Help Needed with 202!!

[83 WB_Ute]

Cam and lifters always as a set mate and always be sus on an unknown fibre cam drive sprocket.

You're talking about your blue motor aren't you?

Black smoke and running worse? What sort of carby is it (should be a Varijet) and have you checked the basics... inlet manifold and carby tight and not sucking air etc? Black smoke and running rough do seem to point to a carby (might get away with running a kit through it and a real close look at the float and choke mechanisms - they also had a gasket between the throttle body and the body of the carby and/or a bakelite insulator under the carby that gave trouble from time to time sucking air), but that rattle you describe makes me wonder if something in the lubrication system (blocked oil filter or worn out oil pump) isn't right if the lifters are all rattling away together at mid to high rpm. Do you have an oil pressure gauge on it - if so what are you getting at idle/1500/3000rpm?

Those 6's had a couple of plastic vac trees that perished and sucked air and they had a hot idle ported vac system that increased the idle if they got a bit too hot (to increse the fan speed to draw more air through the radiator.

Has anyone showed you how to check for vac leaks using either WD40 (be careful) or water?

Ok, next question is how long/hard is it to do the cam and lifters in one go??

Yep, a blue 202

It doesn't really blow black smoke, but its running quite bad and is down on power a fair bit.. Yep, its a Varijet, that's been completely rebuilt less than 3000km ago.. But I'll have to have a look at the float and the choke settings.
As far as I an tell it has no air leaks anywhere, but I'll check it again and see how I go and the vacuum trees on the intake are almost brand new too..

The rattling has had me worried for a while now, but I haven't been able to work it out... :/
I do have a GTS dash in it, but the oil pressure gauge doesn't work, I have a spare quad gauge here that I'll swap out and see if it works or not and get back to you on the oil pressure readings on the weekend

Detination may be as simple as glowing carbon in the chambers or on plugs, but most likley timing issue, all the lifters rattling at higher rpm sounds like oil pressuer probs, did u thiken the oil to stop the rattles? As this might be a prob if you went to thick. The lifters work with oil pressure if the oil is to thin or too thick it afects the lifters. I would time the motor first then take the rocker cover of and start the motor to see if you can nip the rockers which may be loose too . Good luck

Yeah, I'll have a look and reset the timing and see how I go

Umm nah, I haven't thickened the oil.. Its got 20W/50 in it at the moment.. I'll have a look at the rockers on the weekend too then get back to you