VN 5.0 Temp at idle

[Noy]

Hey guys, im a bit worried about the temp on my 5.0 on idle it seems to shoot up to half way pritty quickly within 5minutes of idle and me reving... there is no fan or thermo.. though to me its reaching this temp a bit to quick? also I thought I solved my tapping problem from the drivers side, though it has came back and also noticed a slight oil leak from the drivers side rocker cover and oil filter... what could this be? I replaced the filter but still got the slight leak.

Ive got to the point were ive had enough and wont to take it somewere, though ill give it all one more shot.

[immortality]

ok mate, so the ticking went away with the cold oil but came back later as the oil got hot? i still think 10w40 is to thin for a high mileage 304. it sounds like a lifter that is leaking down once the oil got hot and thin'd out.

the 304's have viscous coupling fans, so the fan spins on the end of the water pump and once the engine gets hot and transfers that heat into the viscous coupling, the coupling locks up and the fans spins hard to cool the engine. the heat sounds normal if you were revving it continuesly

[Noy]

Yeah it seems that way, on startup the ticking is more noticeable when it heats up I put my ear to the rocker cover and can still hear it ticking... it sounds like its near the 2nd bolt on the rocker covers, also thats where im getting my leak from... I will pull the covers off tommorow when im less tired and go from there... what should I be looking for?

Thanks immortality youve been a great help (+rep)... also I loosend the oil filter and found the leak went away for now anyway.

[immortality]

pull the cover off and have a look for the obvious things like loose rocker bolts or a rocker sitting at a funny angle or maybe a broken/sagging valve spring. you can also turn the motor over by hand and see that all the rockers are moving properly. you could also run the engine at idle with the the cover off and see how things go. should be fine for a short while, oil won't spray everywhere

[Noy]

Will do, and will post back tommorow.. hopefully dont have a big day at work.