I rebuilt a 302 with roller lifters. There is low compression. It seems like the valves are stuck open. When installing valves I simply torqued them to spec. Not sure what the solution is.
Thanks

 

How long did you soak them in oil before installation? Do your springs match the travel of the lifters?

 

Why do you think the lifters are not working? You need to be a bit more thorough with everything you've done. What push rods? What rockers? What heads?

 

You could have low compression if the distributor is off, or the timing gears are not meshed correctly also

 

Thanks for some of the ideas. I've read that you are supposed to adjust the valves when the lifters have no oil in them.

 

If talking about what you read is another way of saying you didn't soak them in oil before installation I'd say that's your problem.

 

I did soak them. I thought that made sense. The haynes manual says to adjust valves when their empty.

 

Here's a quote for you.

""If clearance exists between the pushrod and the seat in the hydraulic lifter, you will have no lifter preload. In this case the valve train will be noisy when the engine is running. All of the hydraulic force produced by the lifter will be exerted against the lifter’s retaining lock, and this could cause the lock to fail. If the opposite occurs, and the pushrod descends too far with the lifter on the base circle, then you may have excessive lifter preload. This could cause the valve to stay off its seat during most of, or all, its entire cycle. This reduces the cylinder pressure, lowering the performance of the engine. Backfiring may also occur.""

Cylinder pressure is compression.

White89gt asked some important questions you glossed over. Compression loss can have many causes with lifters just being one of them. Lifters can be picky though and there is installation and adjustment specs for the local garage and then there is a thorough installation done by a professional engine builder. Who do you think a Haynes manual caters too?

Good luck.

 

Wow, You discarded everything suggested or asked. What kind of help are you looking for? There are no magic wands to tell you what's wrong with your engine from miles away.