[dataway]

Know it's been covered a ton, just wanted to check before I do this and glue down the valley cover.

Melling 068 cam, Johnson lifters, Comp roller tip rockers, BBC 7/16" studs, standard rocker nuts, Comp thick wall pushrods.

Valve train geometry already checked, contact on valves good, etc. Basically a stock 68 YS400.

No oil in engine/lifters, new build, will sit a while before being started.... like probably 3 months.

Going to put each lifter on the base circle, adjust to zero lash, turn a 1/2 turn more.

Good to go?

[steve25]

Yes, but bar the motor over 4 times just to check for any loose rockers and after you tighten down the set screw go 1/8 th of a turn on the poly lock .
Before you slap the covers on add 3 was of oil to the motor by pouring over all the rockers, but be carefull as if you add it too fast with the covers off it can over flow out the rear of the head, ask me how I know this , lol!

[ponchjoe]

He says standard rocker nuts, I'm assuming he meant poly locks???

[Tempest]

to adjust the valves/rockers, the lifters need to be full of oil.

so, for initial start up, you should be good to go, but, before you seal the valve covers, run the engine for break in, and then do the final adjustment.

[steve25]

Hey, I missed that!
Well since stock Pontiac nuts will not even go on a straight 7/16" stud I was assuming he had poly locks!

[78w72]

i assume since he has 7/16 studs he means standard crimp nuts that do lock. cant do the zero lash plus half turn on stock non locking nuts. also verify what johnson lifters say to adjust them to, 1/2 turn past zero is not a universal asjustment for all lifters.

Originally Posted by Tempest

to adjust the valves/rockers, the lifters need to be full of oil.

not sure what this means... lifter adjustment is done on dry lifters (aside from assembly lube or a quick dunk in oil) most all hydraulic lifters ive seen specifically say to not fill or pump the lifters with oil.

[STEELCITYFIREBIRD]

Polylocks are the way to go, mine fit easily under stock dripper style valve covers with thin gaskets. Polylocks making finding zero lash much easier.
Pivot ball, push rod tips and valve tip...(and guides) should be prelubed at this point, before adjustment.
Lifters don't need to be full of oil, they are prelubed with a light anti corrosion oil.

Do you plan to fill and prime engine before storage?

If so(I would) the tilt test of the rear main is prudent.
For extended storage, with dizzy in, cork both valve covers and valley pan PCV hole and rotate the complete engine 360* on the stand to get oil on everything. 3 month plans usually end up being longer!

I adjust Pontiac lifters 5/8 turn with adjustable valvetrain and lock nuts, 1/2, then plus 1/8 with allen and nut together if poly's.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by dataway

Know it's been covered a ton, just wanted to check before I do this and glue down the valley cover.

Melling 068 cam, Johnson lifters, Comp roller tip rockers, BBC 7/16" studs, standard rocker nuts, Comp thick wall pushrods.

Valve train geometry already checked, contact on valves good, etc. Basically a stock 68 YS400.

No oil in engine/lifters, new build, will sit a while before being started.... like probably 3 months.

Going to put each lifter on the base circle, adjust to zero lash, turn a 1/2 turn more.

Good to go?

Yup, no need to soak them or pump them up with oil. With the adjustable BBC studs, simply set to zero lash on the base circle, another 1/2 turn and you're done. No need to go back and readjust anything. Button it up. When you prime the engine before firing it off, it will fill the lifters with oil.

I just did mine with RAIII cam, Johnston lifters, 7/16 BBC studs and poly lock setup. 1/2 turn past zero lash works perfectly.

Agree with Steelcityfirebird, the poly locks make finding zero lash a snap. I honestly don't like to use anything but polys on every engine build anymore.

[Cardo]

Which Johnson lifters is everyone using.... In their catalog they have the 951's but then there are a couple of different versions all relating to pump up. Standard lifter?

[ponyakr]

"...since he has 7/16 studs he means standard crimp nuts that do lock..."

"...Comp roller tip rockers..."

The Comp roller tip rockers come with the Chevy style crimp nuts.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/c...n-16/overview/

I agree with the others that poly-locks are MUCH better. I've had problems with lots of those crimp nuts backing off. On 350 Chevy truck engines I always kept a lot of extra nuts, for replacements, when one would back off. You can usually tell if they'll stay put for a while, by how tight they are when installing. If they are easy to turn when tightening, they'll be more likely to back off, when engine is running.

So, if I were going to try to use 'em, I'd definitely replace any that are fairly easy to tighten.

But, from my experience, I personally would not even consider using crimp nuts, even on a really mild stock type engine. There are decent poly-locks for $30 or less.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wolverine-WG...-/262362998627

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMP-CAMS-46...38.m2548.l4275

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...8aAgp8EALw_wcB

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/c...6-16/overview/

[dataway]

Had no freakin idea the poly-locks were that inexpensive. Yes I was talking about the standard BBC crimp nuts that come with the Comp roller tips.

