so i torqued down m rockers and i was just wondering... some of them are tight and you cant really move or wiggle them.. but some you can wiggle a bit... is that normal? i havenonadjustable rockers(stock). also do you need to use guides for the rods or is it just recomended?

 

What engine and what year are you working with?

 

Are the ones you can't wiggle holding a valve open?

 

its a 302.. 1969.. and i have no clue about the valves... i had my heads cleaned and resufaced and ported and they did a valve job on em.. i mean they were flush with the head when i bolted it on.. could it just be certain lifters are holding some of the rods up a bit more than the others. i no its kinda hard to pic what im talking about with the "wiggle". just any basic info on rockers i guess. like i said there the non adjustable kind.. the studs are pressed in the head and are tappered. 5/16 i believe. maybe i can shoot a small vid of what im talking about and put it up... but that will have to wait till another time.

 

Those valves should be adjustable. Turn the engine untiltherocker you are going to adust is off the cam lobe. Back off the adjustment then slowly tighten while feeling the play in the pushrod until there is no clearance. Then tighten the rocker nut another 1/2 to 3/4 turn if you have the stock type lifters. Hope that helps.

 

Remember some of the cam lobes will be "up" and others will be "down". So thelobes will be in different states of either opening, closing, or "waiting" to open valves. (so the valve springs will be exerting pressure on some rockers and not others,also, the hydraulic lifters will give a little extra "play" (lash)on the closed valves when there is no oil pressure)

If you are usinga stock valve train with everything being right,the condition you describe is way normal.

You do not need guides with stock valvetrain, in this instance guides (guide plates) would be a total waste of money.

 

Simple answer: yes it is normal.

 

Maybe yes, and maybe no. Gaining proper valve geometry after things have been modified can be a little tricky. Sometimes during a valve job the seats are cut a little too deep. That makes the valve tip stick up by a couple of thousands. If you just tighten down the rockers, you could be holding the valve open. Hydraulic lifters will generally compensate for that, but you have to check.

Comp Cams has an excellent article on how to adjust rocker arms properly. They are mostly talking about adjustable stud mounted arms, but the same concept applies. Especially in relation to the cam.

 

The factory service manual has good instructions on how to set the rocker arm nuts (atleast the one for my 66 does). You basically have to turn the engine over by hand to the TDC of each cylinder and torque the nuts for both valves down until the push rod can't be moved by hand then you turn it an additional 1/2 or 3/4 turn to set the lifters in the proper range. It's nice to have someone help by ensuring that the valves that are supposed to be closed are closed and you didn't mess anything up.

After putting the head back on and tightening the rocker nuts as per the manual, I did notice that a few of the rocker arms could be wiggled by hand after the lifters settled. I resisted the urge to tighten them more and was probably right, I had the engine running yesterday with only slight valve clicking.

The first time I tried setting the rocker nuts, I torqued each one down until the push rod didn't turn by hand, randomly turned the engine over and tightened all the loose ones again. Unfortunately they were all loose since the lifters settled. Or don't do what my brother did on his Chevy. He put cylinder #1 to TDC and then tightened everything down resulting in very loose rockers on the valves that should have been open.