5.9 stroker build
I love the contrast of the aluminum and that orange paint. It is mechanical art and a beautiful sight to see.
The whole Preload issue is a bit of a pickadilly for me too. What is correct? What is too much?
The 360 I bought last year, tore down in January and am building alongside the OP's 408 has Hughes 1.6 ratio rocker gear:
Look at the threads showing above the lock nuts on the adjusters. They are close if not exact.
When I tore down the engine, they were all over the place. NO cylinder had identical looking thread counts and I might know why. I adjusted mine yesterday and I had the intake off. Now...There is certainly a proper way to adjust these but I did it my own way, a method that makes sense to me. Feel free to call me out and tell me I did it wrong because I had no printed instructions.
I tightened the adjuster until the plunger in the lifter started to move away from the spring retainer at the top, then I went 7/8 of a turn on the adjuster and locked them down. One full turn equals .050". As I secured the lock nuts, the adjuster turned a slight amount more so I am just shy of .050" preload. The guy that had this engine before me had stamped steel rockers on the engine when he first built it then added the Hughes rocker gear later. He did not pull the intake when installing the new pushrods and rocker gear. What I noticed is that if you are relying on tension in the pushrod to determine a point of zero lash, you have gone too far. As I was doing the adjustment, I could spin the pushrod even after I adjusted to the final number where the lifter plunger was already .050 below the retainer ring wire. I suspect that the prior owner couldn't see that he was already depressing the plunger and that he had every lifter set to a different preload setting.
I don't have much experience with Mopar engines that have hydraulic cams and adjustable valvetrain. My red Charger has a solid cam and determining valve lash is simple. Feeler gauges between the roller tip and the valve stem and that is it.
I had several Chevys before jumping back into Mopars. They were simple...I'd use a cut down valve cover and start the engine. Back off the adjuster nut until the rocker clattered, tighten it until the clatter was gone and then tighten it another 1/2 or 3/4 turn and then move to the next rocker arm.
Here is an article written by Jeff Smith, a former editor of Hot Rod magazine:
The drawbacks of too much or too little preload:
I love the contrast of the aluminum and that orange paint. It is mechanical art and a beautiful sight to see.
The whole Preload issue is a bit of a pickadilly for me too. What is correct? What is too much?
The 360 I bought last year, tore down in January and am building alongside the OP's 408 has Hughes 1.6 ratio rocker gear:
Look at the threads showing above the lock nuts on the adjusters. They are close if not exact.
When I tore down the engine, they were all over the place. NO cylinder had identical looking thread counts and I might know why. I adjusted mine yesterday and I had the intake off. Now...There is certainly a proper way to adjust these but I did it my own way, a method that makes sense to me. Feel free to call me out and tell me I did it wrong because I had no printed instructions.
I tightened the adjuster until the plunger in the lifter started to move away from the spring retainer at the top, then I went 7/8 of a turn on the adjuster and locked them down. One full turn equals .050". As I secured the lock nuts, the adjuster turned a slight amount more so I am just shy of .050" preload. The guy that had this engine before me had stamped steel rockers on the engine when he first built it then added the Hughes rocker gear later. He did not pull the intake when installing the new pushrods and rocker gear. What I noticed is that if you are relying on tension in the pushrod to determine a point of zero lash, you have gone too far. As I was doing the adjustment, I could spin the pushrod even after I adjusted to the final number where the lifter plunger was already .050 below the retainer ring wire. I suspect that the prior owner couldn't see that he was already depressing the plunger and that he had every lifter set to a different preload setting.
I don't have much experience with Mopar engines that have hydraulic cams and adjustable valvetrain. My red Charger has a solid cam and determining valve lash is simple. Feeler gauges between the roller tip and the valve stem and that is it.
I had several Chevys before jumping back into Mopars. They were simple...I'd use a cut down valve cover and start the engine. Back off the adjuster nut until the rocker clattered, tighten it until the clatter was gone and then tighten it another 1/2 or 3/4 turn and then move to the next rocker arm.
Here is an article written by Jeff Smith, a former editor of Hot Rod magazine:
The drawbacks of too much or too little preload: