Hi all, Quick recap. I was getting pinging in my 01 5.9 magnum engine when towing or going up steep hills after fixing the plenum. To date I have done the water pump, timing chain, plugs/distributor, plenum. After fixing the plenum issue, I purchased Iridium plugs and then learned this could be the cause of the of the pinging. So before installing the plugs I took and endscope and checked my cylinders. I wanted to do a before and after running Mopar Combustion Chamber cleaner to clean off the top of the pistons. Luckily I did, I saw my 7 and 8 cylinders had a clean spot and a bit of coolant. So FML now I had to dive into another huge job.

I picked up a set of new EQ heads, I am about to put the heads on. I assume that these heads are ready to install, I got them directly from the EQ company on ebay. So looking at the FSM it talks about the rocker arm procedure which is very confusing to me. It mentioned bleeding the rockers. Can someone help me understand how this works and how I should do it? I get that the cylinders can't be at TDC because the possibility of the intake and exhaust valve could hit the piston. The manual says to align the V8 mark at 147 degrees and (21 ft. lbs.) and torque all the rocker arms.

FSM Instructions:
INSTALLATION
(1) Rotate the crankshaft until the “V8” mark lines up with the TDC mark on the
timing chain case cover. This mark is located 147° ATDC from the No.1 firing position.
(2) Install the push rods in the same order as removed.
(3) Install rocker arm and pivot assemblies in the same order as removed. Tighten the
rocker arm bolts to 28 N·m (21 ft. lbs.) torque.

What I can't get is this part:
CAUTION: DO NOT rotate or crank the engine during
or immediately after rocker arm installation.
Allow the hydraulic roller tappets adequate time to
bleed down (about 5 minutes).

Isn't tightening down the rocker arm nut going to give me different torque readings depending on whether the valves are open or closed? I have never done this before so I am nervous about messing it up. My neighbor who is an old dodge guy says he has never heard of the tappets bleeding. Should I hand tighten then slowly crank them down to 20?

Any other suggestions or tips? So far I know I have to add assembly lube at the bottom and top of the pushrods (I am using the same ones, truck has 108k). Is it ok to reuse my pushrods?

Confused!

 

I did heads a couple years ago and used all my old push rods (except the one I bent), no problems.

 

I always thought you didn't have to worry too much about this with pedestal mount rockers.

 

OK, the 147 or whatever IS a "copy and paste" misprint from the V6 (even in the Dodge book), for a V8 you WILL find it 17 or so degrees (an inch) after TDC. It is lightly stamped V8 'around' the damper, near the engine edge, and not a clear single 'point' like a line would be - whew! I did a lot of spinning looking for mine!
I would soak, and disassemble ALL the lifters. Tap (hard tap) the plunger 'out, and push it back, and repeat until it all falls out. Body, big spring, 'cap', little spring, ball, plunger and socket with spring clip. The plunger, ball, and cap make a valve. On reassembly this ball valve should just move. When all reassembled, the socket and plunger should move with some force against the big spring, remember this force. There are 5 or so gaps or holes that need to be clear for oil flow. Soak in good oil while doing the heads. The roller and it's axle should both spin.
On engine reassembly, the 17 degree will allow almost all to be torqued down. When down good they should still be push-able - against that bigger spring and the pushrods will still just spin. 5 or so between the 2 heads will get too tight - mark these, do those later. For these, spin the damper and watch for those rockers to go down more. When they do, same thing, should torque yet still allow pushing down, and PR should still spin. I only had to turn twice away from 'V8' at 17.
Mine is quiet than ever, and the radiator actually sucks again when cold (OE heads had 6 valve to valve cracks, pressurizing the water?)