O.K. I just finished up my Hotcam install (or thought I did) tonight and fired it up. I runs and sounds really good except for the ticking of the rockers. I did a few searches but really didn't find anything.

This was the first time I messed with setting roller rockers, but I have set normal ones many times.. This is what I did :
Of course with each lifter on it's heal of the cam I turned the 5/8 nut part down until I could no longer move the push rod up and down and didn't comperess the spring in the lifter at all..Zero lash.. Then I turned it 1/2 turn tighter and screwed the allen head set screw down and gave the pair about an 1/8 turn together to really lock them.

I still got a bunch of rattling with over 1/2 turn preload. When I get about 3k rpm one or two really start clanking.

Did I do something wrong?? I'm going to pull the valve covers in the morning and see what I got. Thanks in advance for any info..

 

Here ya go! ----->

Adjusting Valves and Zero Lash



Zero lash is when you go from having slack between the lifter, pushrod and rocker arm, to the exact point of no slack. The lifter needs to be on the base lobe of the cam when setting valve lash. When a cylinder is at TDC, both lifters should be at the bottom of their travel.

Gauging zero lash by hand is not an exact science. When setting the valve lash with the engine not running, you can get close enough by doing the "spin the pushrod" method. Loosen the rocker arm until you can feel slack in the pushrod to rocker arm. Spin the pushrod with your fingers while tighening the rocker arm back down. When you begin to feel drag while spinning the pushrod, you are at zero lash. Once zero lash is reached, stop and add your preload. Do not go back and try to feel for zero lash again. The lifter will immediately begin to bleed down a little and this will make it feel like you are not at zero lash. If you want to recheck zero lash, you must loosen the rocker arm again and tighten down while spinning the pushrod as before. At that point you want to set the preload. The purpose of preload is to compress the lifter inner mechanism so the pushrod will be centered within that travel. Turning the rocker nut another 1/2 to 3/4 turn, will normally put you in the ballpark for quiet operation without being too tight. Too tight - the valves will not completely close and you will lose compression. The engine will run rough, if it will run at all. Too loose - the rocker arms will make noise from the slack. Possible damage could occur from either extreme.

Some like to adjust the rockers while the car is idling. If you wish to do this, loosen one rocker at a time until you can hear it click. Tighten the nut, but don't exert downward pressure on the rocker arm with your socket. At the point when audible clicking is gone, tighten the nut another 1/4 turn for your preload.

There are several methods for setting the lash with the engine not running and are listed below.



Method 1

If you have never had the crank hub off (or know for sure that it's orientation is correct), you can use the arrow that is on the balancer to tell you where you are. You don't have to spin the crank every 90º with this method.
When the arrow is at 12 o'clock you will be at either #1 or #6 TDC. Look at the valves on the #1 cylinder. If both valves are up (pushrods down), you are at #1. If the exhaust valve is down (pushrod up), you are at #6 TDC. Note: any valve that you adjust, should be in the closed (pushrod down) position.

When at #1 TDC you can adjust the following valves:

Intake: 1, 2, 5, 7
Exhaust: 1, 3, 4, 8

Rotate the crank one revolution until the pointer is again at 12 o'clock. This will let you adjust the remainder of the valves. If you did #1 the previous time, you should be now at #6 TDC. #6's valves will look like #1's did as described above and the #1 exhaust should be open.

When at #6 TDC you can adjust the following valves:

Intake: 3, 4, 6, 8
Exhaust: 2, 5, 6, 7



Method 2


If you want to set the lash by bringing each cylinder to TDC, watch the valves and the pointer on the balancer and follow the Firing order:

1-8-4-3
6-5-7-2
Adjust both intake and exhaust of the cylinder that is at TDC. You will have to make 2 revolutions of the crank, stopping at 1/4 (90º) turn intervals for each cylinder.



Method 3


Another cylinder by cylinder method that does not require looking at the balancer position, follows:

Turn the engine in the normal direction of rotation until the exhaust lifter starts to move up, then adjust the intake valve to zero lash with no preload, then add your preload. Turn the engine over again until the intake opens completely and then is almost all the way back down. Now, set the exhaust valve to zero lash, then add your preload. Continue the above procedure for each cylinder until all valves are adjusted to the same amount of preload. This procedure will work for any hydraulic lifter cam with adjustable rocker arms.

 

Thanks for all the advise, but that's pretty much what I thought I did.

They were set on the bottom of cam travel for each one. The lifter had never been run so they were not pumped up and I could have screwed the nut down with my fingers and bottomed out the spring in the lifter and still twisted the push rod round and round so I just went until it could not move up and down and then turned the 1/2 preload which compressed the spring in the lifter a little.

 

Not unusual for an initial setting to be a little loose after the engine is run, especially if everything was stone cold/new when you did it. Just go through the adjustment procedure again with the engine warm.

Smoke, that info sure sounds familiar.

 

Thanks I'll reset them tomorrow after I run it a bit. I just went out and run it for a minute and the loud sparatic clangs when I get over 3k are just coming from the pass side. I think maybe they are hitting the oil baffles on the valve covers?? They are polished aluminum ones and said they work with 1.6 roller rockers on the box. The baffles are tiny and I don't see how they could be contacting but it seems like it. Can I take them off?

 

Yeah I borrowed it off of some one

 

You can shave some material off the baffles for clearance. If it is actually hitting, I would think you could put your hand on the cover and feel it.

 

Thanks for the help guys.. I reset the rocker this morning and they are perfect now. The loud clankity click click was the crank trying to eat my dipstick. I had to twist it in a differant way to get around my headers and it was making contact. She breathes fire now though. I need more tire. I have MAC torque arm LCAs with relocation brackets. I can't even give it 1/4 throttle taking off from the stop sign and I'm about sideways. Can't wait to get my slicks and off to the track.