Hi guys, I was wondering what is the proper way to pretighten my rockers on my hydralic lifter engine. I am using roller rockers with poly locks. Right now the lifters and not hard and I am worried about them getting too tight and collapsing them. right now I got the locks finger tight before the inital start up. If any one can give me some clear instructions on how they are to be prepped before the first starting, I would be thankful. Thanks - Tom

I am a novice at this mechanical stuff, but here is how I did it after having the heads rebuilt on the motor I am installing.

After pre-oiling the motor, I rotated the crank to #1 TDC on the compression stoke (having the spark plugs out makes turning the crank much easier! ). While turning the rod with my fingers, I tightened the rocker nut until I first felt some resistance. I then tightened the nut 1 full turn. I did both intake and exhaust for that cylinder. Rotate the crank 90 degrees clockwise and repeat on the next cylinder in the firing order. You can check the position of the distributor rotor to ensure you are in the right postition and on the right cylinder. This worked for me.

What say guys??

Very good Owen! That is exactly what I do. If you have a good feel of zero play, you can put on the valve covers, and never make a mess when you start the car. The only thing I would like to add is soak the new lifters in oil, and operate them to get as much oil in the lifter as possible before installing.

It is possible to use the same directions for adjusting solid lifters as to the order of adjustment. This way you adjust 1/2 of them, then turn the engine one turn, and do the other 1/2.

If you are carefull putting the distributor back in, you can fire the engine on the first try, with a bit of fuel added to the intake. No mess no fuss. To set the dist. Put the timeing markes exactly on the spec you want, the drop in the distributor, and line up the points on the pickup and snug the dist a bit. If you have points, connect a test light to the tach signal, turn on the ignition, and rotate the dist slightly to the point where the test light just comes on. Doing either of these will put you within two degrees, of not right on.

Thanks for the excellent responses both of you. My lifters are comp cams and they didnt recommend prepumping them with oil but, do recommend soaking them in oil. So thats what I did. You guys answered my question perfectly. Soon I'll Have my vette running again for the spring.