So this morning before work I took the valve cover off the drivers side of my 95s 318 to see if I could fix a tick in #1 cylinder rocker arms/pushrods. But when I took the head off I realized there was absolutely no oil in the head. I don't know what the previous owner did to it but I do know he must have replaced something (valve cover bolts were loose) and I'm wondering if he didn't align something correctly or placed a gasket over something he shouldn't have. I drove it yesterday to work to figure out what the ticking was (couldn't tell if lifters or exhaust leak) but when I got home the tick was louder than when I left.

Just wondering what I should look out for and what you guys think could be the problem. Thanks

 

Rockers and such get their oil thru the pushrods. It can be REALLY messy running the engine with the valve cover off, but, that is the easiest way to tell if oil is actually getting up there. If it isn't, you need to find out WHY, and quick.

Do you have good oil pressure otherwise? (according to the gauge?)

 

According to the gauge I have good oil pressure. I'm working on it now and #1s arms both move around quite a lot. The bolt is tight so how do I tighten them further?

 

You can't, they aren't adjustable. If both valves are supposed to be closed, and it has been sitting for a bit, that isn't real unusual though. The lifters will bleed down some, and you end up with a bit of slop. (and start-up clatter.....)

 

Might not be a bad idea to pull the pushrods out and check to see if they're clogged. I had an issue with oiling on my 2002 Dak with a 3.9. I'd be driving and hear alot of clicking. Pulled the rockers and pushrods out and there was alot of buildup I side the pushrods oil holes. So I solvent tanked everything and cleaned out the pushrods, re assembled, used motor flush in the old oil and let it run and clean everything else out, did an oil change with 4qts of royal purple and a quart of Lucas synthetic stabilizer and never had another problem with it after that

 

I looked at the rods and they are clean on the inside. My friend suggested it might be the valve springs not decompressing far enough. There was a lot of play in the rocker arms and I don't want to buy new ones if I don't have to.

 

Magnum valvesprings are notoriously weak. I've seen a few people that have switched to the beehive springs from comp and had good luck with them. When I build up the engine out of my parts truck I'm gonna use the beehive setup when I rebuild the heads