motor ford 460 d1ve
heads dove-c
cam comp 270h-10 part#34-229-4
heartland sharp roller rockers
hydraulic ford motor sport lifters
1969

the instructions for cam are very confusing when it comes to lifter
pre-load and how to set it. the motor has been completely rebuilt both
heads and short block by my local machine shop but i am now facing the
problem of determing pushrod length and also will nedd to check valve
clearance. this is my first project so take it easy on me as i am new
to all this. i have every thing ready to install this motor(crites)
and need help! also if you could help over the phone i would be
willing to call you.

do i tighten rocker arm to take all the slack out of the lifter?
i am confused on what exactly .030 on lifter pre-load means?
is my setup considered adjustable or non-adjustable?
does the lifter need to be pumped up with oil prior to checking length?

Thanks in advance,

Jon

 

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What holds the rocker arm down? a bolt or astud and nut. Are they stock heads? Stock heads are bolt down rockers and are not adjustable. If the lifter is dry on the inside there should still be travel in the lifter but no slack in the push rod. .030 preload means that when the valve is adjusted the pushrod will sink into the lifter .030 .

 

Are you using guideplates for on the heads for the rocker arm/pushrod setup. If not don't even think of starting it; get some first! When i ordered my valvetrain setup the tech support guy at summitracing told me they were recommended but not required, so i didn't buy them just trying to save an extra 30 bucks. When i fired up my engine it ran for about 20 seconds before all the rocker arms fell of the valve. So i had to order them and install them anyway. i have the same rocker arms, and a similar cam, and am using Trick Flow pushrods. If you need any help just let me know, i just went through the same problem and learned alot about your type of questions, so feel free to ask if you have any questions

 

Hyd lifters need to have some tension on them after the oil system has been primed. The best way I can describe this is to tighten the rocker arms until it just makes contact with the pushrod end. While you are tightening the rocker arm use your free hand to spin the pushrod along its length. Once you make contact, the pushrod becomes harder to rotate, tighten the rocker arm jamnut an additional 1/2 turn. This will ensure that you have the right amount of preload on the valvetrain. Keep in mind you might have to do this a few times to get it right. It took me 3 tries to get it right. If you do a compressor check after you have adjusted it you will know if you didn't adjust them correctly.

One more thing just occured to me, rotate the whole engine assembly and adjust the cylinders in their firing order. When the intake lifter sits back down tighten the exhaust rocker arm. However when the exhaust lifter is in mid travel tighten the intake rocker arm. This will make sure that you aren't adjusting the rocker arm when the lobe is pushing the lifter out of the bore.

I hope this answers your questions.

 

for checking the valve to piston clearence go to your local auto parts store, and order 2 solid lifters for the engine that way your when you check the clearnce it's for the max not the min with a collapsed lifter.
Best way to determine pushrod length means buying an adjustable pushrod length checker and using hte solid lifter mentioned above put light checker springs on both the intake and exhaust valve on one cyl, and bolt the head on using a used head gasket for thickness (or you can bolt it straight onto the block, and add .041 to whatever length you come up with) then you put the rocker on, and adjust the pushrod length so that it sits centered on the valve tip or as close as you can get, next you want to take a felt tip pen, or machinest dye (prussian blue) and bolt the rocker on with zero lash, and turn the engine over to run through the cycle of the valves, and check the pattern left on the valve tip. You want a pattern that is as small as you can get, and perfect is exactly centered on the tip of the valve. you then take whatever length you come up with, and add the hyd lfter preload to that length so if your preload is supposed to be .030 then just add that to the length you ended up with, and order the closest pushrod to that length that you can buy.
I personally am running the TFS hardened pushrods on mine, and have always had very good luck with them.

 

Read this:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ifter+pre+load