[428RA4]

Thanks so much guys for the sage advice. I does mean a lot to me. I just want to make sure of things before I go and start cutting things up. Taking a die grinder to this motor was not my first choice. I have also "thinned" rocker arms before because way back when, they never had reliefs for valve spring retainer clearance, but this is a bit different issue.

If you have the pictures handy Tom, that would be cool, but dont kill yourself looking for them. I will post images myself as Im marrying the engine and trans today and maybe even stuffing it into the sub frame this weekend.

best~!

mike

[b-man]

Mike,

Check out this post by Les Iden (wheelspin) who is my friend and one of Tom's breakfast buddies, it has a pretty good picture of what you need to do. Click on it a couple of times to enlarge it so you can see the grinding work done on the rockers.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...5&postcount=14

Good luck, Bart

[428RA4]

Well what do you know... I clearly see the rocker adjustment and it's in the same area of concern. Thanks for that link Bart.

OK -

I'm going to show my ignorance here because it's better to be safe then sorry. I have no shame when it comes to doing things correctly. First off, I'm a hobby guy and not an engine builder. I'm a commercial illustrator by trade.

Though I'm pretty handy with my hands and confident in assembly, I'm not well versed in the inner workings of motors with valve train issues. The valves have been adjusted at this point from the engine builder. The engine is a hydraulic roller set up. Will I be running into valve adjustment issues if I pull the rocker off to grind them down?

[tom s]

this will show what needs to be ground AND what happens if the geometry is not correct.Tom

[428RA4]

Thanks so much Tom for all the help you have provided to me. You are Bart and a great resource as well as a sense of comfort in what I'm doing. Got any advice on pulling the rocker arm off with no problems?

mike

ps - right now I'm screwing around with the dip stick tube - trying to get it to clear the headers as well as being able to get the bolts in. Such a tight fit all this stuff is...

[428RA4]

geez...

You and Bart.

Good thing Lacquer thinner is cheap...

[b-man]

Mike,

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "valve adjustment issues".

If you know how to adjust the valves and get the polylocks tightened properly there should be no issues.

The trick to keep them from loosening is to find your adjustment with the polylock nut, then back off the polylock a little and tighten both the allen head locking screw and the polylock adjusting nut at the same time. When it's all tight it should end up in the same position where you first found your proper adjustment point to be.

You need to use a box end wrench on the polylock nut and an allen wrench on the locking screw, then tighten both of them down in the same motion. It can take a few tries to get the adjusting nut where it needs to be.

This effectively locks the allen screw down onto the top of the stud using the polylock nut to trap it in place. Adjusting the polylock nut first and then trying to lock the adjusting nut in place afterwards by tightening down the little allen screw won't work, it will come loose.

Bart

[428RA4]

Thanks -


"If you know how to adjust the valves and get the polylocks tightened properly there should be no issues."

To be honest, I have not done R & R on rocker arms before. What you say makes total sense, and I feel it's a bit of knowing how things feel when you do it. I shall ponder your advice. Right now I'm having issues getting the Richmond trans in the back of the motor. It's a tight fit since everything is new. Just have to be careful at this point.


I will get more in depth with the rocker issue once I get the unit in the frame.

thanks again
best

mike

[428RA4]

Don't go anywhere yet guys please. I got the dip stick and header clearance figured as well as muscling in the trans. Whew - that sucked~!

I will still need your advice shortly when I get to the rocker issue. This is about as live as a garage build gets~!

[tom s]

LOL,the easy way for the dipstick was to cut the header flange!Tom

[428RA4]

It only needed a massage. Was not as bad as I thought...

Im stuffing the engine and fitting the headers in the sub frame as of now....

[428RA4]

Well -


Here is the end of day progress. Now I can focus more on the the rocker issue. Bert - what I was trying to explain was that Im not certain with taking the rocker arm off and not having the valve out of adjustment. Is it as simple as unbolting the arm from the stud and reinstalling it?

[tom s]

maybe just do one at a time.Bring it up where the valve is closed.Do that rocker,then turn to the other that needs to be done?Tom

[b-man]

Mike,

You might want to take note of where the adjusting nut is before you remove it. Clean it with some solvent and mark it with a Sharpie permanent marker at the 12 o'clock position.

Unscrew it and take note of the exact number of turns it takes to remove it. You can get it right back where it came off and maintain the same lifter preload if you're careful. Just tighten the poly lock nut as I described above and make sure the mark on the nut ends up at the 12 o'clock position and you'll be fine.

Rather than go through the valve adjustment procedure I gave you an easy way to maintain the adjustment if you remove one rocker, grind it, and replace it before moving on to the next one.

Bart

[gregsgtos2]

I was going to chime in-but then I saw that you already had the help you needed. The project looks like it is coming along nicely!

[428RA4]

Bart - -

Will rehash your post over a few time before I dive in.

Greg -

Nicely?

haha - Try and custom make everything and make it fit and work - oh wait, you did that already..


Tom -

Just shoot me for being persistent in being a gear head and stupid enough to go through with it....

[gregsgtos2]

Well-according to what everyone else seems to think-you just bolt a RAV engine in like its no big deal. Yea-RIGHT!

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by gregsgtos2

Well-according to what everyone else seems to think-you just bolt a RAV engine in like its no big deal. Yea-RIGHT!

...and all of the parts are right down at your local NAPA store and other than being a little dusty are cheap as hell because nobody buys them.

[428RA4]

Im in the zone.

Getting ready to tweak the exhaust and powder coat. Finished up custom bending the in fuel line and setting up the pulleys. Things are coming together. Got the rocker arm situation fixed as well. Little scary, but all went well.

thanks to all for the help.

mike