[Entropy11]

Can somebody please run through this with me before I close things up?

I’m using Hylift-Johnson 0951 (standard, not R’s) HFT lifters with a Melling 068 copy (SPC-7). Heads are ‘68 #16’s. Using Crane Kool Nuts in place of standard lock nuts or poly-locks.

According to
https://johncalliesinc.com/pdf/Adjus...licLifters.pdf
(Thank you HWYSTR455 for posting that in a response I dug up while searching), my 3/8x24 studs should give me 1/4 turn = .0105”. Hy-J recommends .020”-.040” of preload.

If I shoot for the middle of that I’m at roughly 3/4 of a turn. Would this process that I use be correct?:

-Set zero lash

-Run the nut down from 12 o’clock to about 7 o’clock

-Run the inner lock allen screw down till it contacts the stud

-Snug both together to 9 o’clock


As for the pushrod guide plate, how much clearance would the stock stud mounted guide plate have? Pushrods are Comp Magnum 7262 5/16”. Is it correct that pushrods are hardened because they are are regularly maintaining light contact with the guide plate?

Thanks for any assistance as I sit here overthinking things!

[74Grandville]

i like to watch the lifter as I tighten the nut, valley pan removed. Once i see the plunger just start to move, that is zero lash. from there I turn my wrench 180 degrees. then i hold it there and tighten the set screw. last step i tighten the set screw and the wrench together to ensure nothing comes loose. Of course all of this is done with the lifter on the base circle of the cam. Normally you can get away with doing this with the cam in 1 position for about half of them, turn the cam 180 and do the rest.

[Cliff R]

I use a much different procedure here after having noise issues with a lot of these new lifters, especially some the HR's they have been selling the past 15 years or so.

You can do them by following the firing order or visually verifying that each lifter is actually on the base circle of the cam, either way works fine.

First determine how much plunger travel that you have. It may vary considerably from one brand/type of lifter to another.

The idea here is to get the plunger about mid-way in is range of travel.

So for example, if you have .100" travel and that takes two full turns from zero till the plungers are fully collapsed a one full turn adjustment is going to put you there.

If your engine makes noise with .050" of plunger travel then you can run them down some more, but realize that you are making up for too much clearance between the plungers and lifter bodies or problems in the check valve system of the lifters, which is pretty common these days.

Decades ago with all the engines built here using flat hydraulic set-ups we could runs establish "zero" lash either statically on the base circle, or with the engine at a slow idle by loosening them up till it "clicks" then tightening till it was just quiet, then go down 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 or even one full turn and you were good go. These days you will find so many inconsistencies with hydraulic lifters than old methods may or may not work.

In the past 15 years or so, for these reasons I've been setting the lifters on the base circle of the cam and putting a feeler gauge between the valve and rocker, tightening the locknuts to eliminate all the slack, then yanking out the feeler gauge. This provides minimal plunger travel and very precise location of the plungers in all 16 lifters.

As far as how much feeler gauge to use, pick your poison there. In theory it really shouldn't matter as long as the plungers have some travel. For engines done here I almost always use Rhoads in them, the V-Max variety and set them at .020" for initial run-in and go on to worry about something else........Cliff

[Entropy11]

Thanks 74Grand and Cliff. I appreciate your insight and detailed info. You nailed part of my question there 74Grand, I wasn’t sure if I should hold the nut and tighten the set screw before turning it as a package or just run it down till it touched then turn it all together. I just started thinking twice about it after reading some threads about people breaking poly locks.
I think I know exactly what you’re describing Cliff. I was doing that before with a .001 feeler.to help me find zero. I think it let me be a little more confident of “tension” then pull out the .001.

I’ve been using this technique with my last few cars and once I felt confident in my “zero” it was really quick and nice if I had to step away in the middle:

https://youtu.be/5EGlb_VpTAw

The only addition I do to his vid is place a single dot with a marker at what I consider 12 o’clock position. This way if I drop a wrench or something I can visually see the ones that got the preload and the ones that didn’t. Plus it let me compensate for any movement/jiggle I got from placing the wrench on the nut.

I’ll have to play around with the first one I guess just to get a feel of where I should start snugging and still hit my preload target. Thanks again... really helps to know I’m not going about it all wrong!

[Cliff R]

One thing I forgot to mention in my first response is that I use my adjustable pushrod to determine the correct pushrod length when setting up these engines then SUBTRACT the amount needed based on where I want the plungers to be in the lifters.

Pretty easy that way and no need to make a "special" lifter or shim anything inside the ones you are going to use. Just check them fully bottomed out and come up with the narrowest pattern closest to center on the valve. Look a the length you need and do the math accordingly.

For example, if you come up with 9.120" then the next available will be 9.100" as they typically sell them in .050" increments.

This is an area of engine assembly that often takes a lot of time and you never know what length pushrods you are going to need ahead of time. There are just WAY too many variable in that equation these days, cam base circle, type/manufacturer of lifter, valve length, rocker arm type, block decking, head milling, etc, etc. Keep in mind that at some point if you change rocker arms, for example, to another brand, most likely you will also need different length pushrods. There just isn't much continuity with that sort of thing these days.

It can also be quite a "hat trick" to get all that stuff under stock height valve covers. In almost all cases the locknuts supplied with your aftermarket roller rockers will be too long and you'll either need shorter ones or have to machine them down in the lathe like I do here. Sometimes I actually have to shim the screw in studs up and cut the locknuts down to make sure I have at least 5 full turns for final adjustment. In any and all cases take the time to do this part of the assembly right as it pays big benefits with minimal side loading on the valves and maximum transfer of movement from the cam lobess..........Cliff

[Tim Corcoran]

For most hydraulic lifters flat tappet or roller the recommended lash setting is at 1/2 the travel. All lifters are not the same so you will need to determine the travel and set it at mid point.

[Mr_GTO]

I found this series interesting and this video on valve lash in particular. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AhOWUqo6hU

[Cliff R]

The ONLY lifters I ever had decent success with setting at 1/2 turn past zero lash were the original HT-951R's. They had really short travel and a "special retainer that not only replaced the cir-clip it shoved the plungers down taking up most of their travel. They were excellent parts, but I haven't seen that variety for at least 20 if not 25 years now. If you check out the link this is what they are offering now using the better snap ring but not the special travel limiting retainer like the original design.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/slp-ht-951r

WAY back when there was more consistency with these things I would set standard replacement hydraulic lifters with the engine fully warmed up at a very low idle speed. One by one I'd loosen them up till they clicked, down till they just stopped and more to another one. Once done with all 16 I'd shut the engine down, turn them one FULL turn down from zero, wait at few minutes, then fire it up and good to go for the rest of the engines life cycle.........