i am adjusting the rockers that came with the hotcam. i attempted first to do them with the car off, rotating the crank as i went along. started the car up and i had LOUD clacking!! i went until there was no more play then tightened another 1/4 turn. so yest i attempted to try it with the car running.... they are def. quieter but i think i went way too tight! anything bad happen when the rockers are too tight? ive heard lack of performance, but will i damage anything? im actually taking the car to a local shop that is going to adjust them for me, but i wanted to make sure the car is ok to drive there!

 

If they were too tight, you would feel a miss, due to the valves not closing all the way.

 

Ditto. What shoebox says. The valves will not close all the way, and performance will be VERY Bad, depending on how tight you put them.


When I did my first cam install, I made them waayyy to tight. The car barely started, and I had to step on the gas pedal for it to start, and then it would barely idle... if at all. The car would stall, and throttle response was a joke . On top of that, I don't think the car would rev above 3000 rpm. The check engine light came on also, probably because the car was EXTREMLY rich.

We set the valves with the car on, and as soon as we set one valve, the car started to change. All was fine after we finished.

I think a problem some people have , is the part where you turn until there is NO PLAY. To some this means no up and down play, while to others it means until the push rod won't turn. If you turn until the pushrod won't turn, you have already made them too tight off the bat..... let alone the extra 1/4 , 1/2 , 1 turn. etc. Tightening until the pushrod won't turn is again, already making them way to tight, before you even get to the extra 1/4 -1 turn.

 

so how do you measure the correct tightness when going by the pushrod?

I'll be doing 1.6s soon so i need to know tighten till it starts getting snug but still able to turn? then thats it?

 

Tighten the nut until the pushrod doesn't have any slack in going up/down anymore. If it still spins, that's ok.

Then, what I like to do is to tighten the allen-head locking screw until I feel it hit the stud. Then I turn the entire nut/lock assembly about 1/2 turn.. by the time you go 1/4-1/2 turn, the locking screw will be jamming against the stud, and itl'l be real nice and tight..