MTFCA Forum

I am working on returning another barn fresh car to active duty but have struck a hurdle. No 1 cylinder was way down on compression. A bore scope revealed a set of original two piece valves, with well worn stems/guides, so off came the head. The valves were actually quite reasonable so the plan is to ream the guides to take new oversize stem one piece ones. However, the push rods are quite cupped so either need refacing or more likely replacing with adjustable ones.
The question is, if the lifters are held up with clothes pegs, can the camshaft be removed from the front of the motor? Then, can the push rods be removed from the motor and replacements fitted via the inspection plate on the bottom of the pan?
We will be checking the bearings with the pan cover off, so doing the push rods at the same time would make sense.

Allan from down under.

I’ve read about this in past years on the forum. It’s do-able, but seems rather daunting. Only thing I know for sure is you sure as heck can’t remove the camshaft from the rear !!

Keep us posted Allan, sounds like you found a good one !

Yes. yes & yes. No problem.

The only time that was an issue was when I installed a Stipe 310?
The cam would go in but not turn. I had to remove the cam & lifters & chamfer the block for more lifter clearance.
That was all done thru the 3 dip pan - not fun, but doable.

On at least some of the factory lifters there is a hole through them to install a pin (wire, or nail) in them to hold them up when removing the camshaft.
While it will not help installation of new lifters it might help removing the old ones.

Mike

Chapter 9 in the Ford service manual is titled Installing New Camshaft Bearings.
The camshaft is removed from the front of the engine. Looking at some more pictures concerning the engine it seems when the crankshaft is turned in the correct position for each of the pushrods they could be drawn out from the bottom. I’ve never done but it seems doable but not easy.

The MTFCA has a video you can buy, about changing a camshaft with the motor in the car. Fred Houston and Mike bender were in it. to remove and change the cam, the valves and lifters have to be suspended to clear the cam, so the procedure is basically the same.

Thank you John. I could not see why it could not be done, but needed reassurance beforehand. This is for a car for another owner, so I hoped to save some time. I knew the cam could be removed, and it has to be done so i get to the lifters. They and the valve stems are so worn the lift on the valves is around half what it should be.
Nothing will happen until the temperature drops below 90 degrees though! We hit in excess of 105 all of last week.
Allan from down under.

Alan,

I have replaced a camshaft with the followers held up by clothes pegs, it worked ieasily despite of my fears.

Brendan Hoban

Allan,

Use the adjustable tappets with the locking nut, versus the "self-locking" style.

Allan,
Been there, done that. Yes, it is doable. Patience, Grasshopper.

Jerry,
With the three-wrench tappets, is there a need to grind down the lifter guides, or is there any special procedure for adjusting the spacing and locking the locknut?

: ^ )

Never cut down lifter bosses. That's a really poor practice that sacrifices lifter bore life for a little easier adjustment procedure.
For first setup, Have the cam heel up. With the valve loose, grab & raise the lifter & adjust.
If readjusting with the valves in place, take your reading with a feeler gauge on the heel.
Turn the cam to lobe top & adjust. That will give you full access to the nuts & top lifter flat.

To adjust, I have measured the gap with the lifter all the way down. Let's say it's 20 thou. Then rotated the engine to put the valve all the way up and put a dial indicator on it. Then adjust to take out the difference between the 20 thou and what you want, in my case 12 thou. Repeat for the remaining valves.

Having replaced a camshaft in an engine still in the car, I can say, it can be done with some difficulty. The only area that makes is slightly tricky is the oil line may be just barely in the way of sliding out some of the lifters towards the back of the engine. You may need to push the tube slightly to the side to get them out and put the new ones in. You also will need to turn the crankshaft to different positions as you work to get it and the rods out of the way. Again, not a big deal. I would suggest packing some large rags between the pan and the flywheel before you attempt to remove and install the new lifters towards the back of the pan opening. A dropped lifter can be difficult to find and remove from the confines of a three dip pan.

Stephen

walber wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 02, 2026 11:21 am

To adjust, I have measured the gap with the lifter all the way down. Let's say it's 20 thou. Then rotated the engine to put the valve all the way up and put a dial indicator on it. Then adjust to take out the difference between the 20 thou and what you want, in my case 12 thou. Repeat for the remaining valves.

I like that method. Will work if the head is off.

I have used a bit of math to figure adjustments. Head need not be removed.
The adjustable lifter thread is 1/4-28. Therefore. 1 turn changes the adjustment = .0357" (1" divided by 28)
So, for every 10 degrees of turn (1/36 or 10/360) =.001" of change.

Using the above example: We want to tighten the gap .008, so turning open the adjusting screw 80 degrees will get you to the desired .012 lash.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 02, 2026 11:40 am

walber wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 02, 2026 11:21 am

To adjust, I have measured the gap with the lifter all the way down. Let's say it's 20 thou. Then rotated the engine to put the valve all the way up and put a dial indicator on it. Then adjust to take out the difference between the 20 thou and what you want, in my case 12 thou. Repeat for the remaining valves.

I like that method. Will work if the head is off.

I have used a bit of math to figure adjustments. Head need not be removed.
The adjustable lifter thread is 1/4-28. Therefore. 1 turn changes the adjustment = .0357" (1" divided by 28)
So, for every 10 degrees of turn (1/36 or 10/360) =.001" of change.

Using the above example: We want to tighten the gap .008, so turning open the adjusting screw 80 degrees will get you to the desired .012 lash.

EXACTLY!! Thanks very much for posting this!!

Yes I have removed the cam & fallowers to ream valve guides & install adjustable fallowers. Might as well replace the valves at the same
Time but I would check the rods & mains
& trans before hand to make sure the engine doesnt need to be removed.
Craig.

Re adjustable lifters, I have used both types. The lock nuts on the three spanner type are marginal. They are so thin that it is easy to strip them. I have had to resort to thinning down a proper nut to replace at least two of them. Since then I have uased the self locking type, with no problems. Have I been lucky?

Allan from down under.

Allan wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:24 pm

Re adjustable lifters, I have used both types. The lock nuts on the three spanner type are marginal. They are so thin that it is easy to strip them. I have had to resort to thinning down a proper nut to replace at least two of them. Since then I have uased the self locking type, with no problems. Have I been lucky?

Allan from down under.

I've never stripped a lock nut, but I have had several friends who had the self-lockers that have come loose and backed down. Are you lucky? Maybe...

I had 2 adjuster bolts shear the first time I tried a self locking set.