I did my rollers and rockers last night after replacing head gaskets. I followed the procedure of finding tdc on cyl 1 and found zero lash and tightened an additional 3/4 turn. As I went down the line doing the others I noticed that ones I previously did would spin. Every time I would find this I would go back and repeat the procedure until none of them had lash once I finished. Was that the right thing to do, or is it ok for previous ones to spin after you finish? Car is still tore apart, so I would like to get this right prior to finishing.

 

If you did it right dont worry about it. They will proably spin til the lifter pumps up with oil

 

If your intake is still off this is kinda ez to confirm, bring lets say cyl 1 to tdc, at this point since you have been turning the engine with no oil pressure and valve train assembled there should be no oil in the lifter cyl. If you look at the top of the lifter at the push rod cup you should see a snap ring above it to stop its movement upward, If you push down on the rocker arm on the push rod side you should see this cup move downward, when you have them adjusted properly the cup should be down from the snap ring about 1/2 down the cup travel. you can also start your adjustment by looking at the cup and looking for it to move slightly down to start your 1/2-3/4 turn. this is helpful if the lifters are not pumped up and turning by finger and knowing when to add the final adjustment is difficult. after the adjustment and turning the engine over to the next cyl tdc for adjustment the push rods that were previously adjusted may be able to be turned with your finger, this is normal and does not mean to adjust it again. Hope this helps

 

Using the push rod turning method is generally misleading on new lifters. Of course you want to prime new lifters, either by holding them in an oil bath while depressing the push rod cup with an old push rod several times until the piston gets hard to depress, or by soaking the lifters in an oil bath with the bleed holes facing upward. Even primed lifters will collapse some until they are pressurized. that's why you want to go by the visual method as mentioned by 1969RSSS. What I do is closely watch the cup as I turn the polylock down on the stud. I use the push rod to feel for zero lash and watch for the cup to move away from the snap ring. I may go back and forth to find exact zero, then add my preload. I preload only 1/4 turn.