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Adjusting hyd lifters

2123 Views 11 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  jrocco
Its been a long time since I have messed with hyd lifters in a race engine. So here's my story and I'm sticking with it. I lost a lobe on my roller cam so to finish out the year decided to put in a hyd flat tappet cam that I have and am now ready to adjust the rockers before I put the manifold back on. Here is what I was told bring the no 1 up to tdc and tighten the rockers so you can just spin them by hand then go a half turn for adjustment. Then of course follow thru for the rest of the cylinders by bringing up each piston to tdc and doing the same. Does this sound reasonable? It is about a 550 lift cam with so called "anti pump up lifters" I ran this cam in a stock bore and stroke engine and it ran quite well a few years ago befor I got serious.:)
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Bring the opposite valve to the one you will be adjusting up on peak lift and while spinning the pushrod with your finger tighten nut until you feel it drag then go half turn past that. The Haynes manuals for late 70's era chebbies have a very good explanation of how to do this and the procedure is same for our fords too.
OK now correct me if I'm wrong

Bring the opposite valve to the one you will be adjusting up on peak lift and while spinning the pushrod with your finger tighten nut until you feel it drag then go half turn past that. The Haynes manuals for late 70's era chebbies have a very good explanation of how to do this and the procedure is same for our fords too.
understanding this. We'll use number one clyinder for example. I open number one exhaust to max lift and then adjust number one intake like you said? Then reverse the procedure?
The TDC method works for smaller cams . I like the E.O.I.C (Exhaust open Intake closed) method works for all setups .
As exhaust starts to open , adjust intake
As intake goes full open and starts to close adjust exhaust

1/2 turn preload has always worked for me .
I use

The TDC method works for smaller cams . I like the E.O.I.C (Exhaust open Intake closed) method works for all setups .
As exhaust starts to open , adjust intake
As intake goes full open and starts to close adjust exhaust

1/2 turn preload has always worked for me .
EOIC method on my roller cam. And it always works good for me too. I think I will try the TDC method first and then go back and do the EOIC to be sure its right. The TDC method will get me in the ballpark anyway.
I have always adlusted valves on the compression stroke of each cylinder following the firing order, that way both lifters are on the base circle of the cam. Never had a problem and never forgot which valve I was at on the adjustment.
Can't remember where I got this from, but it might help you to get the adjustments done quicker.


Point A- No [email protected] TDC (end of compression stroke).

Point B- Rotate crank clockwise 180deg (half turn) so point B lines up with pointer.

Point C- Rotate crank clockwise 270deg (3/4 turn) until piont C aligns with pointer.


When at Point A adjust
No 1 intake_No 1 exhaust
No 7 intake_No 5 exhaust
No 8 intake_No 4 exhaust

When at Point B adjust
No 5 intake_No 2 exhaust
No 4 intake_No 6 exhaust

When at Point C adjust
No 2 intake_No 7 exhaust
No 3 intake_No 3 exhaust
No 6 intake_No 8 exhaust
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know the roller cam you had to adjust the lash ----same thing except go to zero lash plus 1/4 to 1/2 turn of the nut dowm . simple
1/4 turn would be my recommendation.
The first thing to do is to remove all the rocker arms,then turn the motor over several times to get all the lifters filled with oil.reinstall the rockers in pairs and adjust that cylinder.Do not go back to check them because as you rotate the motor the lifters will bleed down and they will appear to be wrong.IMHO
understanding this. We'll use number one clyinder for example. I open number one exhaust to max lift and then adjust number one intake like you said? Then reverse the procedure?
Yes that is how I have always done them never had a problem. The manuals says to follow the firing order but never made a difference either way. I do my solids basically the same way but adjust lash with feeler gauge instead of preloading.;)
The TDC method works for smaller cams . I like the E.O.I.C (Exhaust open Intake closed) method works for all setups .
As exhaust starts to open , adjust intake
As intake goes full open and starts to close adjust exhaust

1/2 turn preload has always worked for me .
Everyone has their own preference, but I like the EOIC method best. It works for any cam grind, any brand engine, any firing order, and any cam degree. And it is easy to remember. No books or charts to refer to.

Don't forget at TDC some cams are already staring to open or are in overlap which means that both valves are slightly open. Couple that with retarding or advancing the cam and all the other methods will provide inacurate results.
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