emergency valve adjustment help

[crm318]

today i tried to adjust the valves on my truck and when i got it all zipped up, i started it and it ran like crap for 4 seconds and died. i pulled the plugs and valvecovers off and tried to adjust them AGAIN in this order:

tdc #1
INTAKE on cylinders 1,3,4,8
EXHAUST on cylinders 1,2,5,7

tdc#6
INTAKE on cylinders 2,5,6,7
EXHAUST on cylinders 3,4,6,8

i did all the tdc#6 valves first (obviously with the dist. pointed at #6) and then i rotated it to tdc#1 and a few of the tdc#6 valve felt extremely loose or unadjusted. im about to cry,vomit,and shoot someone all at the same time. and it doesnt help that i have to be home for christmas in 3 days. any help would be much appreciated.

[motopatzo]

That seems right. Is there any chance you overtightend them. I normally adjust the lifters just enough so I can barely turn the pushrods.

[crm318]

i did it till the pushrod stopped spinning and then i tightened it a half turn. i forgot to add: the reason that i was readjusting the valves was because there was a bit of valvetrain clatter coming from the motor (im sure it was valvetrain). when i went from valve to valve, i noticed that alot of the rockers were very loose. the procedure im doing is to roll the pushrod in my hand and immediately stop when that happens. i then tighten it another half turn. what am i doing wrong. im soooo frustrated.

[Green Machine]

Could be the lifters are sticky and the plunger is not coming up when you loosen the rocker, leading to over tight valves. Don't know. Anyway I guess I would loosen all the rockers up 1 turn and see if it starts then. If you can get it running, remove 1 valve cover at a time and set them running. Kind of messy but if it works ........

[motopatzo]

[ETsC10]

yes, and do have a chunk of cardboard handy so you don't get splushed with all that oil!

[crm318]

if i tightened them a half turn, wouldnt that make it too loose with a full turn? should i just loosen them till the pushrod is spinning? thats kinda how it was when it was still running.

[Rollie396]

if you have an old valve cover around you can cut a slot an inch or two wide in the top of it and bolt it on if you set your valves while the engine is running.It'll help contain the oil.

[CMars45000]

You know I used to put each cylinder at TDC to adjust the vavles (still do when an engine is on the stand) but I found a MUCH faster way is to do it with the truck running...I do one bank at a time and use those little oil deflectors that clip on the rockers (I got mine from Mr. SnapOn) and turn out the adjusting nut until the rocker starts to rattle then turn it in SLOWLY and when it stopes making noise, make one more 1/4 turn on the adjust nut then move on...

Just a lot easier for me doing it this way...

[crm318]

how tight should i set it to get the truck running? sorry for the massive amounts of questions.

[CMars45000]

Originally Posted by crm318

how tight should i set it to get the truck running? sorry for the massive amounts of questions.

Better loose than tight...If they are way to tight, the valves will never close and you are heading towards coil bing on the valve springs which will make the adjustment a moot point since you will be replacing bent pushrods at that point... If you are doing the TDC method, I loosen them until the pushrod spins freely, the tighten JUST to the point that the pushrod has slight drag on it when you are rotating it then 1/4 to 3/8 of a turn more...

The idea is to get the plunger in the lifter "about" mid travel...When you can spin the pushrod freely, the pushrod has no preload on the plunger and thus, the plunger in the lifter is fully extended. Once there is JUST slight drag on the pushrod when you spin it, the pushrod is just starting to push on the lifter plunger... then the 3/8 of a turn get the lifter plunger to ABOUT mid way in its travel... Make a little more sense now?!?

[GREASEMONKEY72]

all i do is put a set of old covers on with the slots cut out and let the truck run and while its at full operating temp i adjust them while its running by backing it off till it ticks then slowly tighten down till it stops then a 1/4 turn more and my truck runs just fine

-steven

[Sweet72]

It sure sounds like you have them adjusted too tight. The lifters will bleed down if the engine has been sitting for awhile making it relatively easy to push the plungers down. Back off all the rocker arm nuts till they're loose and allow the lifter plungers to return to their fully extended point up against the retaining ring. Check the link for pics of a lifter assembled and with plunger removed so you can visualize what's going on.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...icial%26sa%3DN

Now slowly tighten the adjusting nut till all the vertical play is out of the pushrod. You'll feel very very slight resistance when trying to turn the pushrod between your fingers. Now make your 1/2 turn clockwise to tighten the rocker arm nut which will move the plunger in the lifter down away from the retaining ring about .030 inch. The pushrods may seem loose after you've adjusted them, but when the oil pressure comes up they'll tighten up. This should get your engine running.

[crm318]

well im about to start it up. if the truck dies because the lifters arent fully primed, do i just keep trying to start it untill they do prime? like i said some of the rockers are really loos when im tdc for other rockers.

[Richard H.]

They will loosen up while adjusting, with engine off and should come back.
First loosen all the rockers back off at least one turn.
I usually have a helper when I go thru this. With cap removed turn the engine several times and quickly get it to TDC on #1. Then adjust as told above tho I always go one turn after zero lash.
Spin the engine again several times and get to TDC #6. This is as close as you can get to zero-ing the lifters. Use clean fingers while wile spinning the push-rods.

[crm318]

well i got it running real good. it has never been this quiet under the hood before. i ran the motor with out the hotwire pluged in. i got all the valves tight enough for it to start. then i put a hose in my ear and went from rocker to rocker tightening until it didnt click. that did the trick. however, is all of the clicking supposed to be gone from the rocker? a few just had a faint tap.

[Sweet72]

Congrats! Glad you were able to get it running again. So, for future reference, what were you doing wrong (in the rocker adjustment procedure) that caused it not to start?

[crm318]

well im not sure why it didnt crank right away. using the starter to get the valves semi-adjusted was my best bet. it runs great now. thanks for all of yalls help and merry christmas.