My ERA 428FE started to knock tonight

[egreaves20]

I might try that tomorrow. I took off all the valve cover nuts and the cover didn’t want to come off. Has a nice thick black gasket. Is it normal to have to pry off the valve cover? If so, what’s best way? I’m very mechanically inclined, just never worked on a 428.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by egreaves20

I might try that tomorrow. I took off all the valve cover nuts and the cover didn’t want to come off. Has a nice thick black gasket. Is it normal to have to pry off the valve cover? If so, what’s best way? I’m very mechanically inclined, just never worked on a 428.

Wiggle it, and rap it with a rubber mallet. They usually come right off (for those of us with solid lifters). If wiggling and rapping doesn't get you anywhere then investigate whether a previous owner may have "weatherstripped" the gasket down on both sides to eliminate oil leaks.

[patrickt]

Here's some good info on FE rocker arm assemblies: https://www.diyford.com/ford-fe-engi...ltimate-guide/ It's mostly just a rip from Barry R.'s book, which anyone with an FE really should shell out the money for. If it does turn out that you bent a push rod while just "buzzing along at 3200 RPMs" and you do indeed have the original Ford factory rocker system in there (maybe even the factory non-adjustable rocker system, which is really hard to adjust) then I would have Joe put in a nice set of aftermarket rollers for you. Remember, half the solution is just picking the right system, the second half is making sure your other components (springs, rods, etc.) are good, and the third half is getting the geometry right. Joe will do a nice job on it, but he does like the original rocker systems, for some reason.