I had my mechanic take the truck for a test drive after he installed the SS brake lines and he now thinks that my engine ticking is not a slipped sleeve, but rather the lifters. They come and go and they change rhythm and sometimes they go away. He said that when your sleeves are bad you always hear the same consistent ticking no matter what. So I want to see about replacing the lifters and camshaft. I may be getting a bonus, if its big enough Im going to buy the premium proline head gasket kit, arp stud kit, radiator, cooling hose update kit, expansion tank AND all new lifters and a camshaft.

So how hard is it to replace the lifters and camshaft? I figure this could be done while doing the head gasket job while everything is apart and the heads sent out to be machined.

Thoughts would be appreciated.

 

If you're pulling the radiator, that's the time to do a camshaft; slip it right out the front. If you don't have an oil cooler, put one of those in...do the timing cover/timing chain & gears/oil pump/water pump/main & rod bearings if you haven't done those yet.

 

How many miles do u have on it"

 

Your mechanics theory has a flaw, I "believe " at a unspecified RPM the piston speed should overtake the sleeve movement and it should stop hitting on the top or the bottom. Which is why I believe a slipped sleeve is fo hard to diagnosiS.

 

About what date did the cam/lifter wear problem get resolved? I understand Rover V8's had serious cam wear problems probably due to bad heat treating, but I think it was resolved before the DII, not sure.


Also, I heard it was pretty common for a Rover V8's timing set to be made wrong so that it was either advanced a little or retarded a little. If I read right, that was another common quality variance from the factory. Of course, it's bad if you end up with the retarded set. Since the chains stretch over time, it makes sense to change it out, and you hope you can source a set that is made correctly nowadays.


In any event, it's something worth considering, but I have a feeling TRIARII is anxious to do a lot that isn't necessary.

 

I dont know about all the issues with these engines but as for spending alot of money that I may not need, Im just trying to do the best I can for my truck (on a budget) to get it prepped for the cross country overland trek in April. I cannot do both the oil pump and the head gaskets UNLESS I get a huge bonus which is unlikely. I have to decide either to do the oil pump or the head gaskets. Ive been told that the likelihood of their being scoring on the oil pump cover plate is very likely so im told that if I remove the cover it will have to be replaced and that sucker cost over $500!

If I can do one or the other and get the ticking to go away then I wold be very happy and more confident about this trip. I have 148k on my truck and im still using the original head gaskets.

 

Chances are that at that mileage your camshaft is pretty worn. The consensus seems to be that after 100k they start to look noticeably beat. Your oil pump will be quite worn also. I would replace the oil pump and cam and lifters before I would dive into the head gaskets. You will notice a big improvement in performance with a new camshaft if yours is worn. As for the timing cover, do you have decent oil pressure? If the cover was badly scored you might see low pressure. Rod, main and cam bearings all contribute to low oil pressure also but if your pressure is decent then they might all be in pretty good shape. I would replace the oil pump just because they are prone to fail.

 

I have not gotten a oil pressure test yet. My mechanic said it would cost $100 to do the test. In an ideal world I would get both tasks complete but I dont have that luxury.

 

you can do it yourself in 20-minute for $20.00 see below:

Red Aluminum M20 1 5 3 4UNF 16 Oil Filter Cooler Sandwich Gauge Plate Adapter | eBay
Oil Pressure Gauge Dial 60 PSI 20 Safe 1 8" NPT NSN 6685 00 999 2503 Guage New | eBay

unscrew your filter, screw on the adapter w/ gauge, re-install filter, done.

 

You can check for slipped sleeves once the heads are removed. I had the same tick as you (based on a video you posted) and replaced all the lifters which did not solve it. My cam looked brand new so it was not replaced. My tick was from the rockers/pushrod. Got a valve job on the heads and everything put back to together in spec. There was some play found in the valve train. If it is your pump or your front cover is scored you can source a pulled one for much less than $500.