Compression Testing & Valvetrain Noise

[jrm927]

First Post! I purchased a 1998 Cobra w/ 195K miles back in April and I've been working on it since. So far I've replaced the fuel pump, coil packs, wires, plugs, motor mounts, harmonic balancer, clutch (King Cobra), pressure plate, flywheel, clutch cable, quadrant, firewall adjuster, front main seal, rear main seal, cleaned the IMRCs and upper/lower manifolds, replaced the transmission fluid, changed oil twice, front anti-roll bar bushings, drained and replaced the engine coolant and replaced several bulbs. Overall the car feels pretty strong and drives well. The long term goal will be a power-adder, but I think the mileage on this vehicle is a little high for that without a rebuild beforehand. With all that said, I ran a compression test (dry only) and ended up between 198 & 203 psi across the board on all 8 cylinders after 12 strokes. That pressure would then hold w/o leaking down. If I recall correctly the values started around 90 psi and increased steadily until they peaked at the above numbers. How many times should you turn the engine over to get your "published" reading?

Second issue - I am getting ticking noises from the valvetrain after the engine warms up. From reading the forums, this sounds like the lash adjusters. Is it common to go ahead and replace all 32 or just the offenders? Once the valve covers are off, can you tell which ones are bad? I'll probably also address the timing components while I'm at it. Which timing components should I focus or should I just pull the front cover off first and see what I've got regarding wear?

 

[jrm927]

Anyone?

 

[Tabres]

In most instances I've read of people replacing the lash adjusters it was usually just the 'offenders' as you put it. I suppose its more personal preference than anything though.

I've got a few in the passanger side head of my car making a lot of noise that I should replace..