You may want to swedge the aluminum rocker insert hole to tighten it up a bit. You never did post pics of all the inserts surface condition.
No I didn't sorry! I can take some in 5min as I have the rocker shaft here in my garage at home. the other shaft is on the engine at the workshop. they are not great to be honest, but there's no play or clacking noise. I'm getting all new tips, but will wait till my friend comes over from the US (I think next month)
That's the thing..how do you determine how much pre-load you have on these things? On adjustable pushrods I'm guessing it's something along the lines of taking slack till you can spin pushrod betweenfingers, then couple more turns out or so.. (harleys are like that so can't be much different) But in my case... how is it done? for example, on all my other pushrods, how can I determine what preload the lifters have? - so that I can try figure out if I'm near to having to change another tip, or shim it or something... thanks! JP
I took used pushrods, cut 1-1/2" off, remove another 1/4" for room. Tap both ends 1/4-28 thread. Get hardware 1/4-28" threaded studs, or chop 1" off the thread of a bolt. Use them to check / set zero lash then measure your pushrods to see how much pre-load you have.
ah! gotcha! I can do that, have a bunch of used pushrods, can cut one up, get it on the lathe to tap it centered So then say (for the sake of easy measurement) that adjustable pushrod comes out with 8" measurement at no slack, my pushrods should be 8.025 to 8.030 to keep within the preload. thanks! got it now!
Yep, 1/4-28 thread is .0357 for one turn, so each 1/4 turn is about .009 1/4-28 tap threads perfectly without having to drill before tapping. You will have to remove / install rocker shafts a few times to check / measure...... Make 16, Add room for jam nuts and you can set your pre-load at exactly what you want... You're not oiling thru pushrods anyway.
If you unbolt the four rocker shaft pedestal bolts until you can see there is not tension at all on a push rod, you can pick a point of reference like the valve cover surface of the head. With a straight edge, scribe a reference mark on the push rod. Then torque the pedestal bolts down, and make another reference mark on the push rod. Pre load will be the difference between your scribe marks. Pick a lifter that is on the base circle. Think that will work?
Haha!! thanks guys!!! My eyes are still ok thank God, I'm only 38! I like the idea of making 16 adjustable pushrods, however, Id have to buy all new ones as my old ones some are slightly bent...... Larrys idea is also quite a good, if a bit more meticulous.... I was speaking to a friend yesterday and apparently he has a few adjustable pushrods I can borrow, but need to make sure first that the ball ends are the same size as mine. I'm down the workshop again this evening, armed with the new shimmed rocker - hopefully try a start again this evening!
Hope it works out for you and the engine too I feel that the idea of using the shim under the contact pad was innovative. But doubt if it will stay there. Will it ruin the rocker should it come loose.?
Well, that is a good point, but my way of thinking is, the shim is in there and the whole bit (rocker+shim+tip) is always under pressure. there's the preload on it, and there's no slack, so no chance of anything come loose? as it moves up down it's always in contact....
Here is pic of new rocker/s although the absence of lubrication troughs leads me to believe they are early maybe 215 or 300 rockers. All the later 68 style rockers I had inspected were cast with crosses in the bore insuring the oil would be there. After you look at dozens of rockers you can select the better by the amount of wear in these crosses. After cleaning in the hot tank some of the contact pads fell out. All in all a learning curve. I learned to buy remanufactored rockers. And then subjected them to the oil pump prime.....
Ask TA performance if they have any single rockers. R or L. if you have to send to Arizona. What would it hurt to have spare parts?
Well.... didn't start it today. After installing the rocker shaft, now with the spacer on the rocker tip for the right preload, when rotating the engine I could see the other lifters were not getting the same preload as this one just adjusted. Not going to risk it. I'm going to order a whole new set of tips. I have another friend flying over to the US next week, going to order the tips, and get him to bring them over in a couple of weeks or so...
You have new pushrods and lifters so, check rockers over real well. Worn pushrod cups, rocker insert valve contact surfaces, and possibly rocker body i.d. where it contacts (pivots) on rocker shafts could all be cause of reduced pre-load. Check it good! As long as there is "some" pre-load, you could go ahead and break it in. If you've got abt. .015 you won't hurt it. Unless you are at zero lash, you won't hear any lifters clacking.
