? I put it back in with some locktite, I may regret that.

    Is it possible to change the lifter out with a magnet....lifting the old one out and putting a new one in through the rocker arm gap? I think there is some kind of metal bracket in the way....I dont want to tear this thing down again if possible.

  • #2
    Not possible to change the lifter without taking the lower intake and lifter retainer bar off.


    have you pulled that pushrod out to see if it's bent?

    BTW, i always use Loctite red on these rocker arms and almost every critical bolt in these engines. it's just extra insurance. I've never had any real trouble getting them back out either...
    Past Builds;
    1991 Z24, 3500/5 Spd. 275WHP/259WTQ 13.07@108 MPH
    1989 Camaro RS, ITB-3500/700R4. 263WHP/263WTQ 13.52@99.2 MPH
    Current Project;
    1972 Nova 12.73@105.7 MPH

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    • #3
      I might get around to checking the pushrod tonight. I might have gotten in a hurry and not gotten the pushrod seated in the rocker properly. I dunno. I have never had so much trouble with an engine.

      My wife's firebird is dead on the side of the road this morning as well, so I will have to go drag it home as soon as i get off work. I am not a big pontiac fan at this moment.

      Glad to hear that about the locktite, I havent used it much before. I guess if its the lifter, at least I wont have to pull the heads again. I am sick of this engine.
      Last edited by 50jimmy; 05-12-2009, 12:43 PM.

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      • #4
        Well just for anybody else out there who is having a tough time with one of these engines, I found my particular problem. One of the rockers for the #2 cylinder was indeed loose and i retorqued it and locktited again. The other valve for that same engine upon inspection of the rockers while running...well it wasnt rocking. Disassembly revealed that the pushrod had impaled itself about a half inch into the rocker arm body! I have not seen this particular kind of destruction before, but I am not a professional mechanic. I have parts on order, and I hope a new rocker and pushrod will fix it up. Cause? probably my incompetence by getting the plug wires on in the wrong order after the head gasket/intake manifold gasket replacement.

        Update: Its running again. New rocker and pushrod. Runs as well as it ever did.

        In other news, the firebird is moving under its own power again, the crank sensor behind the harmonic balancer failed at 227,000 miles.
        Last edited by 50jimmy; 05-15-2009, 04:15 PM.

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