Use your hydraulic roller lifters. With using non-adjustable rocker arms, I don't believe there is any "lash" to check. It really is how the rocker arm roller pushes on the end of the valve stem that matters.The roller should only push on the valve stem near the center and a little each side of the center of the valve stem. If it is rolling from the center to the edge closest to the intakke manifold, the pushrod is too long. If it is rolling from the edgeclosest the headers to the center of the valve stem it is too short.

The adjustable push rod will allow you to adjust the length of the push rod until you achieve the correct pattern of roller rocker/valve stem contact. You then measure the adjustable push rod per the instructions provided with it and order a complete new set of pushrods as close to the optimum measured length as possible.

I'll leave the lifter part of this conversation to somebody else.

 

You adjust for valve lash on flat tappet solid lifter cams. On hydraulic lifter cams you adjust for preload.You do not want the pushrod seat in the lifter to pump all the way up against the retaining clip (too little preload) because the clip will eventually break, nor do you want the pushrod seat too far down so that the lifters over pump duringhighrevs and cause piston slap. Too little preload will be noisy as well.The mock-up lifter will essentially become a solid lifter, and is used for measuring pushrod length and checking valvetrain geometry. After you get everything right you remove it and install the hydraulic lifters that you are going to use.

BTW- I have never had a poly-lock "come loose".

 

ok so i have to get a solid lifter (just any brand or style made for this motor will work?) for mock up, or could i tighten the adj. push rod so that my hydr. lifter is in the midle of its movement and call it good.

i dont know all that much about this valvetrain stuff so all of this help is greatly appreciated and sorry if i ask alot of dumb ?s

with the rocker arm bolts i used the stock ones after i had already taken them out once, i have been told that with those style bolts you can only put them in once.

 

I don't know what kind of lifter you would need, I guess you'll have to measure and check specs. Making one is really not that hard to do at all.

If you want to leave it to chance, the way to do it would be to spin the adj rod open until there is no slack at all and the pushrod seat is at the top. Take that measurement and add .060 to it. Just keep in mind that pushrod length will affect where the rocker tip ends up on the top of the valvestem. You can put everything together and before you install the intake,valve covers,and everything from there on; Unplug the pcm to disable fuel and spark. Then crank the motor via the starter for 10 seconds. This will pump the lifters up. You can then hand crank the motor and check everything. The tip of the rocker should start out just to the intake side of center on the valvestem when the valve is closed and end up just to the exhaust side of centerwhen it is fully open.

If you are referring to the bolts that come with the Harland Sharps, they are not TTY(torque-to-yield). The intake manifold bolts are.

 

ok, i m gonna play with it tomarrow see if i can figure it out

thanks
dave

 

ok so i geuss i have solid lifters, (they dont move or have any spring action) i thought i did. does this make measuring easier? can i simply adj. the adj. pushrod so that it is tight to the rocker arm? the rockers set right in the middle of the valve stem just like they should.

so could it be just that easy?

 

I doubt you have solid lifters. They probably just didn't bleed down. Do you see a retaining clip at the top? If you take a .060 feeler and put it in there between that clip and the pushrod seatto make sure the lifter isn't pumped up all the way, then I would say open the rod up until there isn't any slack and you should be fine. I have used new lifters every time I have taken the valvetrain apart, so I can't say why your lifters would still be pumped up or if they should be still pumped up. Did you keep track of which lifter came out of each bore?

 

yes i know which lifters came out from each spot, i did use new lifters when i put the motor together about 400 miles of use on the motor, so they are like new, they do have the retaining clips but will not move up or down, i dont understand the pumped up thing, do they just have oil in them?

i think i have been looking at this push rod length thing all wrong, is it as simple as figureing out if the rocker arm rolls on the valve stem the right way.

 

Dave,
Yes that is basically it. What was said in the beginning was to use a black marker on the end of the valve stem. Reassemble the valve train and turn the engine over without starting. The roller rocker should make marks in the black end of the valve stem to help you easily determine the exact contact location between the roller rocker and the valve stem. If it is not correct per information provided before then you need to obtain either longer or shorter pushrods accordingly.

 

That and that the lifters have the right amount of preload. The lifters pump up with oil. If you have .060 clearance between the top of the pushrod seat and the retaining clip and the rocker tips are aligned properly on the valve stems then you are good. If the seats are all the way against the retaining clip, then you will have to bleed the lifter down either by forcing the seat down into the lifter shell or by dissassembling them by removing the retaining clip and pulling the seat up and out of the lifter shell.