valve adjust problem -HELP

[rgmrgm]

i am in the process of adjusting the valves on my 71 1.7. i do not know the history of the car or engine other than it is very clean from under the car and it runs strong. i have owned it for a couple of years. i have an issue with cyl #1 intake valve. at tdc i can put pressure on the push rod end of the rocker arm with a screw driver and the clearance opens way up feels like a hydraulic lifter . if i try to close the clearance to .006 while maintaining pressure on the rocker arm i can screw the adjuster all the way in and still have more than .006. if i try to run it this way it backfire through the intake so the valve is not closing, should i just adjust it without putting any pressure on the rocker arm and set it at .006. what would allow about .025 movement between the push rod end of the rocker, through the push rod, through the lifter and into the cam on just this cylinder

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

That sounds really weird. Putting pressure on the other pushrods does not give you the same reaction as this one?

If that's the case, I'd pull the rocker arms for that cylinder, then pull the pushrods out and then the lifters. Compare the parts, see if they are noticeably different--particularly, if they are different lengths. If so, you have mis-matched parts. If not, then I'm not sure WTH is going on.

--DD

[rockerarm]

X2 what Dave said. An advantage to the type IV engine is that the lifters can be removed without a complete teardown. If you are gonna check this out its easy but a bit cumbersome.
Drain oil. Save or discard.
Remove wire clip, that retains pushrod tubes.
Remove rocker arm, then pushrods.
Remove sheetmetal betw heater box and case.
Remove pushrod tubes for that affected cylinder. They get "stuck" so grasping them with a slip joint pliers and a small twisting action usually "breaks" them loose.
Remove lifters.
Inspect.
Report back to us.
Keep everything indexed as to what position it came from.
At a minimum, you will need valve cover gaskets and push rod tube seals. Inspect your valve adj screw ends, as they tend to pit.
Hope this helps, Bill.

[rgmrgm]

the problem i have is that the car was running ok before i started to adjust the valves. i am going to try to get it back to where it was. i have another engine i am building a .040 over 1.7 with a little higher compression once that is in i will do an autopsy