Got back on the job this evening. Now removing the passenger side valve cover. Removed radiator shroud/overflow/washer fluid tank, and serpentine belt. Got the oil filler tube off and disconnected most of the wire loom. The clip for the 1st injector plug broke right off. They get brittle and hard to pull off after many years and miles. I not only broke the red locking tab, but also the push down clip, so i'm a bit worried it won't hold when I put things back together.

Another note. If you guys are running conventional, especially in the cold weather, don't. Also don't run a lower temp thermostat or colder plugs. Let the truck run to proper operating temp. I'm seeing that yellow goo under the valve cover cap and in the upper reaches. The oil fill tube had some and as I peered down into the hole where I pulled the tube off, I could see it inside too. And no, there isn't any coolant mixing with the oil. It's probably just water vapor from condensation. I run full synth and usually drive my truck almost 30 miles each way to work. Furthermore, I usually run 0W-20, although It was out last time and I ended up using some 5W30. Lately though, the wife has been driving it and she works from home.. so quick trips to the gym, supermarket, etc. Now I didn't see much hard sludge, just some in the crevices, like in the oil fill tube ports, etc.

One thing I'm happy about, the one timing chain I've seen so far seems to have zero play in it. That's a good sign at this mileage. I never, ever let the oil drop below max.

 

Alright, so I've been busy as heck with leveling and seeding my yard before the hot weather hits, so slow going with the truck. It's not like I've had a whole lot of driving to do anyway. So far, I've got the valve covers off and removed all the rockers and lifters.

I can say with full certainty that the rocker ejection was due to a failed lifter. I can't budge the failed lifter's piston even with a pair of pliers. It's seized solid. All the rest have a very loose 1/8" of play or so. Not much springiness at all. Guess that's what 313K does. LOL

Next up are new plugs, springs, valve stem seals and lifters. The new springs and lifters should have the valves operating more efficiently and hopefully lead to better gas mileage. From here on out, I'm also running a hotter plug for a cleaner burn.

 

You may want to invest in all new lifters or pull them out and soak them in carb cleaner and blow them out a few times with high pressure.

 

Yes, all new lifters. I've come to the conclusion that I will have to pull the fuel rail to remove the springs. The springs need to be compressed much more to get at the valve keepers, than they did just to remove the rockers. Currently the fuel rail prevents me from getting full travel of the wrench.

 

Pulled the fuel rail and got busy with the passenger side bank today. I'm just about done with the valves on this side. Got one more spring to replace, then I can put the lifters and rockers back in.

I'm replacing valve springs, valve stem seals, lifters, spark plugs, valve cover gaskets and serpentine belt. It was slow going as I had no helper, so I had to rig up ways to keep the spring compressed using the Miller tool, so I could get the valve keepers in.

A few pics... it may look like chaos on top of the engine but war is messy and I was in the fight.

Here's how you create your own helper to keep the spring compressed. Rubber tie downs attached to pipe handle which is slipped over the wrench. There is a hole in the other side of the green pipe which the hooks go into.




Here you can see the keepers. At first I fussed with an extendable magnet and long screwdrivers, trying to get the keepers in, but eventually I learned that the only game in town, is to put a dab of heavy grease on your finger. This allows the keepers to stick to your finger long enough to get them on the valve stem. Once on the stem, you then rotate the first keeper around to make room for the second and repeat the process. Once it got through my hard head, it sped up a little faster.



New valve stem seal in place



Copied this in from another thread of mine. Gonna use this thread for future reference:

I'm going to answer my own question here. When the 4.7 piston is at TDC, the valves will not fall into the cylinder. They will drop roughly an inch or less, then hit the piston with plenty of stem still protruding. I guess I should have known, since this is an interference engine, so the piston can touch the valves if things were out of time. To find TDC on each cylinder, I stuck a long screwdriver through the spark plug hole so it was sitting on the piston. I then rotated the engine, watching the screwdriver rise to max level, stopping just before it started the descent.

I ended up using air. Didn't have any suitable rope and as long as I was at TDC, I didn't have any worry of the valves falling if the air bled off.

 

I'm down to the last cylinder (#1) for the spring and seal replacements. It's been slow going as I'm doing a bit each evening after work. I have a loud *** Harbor Freight air compressor and I don't go past 7:30 running it. Furthermore, I had my tools slip while a spring was compressed a few days ago and everything went flying, never to be found. Had to wait on new spring retainer hat and keepers from the dealer.

I have a question though. I'm on the driver's side bank, which is cylinders 1,3, 5 and 7. I'm using air going into the spark plug holes to keep the cylinders pressurized, so the valves stay up. When I air up each cylinder on this bank, I'm losing loads of air coming out the throttle body. It's flowing out so fast that I have to hurry and get the spring compressed and the keepers back on before the valves fall. The compressor will drop to zero while running eventually. So far 3, 5 and 7 have exhibited it, so I'm sure 1 will do it too. This was not the case with the other bank, as they held the pressure. The fuel rail and injectors are removed, if it matters. Any idea why I'm losing all this air? The truck drove fine, with what feels like loads of compression.

 

You're sure your at TDC for the cylinder?

The valves should be closed. If they are leaking that bad then you probably should pull the head.

 

The rockers are all removed, so the springs are holding the valves closed. Even if the head gasket were bad, that's between the head and the block. Why would air be coming out the throttle body?

 

Pulling the heads was a better choice all around or an engine swap with the leaky head gasket you had in the past with the high millage it had. Cam replacements should be considered also with the head job.

But those depend on the condition of the truck as a dependable vehicle. You were looking at the newer models I remember.

 

I think a rebuilt 4.7 runs around 2 or 3K still way cheaper than new.

After I rebuilt my engine and new clutch she has been a little mover like new I keep up on all parts of my truck like you so no other problems.