Rocker arm play

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moparker

moparker

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Should there be any side to side movement on stock rocker arm assemblies?
 
There is a spec for side to side play. Like .030 but don't hold me to that number. Other guys will chime in.
 
I hope. I'm sure that is the irritating ticking noise I'm hearing. My retainers don't look that bad to me. I think I have more play than that.
 
.030 is ok but if you are AR about it you can shim them to .015. That's what I do because I'm retarded like that. If you have to shim to .030 why not close it up a bit more.
 
You do want some side play. When the parts get warm they grow a little. Someone will know the spec. Just hold tight.
 
Not stock can and valve springs. I have a Lunati can with double springs.
 
yellow rose said:
.030 is ok but if you are AR about it you can shim them to .015. That's what I do because I'm retarded like that. If you have to shim to .030 why not close it up a bit more.
Click to expand...
I share the same retention...lol... I try for .010-.015... but once you tighten it back down and torque it you usually find that there's always a lil extra still.

Op, Too much on a solid high lift and you will here the rocker hit the one next to it
 
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My cam is hydraulic but, is on the larger side. I was wondering if that had anything to do with it. Could someone post pics of the shims and exactly where they placed them?
 
So it's ok to use the spacers on a hydraulic set up? All the spacers kits say they are for solid cams.
 
Big Hyd cam
check for stem tip wear and rocker pad
think lash caps to spread out the load
when shiming try to line up the rockers on the tips
what does the tip wear pattern look like when your die the stems and turn the motor over? you want as narrow as possible
throw some adjustable pushrods on it and adjust shaft height till you get narrowest pattern then check against your pushrod length- watch for leaker bleed down or use a solidized lifter--if new lifters use the MAgnum/ AMC style and hollow pushrods to save those pushrod cups in the stock rockers
do the complete mid lift geometry drill- you may need shims under the shafts
not only ok to use with hyd but necessary with a big cam
 
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Spacers are fine for either. The existing spacers under the bolt heads can be moved around too.

I have not ever seen a spec in this for the stamped rockers BTW. And not trying to be obtuse, but there are much more likely causes for this tapping/ticking, so make sure you look at everything:
- a soft hydraulic lifter
- pushrods hitting the sides of the pushrods holes due to high lift (spacers could make this worse)
- retainers hitting the seals/stem guides for there same reason
- rocker hitting the baffle on the underside of the valve cover
 
It's definitely not a lifter tick. It could be some of the causes you named. Thanks for all the input.
 
And FWIW.... I also suspect the loose side clearance for the stamped rockers has to do with:
- The way they oil (With the stamped slot in them, there is really not the same oiling out the sides like in machined rockers.)
- They won't all ride perfectly parallel to each other on the shaft. Being stamped, there is a limit to the parallelism that just can't be as good as a machined part. So some slop is necessary.

Let us know if this does the trick for your tick.
 
Thanks. A friend of mine who is career mechanic has been doing some research as well. A lot of guys are having this issue. Some have found it was the thickness of the head gaskets causing the problem.
 
yellow rose said:
.030 is ok but if you are AR about it you can shim them to .015. That's what I do because I'm retarded like that. If you have to shim to .030 why not close it up a bit more.
Click to expand...
agree w/ this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don`t have stock rockers, and use .010-.012 feelers between each rocker arm, and leave them in while tightening the shaft bolts down. Keeps things more accurate for me.
 
moparker said:
My cam is hydraulic but, is on the larger side. I was wondering if that had anything to do with it. Could someone post pics of the shims and exactly where they placed them?
Click to expand...
Sometimes you end up grinding on the hold downs to get it just right.
All the aftermarket rocker assemblies I use come with the black spacers, I think they are about .080 thick.
 
moparker said:
Thanks. A friend of mine who is career mechanic has been doing some research as well. A lot of guys are having this issue. Some have found it was the thickness of the head gaskets causing the problem.
Click to expand...
Running the hydraulic lifter adjustment out of range?
 
Not sure what you mean. If the gaskets are to thick then there won't be as much or any tension or load on the rockers to keep them in place.
 
I think this is what you are meaning: There is not a lot of tension and it only comes from trapped oil in the piston that can move inside the lifter. The tension/pressure is pretty constant as the head moves up or down with gasket thickness, but the lifter's piston has a short movement/adjustment range. If the heads lift up too much, the piston can reach its upper stop and then a gap opens up between the lifter's piston, pushrod and rocker.

But side shims won't change/fix that loose situation.
 
That's what I'm gathering as well. Gonna do some measuring soon and get a better idea of what I need to do.
 
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