Noisy lifters question

[bdtutton]

Last year I had some burnt valves in my 1930 Tudor so I replaced all the valves and springs and carefully lapped them in. When I was adjusting the valves I remembered reading that Henry Ford always said "An engine that makes noise has more poise." so I adjusted the valves a little on the loose side of tolerance. It has been a year and several thousand miles since I replaced the valves and the engine runs great, but you can definitely hear the valves clattering away....

Once in a while I think about pulling the side cover and readjusting the valves to make them a bit quieter, but then I remember my grandfathers tractors that were worked hard, full of dirty oil and clattered away and never gave him any problems. Just wondering what the pros and cons are on this??

Thanks...Bryan

 

[Jim/GA]

I actually like to hear a few valve lifters now and then when the engine is stone cold, to know that I have enough clearance.

But if you are still hearing a lot of them clicking when the engine is warmed up, it is worth your time to go through and adjust the looser ones up a bit tighter.

But if you decide not to, it won't really hurt anything.

How's that for an ambiguous answer?