1957 cleaning valve lifters & rockers w/o removing?

[SoloBird]

I pulled the valve covers off my 57' TB restoration project and can see some years of gunk in the lifters & rockers, but they do not look too bad. . I want to clean this area all out but what is the best way to do this without pulling the lifters and everything out?

One old guy was telling me to use a de-greaser on it then take a pressure washer and hose it all out, followed by adding diesel fuel with an oil mixture to run through the motor then drained.

I do not think I want to blast water in the lifters and motor and so forth.. I was thinking of using brake cleaner, wipe and clean the gunk out, then use a shop vac to vacuum what I can, then another oil change drain. your thoughts and suggestions?

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[CSPIDY]

When cleaning an engine you must be very careful because if any of that gunk gets into the oil passages of your pressure oil system you could have more problems.
I would continue to change your oil more regularly and use a quality high detergent oil.
If it’s running well leave it alone.

The best way to clean it is through disassembly.

 

[SoloBird]

When cleaning an engine you must be very careful because if any of that gunk gets into the oil passages of your pressure oil system you could have more problems.
I would continue to change your oil more regularly and use a quality high detergent oil.
If it’s running well leave it alone.

The best way to clean it is through disassembly.

I have been thinking about it and I agree that I might as well do it right and disassemble the parts. The trouble is that I do not have a lot of experience, never done this before, but I am very good at taking parts off... putting them back together is a whole other issue 🙂
If I take lots of picture and find some good videos online I should be able to do it.

My 57 TB runs but I have no idea what condition or issues the motor might have or neglected.
According to the inspection sticker on it, it was last inspected in 1978. I know the PO had done stuff to the car since then, but I really do not know what, so I am just trying to go through it all, clean it up, address any issues and problems as I go. I figured the first line of business would be the motor oil and components, but I am not familiar with this motor or year car.

I plan to drop the oil pan as well to see what is in the bottom of that and clean it out.

 

[doug7740]

Don't try to clean the rocker assemblies without removing and disassembling them. Doing this is not hard at all, but here are a few tips:

Before you start take photos of the rocker assembly, that way you will have something to refer to during reassembly.

When assembling the rocker arm shafts on a Y-block, it is easy to get them in the wrong position. The bottom of the rocker arm shafts has holes drilled in it for oil to pass through. The proper orientation is for the holes in the rocker arm shafts to face downward toward the cylinder head. Failure to get the rocker shafts in the correct orientation results in a lack of lubrication that can result in engine damage.


When putting the rocker arm assemblies together, you can keep the oil hole orientation correct by first installing one of the end cotter pins with the open end facing down.




Line up the components (rocker arms, spacer springs, and stands) in the correct order and install them on the rocker arm shafts. Lubricate all components with oil before assembly then install each of the components in the correct order, beginning at one end of the rocker arm shaft. This is a good time to refer to the photos you took during the disassembly process.



The rocker arm assemblies are now ready to install. An oil-return tube is located at one end of each assembly. The tube on the passenger’s side of the engine is located in the front and the driver’s side to the rear. The bottom hole of each rocker stand (at the ends of the rocker assemblies) holds the studs to which the valve covers mount. Secure the rocker arm assemblies to the cylinder heads by bolts that extend through the stands.



doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[SoloBird]

Don't try to clean the rocker assemblies without removing and disassembling them. Doing this is not hard at all, but here are a few tips:

Before you start take photos of the rocker assembly, that way you will have something to refer to during reassembly.

When assembling the rocker arm shafts on a Y-block, it is easy to get them in the wrong position. The bottom of the rocker arm shafts has holes drilled in it for oil to pass through. The proper orientation is for the holes in the rocker arm shafts to face downward toward the cylinder head. Failure to get the rocker shafts in the correct orientation results in a lack of lubrication that can result in engine damage.

View attachment 24526
When putting the rocker arm assemblies together, you can keep the oil hole orientation correct by first installing one of the end cotter pins with the open end facing down.


View attachment 24527

Line up the components (rocker arms, spacer springs, and stands) in the correct order and install them on the rocker arm shafts. Lubricate all components with oil before assembly then install each of the components in the correct order, beginning at one end of the rocker arm shaft. This is a good time to refer to the photos you took during the disassembly process.

View attachment 24528

The rocker arm assemblies are now ready to install. An oil-return tube is located at one end of each assembly. The tube on the passenger’s side of the engine is located in the front and the driver’s side to the rear. The bottom hole of each rocker stand (at the ends of the rocker assemblies) holds the studs to which the valve covers mount. Secure the rocker arm assemblies to the cylinder heads by bolts that extend through the stands.