Will poly-locks fit under the covers of a 68 that uses the separate bolt on drippers? I definitely want to keep the drippers.

I'd like to avoid anything that washes out assembly lube, which would lead me to believe I should avoid any extensive priming until moments before startup. Mains, rods, cam, etc. all have a nice coat of assembly lube in the inside. More than a few minutes of priming seems like it would wash it out.

I could get some cheap oil and do a tilt test before storage, and then change it before starting.

Should have the test stand ready in a few months or less. Plan is to break it in ... and probably try to put a couple of hours of run time on it before it goes in the car 18-24 months later.

[STEELCITYFIREBIRD]

Just put your break in oil in and do the 360 rollover of the entire engine, prime it before you start it up if it makes you more comfortable. You don't want any clean oil free iron/tin to rust. Cork it all up and tape off intake/exhaust ports, etc.
No idea on the bolt on dripper clearance issue.

[78w72]

im sure 1/2 turn is ok for the lifters but always a goood idea to check what the manufacturer says to adjust to. ive seen lifters from 1/4 turn past zero to 1/2 to a full turn. all depends on the specific lifter.

[steve25]

Roller rockers need far less oil then the stockers so if you can not fit the drip baffle it's not the end of the world by any means , but you should make a small sheet metal baffle and Epoxy in under the breather hole in the valve cover.

[dataway]

These are only roller tip rockers .... so, considering the occasional failure of this type of rocker at the rocker ball, I wanted to keep the drippers. If I remember (and I can check tonight), there is only about 1/8" clearance between rocker and drip shield at the valve side, not sure about the push rod side. I'll check that tonight and see if it has room for the poly-nuts.

I assume poly-nuts are used on the BBC style studs because you can't torque down the rocker nut like you would with a stock bottle neck stud?

[STEELCITYFIREBIRD]

IIRC..... the grooved rocker balls, if that is what you have, sometimes allow oil to drain from the pivot area , thus provide less lubrication than the ungrooved type. FWIW

Polylocks are used because they hold their adjustment, make the feel to find zero lash much easier, and allow for readjustment w/o loosing their tension. They don't beat up the threads on the studs when you run them down either.

[Tempest]

I have always thought that the lifters (hydraulic) need to be full of oil to adjust the rockers.

If this is incorrect, I am sorry for the wrong advice.

[Squidward]

Dataway, if you have concerns about wiping away your assembly lube, just wait on the lash adjust until just before startup.

I also do 1/2 turn, and the last 1/8 turn is nut combined with Allen screw.

[HWYSTR455]

Contrary to popular belief, turning the engine over by hand doesn't remove the lubricating properties of assembly lube. Well, maybe if you did it like a 1000 times or something, but even then, there's still lube in the pores of the metal. That's the point. It doesn't wash out right away either with oil flow, it takes a little time.

You can let an engine sit in a bag for years with assembly lube and as long as it doesn't allow moisture in, you're golden.

Technically, you don't HAVE to prime an engine, especially if you use assembly lube, but I'm not going there.

The fulcrum issue that's been discussed here with the Comp roller tips, those drip rails aren't going to do squat to prevent or improve that issue. The problem is they don't fit properly in the pocket of the rocker. No amount of lube is going to correct that. You would have to lap them in and make them fit properly to prevent it.

The wheels/rollers aren't very precise either. Roll a few and watch them, some will be elliptical, the hole isn't drilled through the center or something. So instead of turning, they just go back and forth, and in time get worse.

Just to add to the Comp debate, sometimes the slots aren't cut properly either, so the wheel will ride on the retainer.

For like $100 more than the roller tips, you can get HSs, and they come with poly locks, or even the Scorpions for that matter. Not sure, but pretty sure they are that close in cost, especially if you add in the poly locks.

There's 2 different lengths of poly locks, some won't screw down far enough if you get the long ones, and those I recall are the cheap ones. I forget what the factor is, but believe it's due to the fulcrum area.

Anyway, yes, zero lash, on the base of the lobe, plus a half a turn. I don't think it matters if they are poly locks or nuts from the respect of lash/adjustment, the thread pitch never changes on the studs.

.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Contrary to popular belief, turning the engine over by hand doesn't remove the lubricating properties of assembly lube. Well, maybe if you did it like a 1000 times or something, but even then, there's still lube in the pores of the metal. That's the point. It doesn't wash out right away either with oil flow, it takes a little time.

.

I'll second that. I adjust all my valves on every engine one at a time, rolling the engine over by hand to the base circle of the cam for each lobe. Takes longer but is more precise. Have done all my engines this way for decades and never once a cam failure or any other issue upon start up and break in.
I always prime the engine afterwards checking for oil pressure, and then prime it again once in the car right before fire up, drop the distributor in and hit the key.
Used all kinds of flat tappet lifter and camshaft brands doing this over the years, including cheaper Melling stuff and even store bought cheap "over the counter lifters" on used camshafts when I was a kid and had no money. But I never changed my assembly or break in procedures listed above. Never a failure.