Ok so i got all my parts in today for the head gasket change. i was just reading on the internet what i have to do for the rocker arm install. they are stock arms and stock pushrods. i dont understand zero lash.. i understand TDC and i just thought i needed to put the crank in tdc #1 cylinder and then reinstall rocker arms and push rods.. all this spinning of the crank doesnt make sense to me. maybe because of my lack of exp, or that its early and i didnt have my maxwell. well if anyone can help it would be nice trying to get this thing put together today but i am stumped

 

zero lash does seem confusing when you read about it but trust me, it's one of the easiest things to do.

Go to shbox.com and use the method where you set the crank at #1tdc and adjust all the valve you can, then rotate it 360 and adjust the rest. He has an excellent writeup.

Once you are set to tdc and you know what cylinder you're on and what valves you can adjust, simple spin the pushrod with your fingertips while you tighten the nut. Be careful not to push down on the rocker while you're tightening it. Once you feel drag on the pushrod and it becomes difficult to spin, you're at zero lash. Stop here, and tun the nut an additional 1/2 to 3/4 turn to set your preload.

I have poly locks which make this job a piece of cake. If you had poly locks you'd see what I mean right away.

I would recommend you do a search on youtube. There are a ton of guys who have video's showing how to install every type of rocker. Sometimes it helps to see.

I've adjusted my valves doing the 1/4 of the crank, I've also done it while I crank it over and have somebody under the hood, and I've done it with the crank at #1 then at #6. It all yielded the same results and I found it's less time consuming and less work to do it the last way so that's what I stuck with.

 

I found that when using RR's, that the pushrod will still turn AFTER there is a load on the valve. It is more precise to lift the pushrod up and down until there is no up and down movement. This is zero lash.
I hope I didn't confuse things

 

This is true. Sometimes I forget people don't have the same setup as mine. With my guideplates it really isn't feasible to do the up and down, but that is the proper way.