View attachment 24529

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

Your awesome Doug! See, that info is so helpful! Where do you get this info? I have the 57' TB shop manual but I think I need some better books.

 

[doug7740]

I have been an Automotive Technician for over 40 years, so the information that I supply is from actual repairs that I have made. After retiring from the dealership, I purchased a 1955 and a 2004 Thunderbird. There isn't many things on the 1955 Thunderbird that I haven't rebuilt or repaired myself.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[CSPIDY]

Dropping the oil pan is a good idea
but you may want to get in touch with an engine builder
to clean it properly the heads and block will need to be hot tanked to get all that crude out of the engine
Plan for the worst and hope for the best

 

[SoloBird]

I spoke with a engine/machine shop in town with a lot of experience with Y-block motors. Their quote to go through the motor is $3000 and that is not till February. Ouch, yeah I am going to have to do it all myself

 

[highwaymanrte66]

a simple solution that was used back in the 50's & 60's was to add a pint of ATF to the crankcase and drive it about 100 miles then change the oil. The ATF will not harm the motor and it acts as a detergent

 

[74 Harley]

The best advice I can give you is leave it alone. It runs well, and you are looking at a sludge build up probably caused by either non detergent oils or parafin based oil. It's not hurting anything and will eventually be cleaned up by the oil you are using. Removing and cleaning everything just for the purpose of doing it is a net zero.

 

[Ward 57]

I used to listen to a couple of mechanics, Click & Clack, on the radio that had a customer with a Honda and had 150K plus milage on it and had never changed the oil. Just added as needed. Wanted to know if he should flush the system. The hosts both agreed that if it ain't broke don't fix it.
I'd just use high detergent oil and change every 500 miles.

 

[SoloBird]

Since I do not know what condition the 57' bird is in and so forth, I want to go through it and make sure any issues are fixed and reliable. Here is how the motor currently looks & sounds right as she stands

see what you think other than the high idle, she has lifter noise and not a quite motor based on other 57' 312 5.1L Y-blocks I have seen and heard.

 

[Ward 57]

Definitely needs a valve adjustment. Bad paint job but the innards may not be that bad. Now if you hear piston slap on start up or odd noises under throttle on the road it may go deeper.

 

[SoloBird]

Definitely needs a valve adjustment. Bad paint job but the innards may not be that bad. Now if you hear piston slap on start up or odd noises under throttle on the road it may go deeper.

Thanks Ward. Always good to see you on the boards. I was going to do a compression test first, then after oil changes and so forth get to try and adjust the valves. There is no paint job on it right now as it's just sitting in spray paint black primer as it was when I bought it 🙂

 

[74 Harley]

So how long has this motor been off the road?

 

[Ward 57]

But it looks rattle can red in the video. Oh, you are talking about the body condition. Don't worry about that until you know the drive train is solid. Once that is done the cosmetics come later. and then the little things that I'm still chasing after almost 50yrs with it in just keeping it a driver not a trailer queen.
If I can't drive it where everything works I don't want it no matter what it looks like. .

 

[Critterpainer]

Rather than give you advice I will tell my experience with Heavy sludge. In 93 I purchased an 87 F150 with a 300CID 6 cyl engine. It had sat for 3 years waiting for the court to allow the bank to sell it. I hauled it home. When I pulled the oil drain plug nothing came out!! Dipstick showed full. I pulled the oil filter and cranked the engine to "pump" the tar out. Obviously it had only seen the 1 oil change the paperwork. It now had 43K miles on it. I Put 1 qt of oil and 3 qts of ATF in it and let it idle for an hour. I then changed the oil and added 1 qt of ATF. Drove it 100 miles and changed the oil again. It then received normal oil changes after that. At 105K the oil pan started leaking. When I pulled the pan it was spotless! Not a hint of sludge or grime. Draw your own conclusions, but I like ATF for cleaning an engine,

 

[SoloBird]

So how long has this motor been off the road?

I am not sure, but I would say years. The guy I bought it from was going to restore it, he stripped it down, did some work on rust removal, body work and so forth, got the engine running..but it sat in his garage for a long time. It will run, steer (minus the steering wheel shaft pulls right out and the gas pedal falling off) and will brake) There is a lot I need to do to be road worthy

 

[74 Harley]

Don't worry too much about the engine until you get the car actually out on the road. A little drive time under a real load (like 50 to 75 miles) will do it a lot of good. That will tell you the real condition of the engine, and then you can determine what really needs to be done.

 

[DiIanni]

I thoroughly agree with 74 Harley. I have a 55 and a 56 t-bird along with some other vintage cars.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Best method for perhaps making it better is as suggested ... adding additives etc and some regular
oil changes with a high detergent oil.