Ihave a 88 l98 w/ a set of aluminum r r's that were really cheap, maybe $140 I don't know the manufacturer, and when ordered they came with no special install instructions.

I followed the basic specs for a tpi engine (Tdc, slight resistance, 3/4 turn) and they oil funny, (some oil more than others) and one of the rockers loosened enough to allow the pushrod to pop out nearly causing catastrophic engine damage. I got away with a few small nicks on my #3 intake rocker. I adjusted them again and it runs good.


I would like to avoid this happening again. Is there a special torque value, feeler depth, or valve lash adjustment that I'm overlooking. Thanks

 

never mind

 

You can't lash all of the rockers at #1 TDC... Do a search on valve lash adjustment, you do half of them at #1 TDC and the other half at #6 TDC. Other than that, do what ede said with the poly-locks.

 

or do each cylinder one at a time in firing order. that's what i did (that someone on this board told me how to) and worked good first time. i'm probably gonna do it again, though, cuz it was (is) a new engine and all the lifters are good and pumped up now. but what you do is start with your #1 in tdc for firing, set that lash, then 8,4,3,6,5,7,2. you will make 2 full rotations of your crank, because for each cylinder you do, it's a 1/4 turn. if you have a standard size balancer, each 1/4 equals 5 3/8 inches on the circumference of the balancer. easy to measure with a ribbon tape measure. good luck.

KAM

 

Those sound like they might be CAT rockers.
Are they black?
If so, the locking nuts that come with them are pretty cheap, they're really shaky compared to any quality piece.
Buying some higher quality aftermarket locking nuts may help your problem, in addition to following the steps mentioned above.

 

Are they self-aligning rr's? May need guides.

 

Yeah I adjusted 1/2 of them @ tdc #1 and 1/2 @ tdc #6 or 360 like it said in the book. They're blue anodized. What kind of free'd up power do they boast?

 

I couldn't say what gains there are on the dyno, but if you do a swap from factory rockers to rollers there is a noticable difference.

Here's a thread that has a nice tip for how to keep the lock nuts tight.
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=267989