Hey guys, my latest truck is not an AD but I have questions that will get answered quicker here than anywhere. I have a 305 that I just put new heads on and have already replaced the intake manifold. My shop manual gave directions on how to adjust the valves based on the lifters being hydraulic and I have done that. Now I am second guessing myself that I might have solid lifters. My questions are: 1. How can I tell which I have, hydraulic or solid? 2. If I go ahead and try to start the truck having adjusted based on hydraulic and they are really solid, will I damage anything or will it just not start? Thanks, Bill
Bill, Chevy only used solid lifters in the V8, in cars, for one year--1955 and that was with the non-Power Pack engine. Some Corvettes had solids for many years. There has been zillions of solids put in by hot rodders so it's best to check and the easiest is to look and see if there is a tiny spring wire at the very top of the lifter. This wire lets you take the lifter apart to service it, which no-one does anymore. Some cheap solid lifters are just hydraulic ones that have the piston in the lifter shimmed to make it solid which makes them too heavy for a high rpm engine but they will have the wire at the top. If in doubt you can adjust each rocker with the valve stem all the way up till the push rod gets a drag on it. This is zero clearence but on a stock engine it won't cause valves to hit pistons, at least at a low rpm. Start and turn a rocker a quarter turn tighter; if the engine misses and then smooths out the lifters are hydraulic, if it stays missing then solids are possible but on a 305 I very much doubt it. This is messy with oil squirting everywhere unless you have a set of diverter clips. On a 305 I'd adjust the rocker as described above and then turn a half turn tighter, put the valve covers on and fire it up.
Intake valves are all the way up just as the EXHAUST valve starts to OPEN and exhaust valves are all the way up just as the INTAKE valve starts to CLOSE.
Evan, I have already put the intake back on so I can't see the lifters. I have started with No. 1 TDC and taken the lash out of exhaust and intake then turned 3/4 turn. Then I went through the sequence on the intake and exhausts that the manual said then turned the crank one turn and went through the rest taking the lash out of each then turning 3/4 turn. The kicker here is me finally remembering that the guy I bought it from saying that he put in a new cam at about 60K miles. I will try your process and I will try to call him to see if he put in solids. Thanks for the help, Bill
Adjusting Hydraulic Lifters Bill ; What the GM Factory training taught us works the very best : Engine off , adjust each valve to barely zero lash then start and run the engine to operating temperature , allow it to idle down to 700 RPM and slowly loosen each valve nut in turn until it begins to click audibly then slowly tighten the nut until the click *just* stops . This will allow you to get the maximum amount of lift (and thereby power & economy) out of the cam . For ease , we'd take a spare set of valve covers & cut the tops open so you can access the adjusting nuts but the cover catches the flining oil droplets . Glue in some rubber gaskets and these old covers become very useful shop tools you can re sell for more $ than you have in them . Harbor Freight Et Al sell $15 electric cut off tools that make cutting the tops open dead easy .
Thanks Evan and Nate, I got everything buttoned up this morning and the truck fired up. I have to adjust the timing to get it to run right but it did fire and run. I didn't run it long, a couple of minutes max, and noticed that the oil had not come up in the valve train yet when I took off the filler cap. How long should it take to come up where I can see it? Thanks again, this is my first top end tear down and rebuild and I feel a little anxious about my work. Bill
Always spin it over with the coil wire disconnected until the guage shows oil pressure. Then connect the wire and fire the engine.
Juice Vs Solid Lifters Bill ; I forgot to mention how easy it is to tell which typ you have : engine idling with the valves all set to *barely* zero lash , turn the nut 1/2 turn tighter , if they're solid lifters , that cylinder will begin to miss , badly . A hydraulic lifter takes well over a 360 degree turn before it'll hold the valve open and cause a miss . In your V engine , the oil comes up the push rods . Just for fun , Google " Rocker Stoppers " to see the old tech K-D tool that slows the flying oil down to almost nil .
Nate, i wish I had known that valve cover trick the last time I attempted to adjust an engine. A friend gave me some clips that go on the rockers to keep the oil from flying around. What a friggin mess that was, not to mention all the smoke in your face while leaning over the engine. Lesson learned.
Well, I set the time to 6 Deg BTDC and she is running well. Very well. I am taking her to the muffler shop tomorrow to fix where I took a saws-all to the exhaust pipe because I couldn't get it to come off without ringing off the studs. Looking forward to driving it and feeling good about my work. Thanks for your help. Bill
Nate, that's the way I learned to adjust the lifters. Worked for a retired Air Force Motor Pool mechanic right after High School. Worked great every time.
Dealer Training There was a time , long ago , when the Generous Motors Corporation not only made world beating products but , they assumed you'd want to run it more or less forever and so had wonderful Dealer Mechanic training and made this same training available to Trade and Public Schools . In addition to reading every shop manual I've ever touched cover to cover , I took much of this training back in the day and I also paid sharp attention when the Old Timers spoke up . Those clips you tried , they do work well but , there's always some oil spray and you're supposed to idle the engine way down . All that smoke simply meant a high mileage , loosey-goosey engine but I bet it still ran great ~ what I'm talking about when I praise older GM Products all the time .
Spam I was wondering what that was about . Chilly here @ 39* F this morning , good thing I have Coffee . Cold Coffee to be sure (I like it that way) but Coffee , always a nice cuppa in the morning .
