firstly let me just say hi to every one.its my first time posting and you giys seem to know alot about fords. i just brought a na fairlane for my first car(im 15) and finally got it started but there is a rough running at idle and my dad said it is probly the lash ajusters/hydrolic lifters. having just pulled the rocker cover of thet is only a slight tapp evry 10 ish seconds at idle and it seems to be coughing on one of the cylinders could it be valves or camming? not very sure how to get ajusters out or if theres a easy was to find if there worn or just dirty. any help greatly appreciated.

cheers

Try all the usuals first before you go mucking around with cams.

Worn out plugs and leads and dirty air filter can all cause a rough idle. I know you probably don't have heaps of money lying arouns given your age, but if anything like that needs replacing, get the best you can afford.

ok thanks for the advice. id been dreading doing it but i just took out the air cleaner and it was like flininging around one of those welcome mats you put outside your house! and had about 2 cm if sand in bottom of box. the real problem im having is diagnosis i cant seem to be able to find which lash ajuster to pull out also is it usal to have the rocker arms move from one side to anouthe about 3 or 4 mills?

If the air cleaner was that bad, then chances are the previous owner neglected to service the car properly. Try changing the oil it may quieten that noisy lifter.

ok ill give that a shot i did a search of the forms and some pepole say put disel through it and run or keroand oil would this screw up anything ?? dose it help??

People do that to de-sludge the engine. If your engine has black sludge all over the top end, then you can get oils with special detergents and de-sludge agents in them that will clean the engine out nicely.

Also, if you can afford it, get a K&N air filter to replace the one you took out. By the sounds of it, it's stuffed and you need at least a new paper one.

A K&N one will set you back around the $110-$120 mark. I don't know about paper, probably about $20-$30.

Hi

My EB had that symptom.

It turned out to be a ignition coil on the way out. When it finally died and I replaced it, BINGO!!!!!

No miss at idle.

Regards
BenJ

does it still have a rough idle when your driving aswell? It could be that the ignition timing is out, fuel filter is knackered, plugs that are not gapped properly. Could be numerous things have fun finding out what the problem is.

now that i think of it i've got a mate who had a nc fairlaine (i think) and his fuel injection unit had cracked and split vac hoses had them replaced and from memory it ran a lot smoother after that. Might be worth a look i think.
Please let me know if this is wrong guys, one of those things that plays on ya mind knowing weather it is the case or not


Not trying to hi jack the thread either

had another look + listen with dad and he said lifters are now fine after a further tinker suspected dead piston doing a compression test this arvo. anuther question no 1 to no 4 spark plugs have sand allaround the buisness end no 5 nd 6 have a little bit of oil.bloke i brought it off said someone tried to steal it we think maby they did and he just lied so basicly dose anyone know how to tell if an engin has been thrashed, and whould this sand pose a problem?

any help greatly appreciated

Your compression test will tell you if it's been thrashed. If compression's low it means the rings are worn out which happens with thrashed engines and high milage engines.

Given the state of the air cleaner you described, the sand in the bottom of the air box, sand on teh spark plugs etc, I'd say the previous owner just ran it into the ground and just wasn't man enough to tell you that he was too lazy to do regular maintainance on the car.

Sand will pose a huge problem if it's got into the cylinders. You don't put an air filter in your car for nothing! That is, unless you get the air filter for free.

did test today 120,140,155,160,160,150 dose anyone know if this 40 variation could be anything to worryabout?

I just want to return to one of your earlier posts. You asked if it was normal for the rocker arms to be able to move along the shaft 3 or 4 mm. The short answer these days is yes, it is normal in the late 1980 to 1991 engines, but not intended (if you get what I mean). Basically it was a design flaw in that the rockers would gradually grind into the pedestals that held the whole assembly above the cam. This caused the rockers to have some degree of side ways slop, and also caused that ticking noise that you are hearing as well as poor idle quality. My advice to you would be to visit your local pick-a-part style wreckers and pickup the complete rocker assembly off a later model (Series II EB, EF, EL) engine. This will set you back about $30 to $50 from previous experience of doing this. Even though this gear is from a 4L engine, I have put these on 3.9L without a problem. Ford installed different spacers between the rockers and pedestals in the later models that prevented the wearing and eventual movement.

As far as that compression test goes the pot showing up the 120 reading is flaky. The rest from memory are ok, and its good that they all have similar readings. The 120 may not be posing too much of a problem right now but will most likely some time down the track. For now I would be looking into changing my rocker gear, use some good oil, change the oil filter, and see how it goes. Oh, and by good oil I would suggest Penrite.

may be a stupid answer, but possibly a head gasket, also valves if it is on gas. Or the car just needs a good tune up. try new plugs, leads, cap, filters and a service first

okay thanks for all the info so far its been really healpfull. it was running a little while ago today just took the fule/injector rail off. picked it down 2 no,3 cliynder its got spark so maby the injector is dud? there is multiple vaccume cords going evrywhere and dad said a possible leak,also is the fule pump ment to run for approx 2-3 secs then shut off or is it meant to be continious any help GREATLY appreciated

cheeres