[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by 1971455HO

I ordered new Crower Enduro Stainless Steel Stud Mount Roller Rocker Arms 73627-16. Two adjustable pushrod checking tools, I already have valve checking springs so I can see if changing rockers changes my pushrod length...

...Per Morel's website, they list my lifters as having 0.120" of preload travel. I read a post from Cliff here on the forum that he runs a deeper preload than a mere 1/2 - 3/4 turn on adjusting nut on his engines so they run quiet.

I don't think he runs his lifter plungers toward the bottom of their travel specifically to make them quiet. I think he runs his lifter plungers toward the bottom of their travel so that as they leak-down with stiff valve spring pressure, they can't leak down very far.

With the plungers adjusted to near the bottom of travel, it would take less oil to refill each lifter after it leaks-down; which may have the side-effect of reducing some noise especially on start-up when some lifters will have leaked-down overnight.

Originally Posted by 1971455HO

My engine has a distinct tick to it. I discovered that the person who built mine did not put much preload on any of my lifters.

Some guys want the lifter plunger near the top of it's travel, so they can't "pump up". Some guys want the lifter plunger near the bottom of it's travel, so it can't "leak down" excessively and beat-up the valvetrain. Most guys put the lifter plunger somewhere in the OEM adjustment range "just because". That offers the most available plunger travel no matter how the valvetrain wears--valve face and seat recession would drive the plunger downward; cam lobe and lifter bottom wear would allow the plunger to rise in the lifter body. So deliberately putting the adjustment somewhere near the middle of it's travel allows the maximum wear to take place before the lifter runs out of available travel.

There's a market in the high-performance world for hydraulic lifters with severely-restricted travel--the plunger can be near the top of it's travel AND be near the bottom of it's travel. Can't "pump up", can't "leak down"; but then becomes extremely sensitive to valvetrain wear when the plunger travel is only a few thousandths of an inch.

Originally Posted by 1971455HO

I was thinking Cliff said he sets his at about .060"-.070". I will reread his post on that. I want mine quiet also.

Aside from the benefit of not requiring much oil to refill the lifter after it's leaked-down, as long as the plunger is within it's range of travel, the lifter should be equally quiet no matter where the preload is adjusted. It helps to have a tiny vent hole in the oil gallery supplying the lifters with pressurized oil--so that air can be blown out the vent on startup, rather than making it's way through the lifter to escape. Obviously, adequate oil pressure is required, and that means appropriate global oil pressure, but also reasonable lifter-to-bore clearance that almost nobody checks and even fewer spend the time and money to correct.

Originally Posted by 1971455HO

#2: Because my cam is hydraulic, can I follow my old way of adjusting hydraulic valves, with certain valves adjusted on #1 @ TDC and the remaining on #6 @ TDC ?

I'm not going to examine which lifters get adjusted at which cam position. In general, that sort of adjustment procedure is entirely valid if somewhat cumbersome. So are a dozen other procedures using entirely different methods. I know some guys are so anal that they do the valves one-at-a-time watching for one valve to open or close while they adjust the other one. Which again is a valid procedure, but also a massive waste of time, effort, and enthusiasm on a hydraulic cam.

The benefit you have with new lifters is that you can set the lifter preload with the intake and valley cover REMOVED, so you can SEE the lifter preload. Make sure your pushrod length measurements take into account your intention to deep-seat the lifter plunger. You may need longer pushrods than someone who's goal is to lightly-preload the plunger.

If a hydraulic lifter is noisy, and the plunger is anywhere within it's range of travel--not topped-out, not bottomed-out--the lifter should be quiet in operation. If it isn't, there's something wrong. Perhaps the lifter isn't made right for quietness (example: deliberately high-leakage lifters like Rhoads, or negligently-made lifters like Communist Crap.) Perhaps the cam lobe profile is so radical that it tends to make the valvetrain noisy. Maybe there's slop in the rocker arm pivots, or perhaps there's hidden wear somewhere that the lifter plunger can't compensate for--wiped valve guides for example.