beau2988

alright i have a 1964 galaxie with a 289.. i pulled the engine so i could paint it and clean the engine cavity real good, and to make it easier to replace the head gasket.. while i did that i sent my heads off to be reworked. when we got them back we put the rocker arms back in and set them. what we did was, we tightened the rocker arms down until there wasn't anyplay in them and then turned it another 3/4 of a turn.. we did this to every valve. well i came back to my finish my engine a couple of days later and the rocker arms were just as loose as they could be.. now my engine is back in the car and i need to know how to properly adjust those valves brfore i get to drive it anywhere. can anyone help??

HHHenry

I also have a 1964 Galaxie with a 289W.
I don't know much about engines but I do have a copy of a workshop manual for a 64 'Gal.
Is there anything I can look up in the workshop manual for you?

beau2988

yea i need to know how to set the valves. last night a cranked my car up for the first time and it was back firing through the carb.

Jewboy

I'm guessing from your original post is that your running hydraulic lifters, these will bleed down and become loose as you have described (unless they were solids in which case you could have taken the lobes off). I don't have any specs for you but there is heaps around for small block fords, google is your friend. The back firing could be because of incorrect timing or carby mixture, I'd say its probably a bit too advanced and need to back the dizzy off a bit.

ford4v429

heres how Ive set them assuming hydraulics:
1)get it at tdc firing(both valves on #1 closed)
2)on #1, loosen both- while spinning pushrod, snug down till pushrod just
barely touches-not enough to compress lifter spring or valvespring, but just
till it touches. do both valves.
3) tighten extra 1/2 turn to preload lifters.
4) put a socket on the crank, turn crank 90 degrees clockwise and adjust backwards in firing order(hard to crank forwards without having balancer bolt break loose), repeat for all cylinders...aint gotta be exact 90- the valves are both shut practically +/- 180 anyways...

same for solid lifters- just adjust till the pushrod barely touches the rocker with the proper feeler gage between stem and rocker.

remember fords are numbered 1-4 down one side, 5-8 down other side, unlike GM where odds are one side, evens on the other(gm's made more sense to me as relates to position on the crank, but...)

__________________
Confidence: that feeling you have just before you realize the mess you've gotten yourself into...