I'm just curious how loud these things should tick, cause mine are pretty freakin loud. I can hear them inside the car while driving quite well. Should they be this loud? They're the GM 1.6rr's that come with the hotcam kit.

 

My Pro Mag's are not that noticeable.

 

hmm, well, imma go popoff my valve covers and see if they're lashing on the springs or something

 

I may be crazy but I think crane/gm rockers are louder than the pro mags. Seriously though, on LT1's with roller rockers you are gonna hear some noise and different valve springs seem to be noiser than others.. Should be nothing above the radio. Adjust them while at normal running temp to be the closest to perfect. Hope this helps.....

 

what's the proper torque spec for the bolts on the rockers?

i tried to go pop off my valve covers to check them out, but the damn thing's sealed on there and I don't have anything to pry it off with... rather limited selection of tools here at college, so i'll check them out when i go home next wednesday

 

There is a distinct difference between normal valvetrain noise and abnormal. Abnormal you will hear a distinct metallic "ticking" where normal you will hear more of a "whir".... if that makes any sense.
No rocker.. doesn't matter what brand should have any sort of distinct "ticking" sound.
Can I use the "distinct" word any more times? LOL

 

do you think the rockers could be lashing on the valve springs then perhaps?

also, i could swear the car wasn't making this noise a week and a half ago, but not 100% sure. now im worried that maybe i should find some tools to get the valve cover off and check it out.

 

You can take the valve covers off, rotate the engine until you get to a valve that is completely closed and put a feeler guage around the spring to make sure there is enough clearence between the spring and rocker arm... or you can look at the retainer of a valve that is completely open and see if there are any markings on it. I'd try to readjust the valves anyway.. see if that clears it up.

 

With a hydraulic cam there should be little to no clearance when the engine is not running. Maybe you're thinking of a solid setup? Actually, now that I think about it I can barely wiggle the rocker arms, but there's no published clearance. What you need to do is rotate the engine so both valves on a cylinder are closed. Loosen the setscrew and the retaining nut. Now start slowly tightening the nut until you reach zero lash(the pushrod gets hard to spin between your fingers and it won't move up and down. You may have to back off and try a couple times until you get it). Now tighten the nut about a 1/4 turn and tighten the setscrew. Do each cylinder like this. My GM rockers(same as yours) are actually quite loud, and always have been. There is no distinct ticking, but you can definately hear them, especially with the hood open. Check your lash and you should be good to go.

 

I believe that GMPP rockers are the same as Crane Race Golds. I have self aligning Cranes, which I believe that the rocker that come in the Hot Cam kit are also. I do have alittle ticking at low RPMs around 1400-1800. Self aligning rockers are louder than guide plate rockers. When i first installed mine i was pulling my hair out trying to get rid of the noise. Every time I would ajust them and they would sound the exact same. After my head and cam swap with new lifters they sound the same and havn't changed. If there is noise through out the entire RPM range you probally have a problem. If you hear little ticking at low RPM just above idle I wouldn't worry about it. The tech at Crane said they should sound like a sewing machine I've always listen to the engine to see if the sounds change.

 

My Crane Gold's are noisey at lower rpm's also, adjusted valves 4 different times to try and make them quieter with no luck. The noise comes and goes depending on engine temperature.

 

Here's a video of my Pro Magnum Non-Self Aligning rockers with GM guideplates. This should give you an idea of what "normal" sounds like.
Valvetrain Noise

You have self aligning rockers though, and they tend to be noisier than non self aligning rockers, from what I've read. If yours sound even close to mine, then they should be fine.

Dan

 

I appreciate the valve adjustment lesson and all, however that is not what I was referring to. The original poster asked how to check for rocker arm clearence to see if they were clearing the retainers. I then told him how to check... using a feeler guage. If you would've read on you also would've noticed I told him to redo valve adjustment.

 

Every car I have sat in with RRs sounds that way. You must sacrafice some things to get that extra power and thats simply something you must now deal with. I personally dont think its annoying at all and hell if i just turn up the radio i cant hear a thing but I do have the Pro Mag NSA rockers which ppl claim arent as noisy. Of course try adjusting them but I bet you wont be able to tell a bit of difference. If the rockers are loose they will "clack", not "tick".

 

Sorry about that. I was trying my hardest to not sound like a dick, but I guess I did. I explained how to properly set the lash, because he said "what's the proper torque spec for the bolts on the rockers". This makes me assume that he may not have much experience with adjusting rockers, so I told him step by step how it's done. Also, when he said "do you think that the rockers could be lashing on the valve springs perhaps", I wasn't sure exactly what he was asking about, since I had absolutely no fitment issues with my Hotcam kit. Simple misunderstanding. I hope he gets everything straightened out.