need some help

[Dannys400ex]

i just put the 440 together and when i start it, it is knocking pretty bad. what could i have done wrong for this to happen?

[ckasper18]

Was the piston at top dead center when you set the valves and what did you set them at.

[Dannys400ex]

yes the piston was tdc and i set the valves at 5 thousandths

[mojoe2878]

what mark on the flywheel did you line up when you set the timing, and how did you line the marks up on the cam sprocket.
is it a loud knock or a tickiing?

[Dannys400ex]

its a loud knock, i lined the t up in the groove

[mojoe2878]

i would pull the valve cover back off and turn the motor over with a wrench until the T mark is lined up again and the cam lobes are facing down and look to see if the 2 cam sprocket lines are still level with the head and the 1 facing up. it may be off a tooth or two and you not know it.
did you measure the piston to bore clearance before putting the piston in to make sure the machine shop didnt over bore the sleeve? unfortunantly they do this sometimes and its always good to check it before you install it.
to me it sounds like either the timing is off a little and the valves are hitting or the piston is slapping around in the cylinder.
also when you adjusted the valves were the cam lobes facing down like they should have been?
i gotta go to a new year party, so check it out and let us know what you find.

[Dannys400ex]

im gonna tear the top off again tomarrow and retime it, hopefully thats all it is. i did check the clearance for the piston and it was right. it has to be the timing.