87 5kTQ Valve Tap

[Michael Spiers <mikes@specnet.com>]

Well, I got the car back together last night and started it up.  Seemed to run
fine, but now there is a very loud valve tap, from around the middle or rear of
the valve cover.  Noise will go away once the car is warm, but if you cut off
the car and then restart it two seconds later the noise starts all over agian.
 Now, when I was positioning the crank and camshaft for the timing marks to be
set up, I ran into a problem with the cam.  With the crank set to top-dead
center, the cam wouldn't rotate past a certain point.  I had removed the cam
gear to remove the rear timing cover so I could replace the water pump, and
when I was putting the gear back on I just shoved a large flat-head through one
of the six holes in the gear and braced it against the valve cover bolt.  I
cranked the sucker up to 59 ft/lbs, but right after the torque wrench clicked I
lost grip of the screwdriver and dropped it, but the cam did not spin at all,
even with 59 ft/lbs of torque on it.  Which means I was acutally levering
someting inside the motor against something else, I'm thinking I ramed a valve
into a piston head.  Anyhow, I rotated the crank a little and could then spin
the cam just fine, I lined up the timing marks and everything so I thought
nothing more of it.  Until I started it.  Is it possible to screw up a valve in
this manner?  This is a 10v motor mind you, I didn't think you could make the
vavles hit a piston head.  I changed the oil with Valvoline Syntech 10W30,
thinking maybe the lifters just drained over the week of sitting, but the noise
was still there when I was done.  Uhh, suggestions, comments, sympathies,
locations on the new motor I may need, etc. will be appreciated.

-Mike
87 5000CS TQ