Lifter adjustment

[double ugly]

Can someone on the forum direct me to a engine guy here in Phoenix who can show me how to adjust a roller rocker on a 302 ford? I have one that is a little too loud. Don't suggest Levy Racing. I drove 60 miles round trip at 107 degrees with an appointment and he didn't have time for me. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
John

[Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB]

Hydraulic cam, roller rockers are easy to adjust. They have zero lash, no clicking, no impact. And you can pretty much adjust them once and forget them. Should be a simple job for any shop such as Anthem Motors in North Phoenix by Deer Valley RD and I-17. 623-879-0930

Bob

[double ugly]

I will probably have to take it there. I think 85.00/ hour is really steep though. I was hoping someone could talk me through it. Thanks for the reply.
John

[392cobra]

John,
The info below applies if you have adjustable rockers. 1/2 turn after zero lash is what comp cams recommends.

Hydraulic Lifters Can Be Adjusted at Any Engine Temperature

Since hydraulic lifters can compensate for thermal expansion of the engine, the adjusting can be done with the engine cold; hot adjustment is not necessary.



Adjusting Hydraulic Lifters for Proper Preload

In order to adjust the preload, the lifter must be properly located on the base circle or "Heel" of the lobe.

At this position the valve is closed and there is no lift taking place. You will need to watch the movement of the valves to determine which lifter is properly positioned for adjusting.

1. Remove the valve covers, and pick a cylinder that you are going to set the preload on.

2. Hand rotate the engine in its normal direction of rotation and watch the exhaust valve on that particular cylinder. When the exhaust valve begins to open, stop and adjust that cylinder's intake rocker arm. (Why? Because when the exhaust valve is just beginning to open, the intake lifter will be on the base circle of the lobe, the correct position for adjusting the intake.)

3. Back off the intake rocker arm adjuster and remove any tension from the pushrod. Wait a minute or two for that hydraulic lifter to return to a neutral position. The spring inside the lifter will move the pushrod seat up against the retaining lock if you give it time to do so. (If you are installing brand new lifters they will be in the neutral position when they come in the box.)

4. Now spin the intake pushrod with your fingers while tightening down the rocker arm. When you feel a slight resistance to the turning of the pushrod, you are at "Zero Lash". Turn the adjusting nut down one half to one full turn from that point. Lock the adjuster into position. The intake is now adjusted properly.

5. Continue to hand turn the engine, watching that same intake. It will go to full open and then begin to close. When it is almost closed, stop and adjust the exhaust rocker arm on that particular cylinder. (Again, when we see the intake almost closed, we are sure that exhaust lifter is on the base circle of the lobe.) Loosen the exhaust rocker arm and follow the same procedure described before in steps 3 and 4 to adjust this rocker arm.

6. Both valves on this cylinder are now adjusted, and you can move on to your next cylinder and follow the same procedure again.

[Gordon Levy]

John, if you remember. Your car when you brought it by wasn't making any noise except for standard roller rocker noises. I said I would adjust it but I thought is was a waste if your money. If you have lifter noises that are coming and going, a vlave adjustment isn't going to help. This means most likely there is a lazy lifter in the engine.
If you want to adjust them yourself, it isn't that hard but I do recommend you do it when the engine is cold.
1) Remove valve covers and rotate engine to TDC #1
2) Loosen both rockers on #1, rotating the push rod with your figures, hand tighten the poly lock until you feel the free play go away. Tighten 1/4-1/2 turn after that. Tighten the lock and do the other rocker on that cylinder.
3) rotate the engine 90 degrees and go to the next cylinder in the firing order and repeat. Once you have finished running through the firing order, reinstall the valve covers and fire it up.
Firing order for a hydraulic roller small block is, 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8

[scootter]

I just thought the same thing on my engine that has only 700 miles on it. The way that 392Cobra suggest is the exact same directions that came with my new cam and lifters from Ford Racing. I pulled my valve cover, messed with the adjustment 2 or three times. Put it back together and it was making the same noise. Got out the long screwdriver and listened to all the lifters. It ended up to be my # 8 spark plug wire shorting out against the header which was atleast 1/4" away. Made a nice sound with the MSD ignition. Just a thought.
Scott

[double ugly]

Your right Gordon. The rocker wasn't making noise when you listened to the engine, but it started again 30 seconds after leaving. The appointment was to get the rocker adjusted and to have someone do a nut and bolt check on the underside but you had no lifts available. I thought that was what half the appointment was about. Your are a guy with a lot of talent and I'll likely try again some day but when it's much cooler.
John

[double ugly]

I made an appointment at a Ford SVO shop in the Scottsdale Airpark next week. Hopefully they will let me watch the adjustment proceedure. If I was positive that it was an out of adjustment rocker I would try to do it myself. Thanks for all the input. I printed the adjustment procedure and put in my info folder. Thanks again. What a great forum.
John

[Gordon Levy]

John, Sorry about the lift being busy. I expected it to be free by the time you got here. If After the rocker adjustment is made the noise still continues, we will have to look at replacing the lifters.