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Rear intake rod seems pretty short compared to the rest. I'm going to collapse the rods to relive the pressure, is there anything I need to keep track of before I do so and do I need to take note of what brand they are for re-adjusting them when putting everything back together? Any other advice for a first timer before my point of no return?
You'll need to know exactly which cam you have in order to adjust the push rods correctly. The adjustment is based on the lift of the cam lobe and that determines how many flats (on the adjuster) you'll need to turn the nut.
If it has solid lifters however, all you need to do is ensure that the valve you are adjusting the push rod for is closed and then adjust push rod until you can spin it between your fingers with a bit of light drag.
At least that is how I remember it being done. It's been a long time since I was a mechanic.
You'll need to know exactly which cam you have in order to adjust the push rods correctly. The adjustment is based on the lift of the cam lobe and that determines how many flats (on the adjuster) you'll need to turn the nut.
If it has solid lifters however, all you need to do is ensure that the valve you are adjusting the push rod for is closed and then adjust push rod until you can spin it between your fingers with a bit of light drag.
At least that is how I remember it being done. It's been a long time since I was a mechanic.
Thanks, didn't know if there was anything I needed to write down before I messed with anything. Makes sense about cam lift and rod length. My whole end goal is to find what cam is in there, do some research about it and then decide whether to replace it or not.
Forgive me if I throw cold water on your enthusiasm but there's a few things you need to know...
Those are adjustable push rods but they arenot fully adjustable. If you collapse them, you still won't be able to remove them without pulling the valve covers and lower rocker boxes. Yes, you can maneuver the cam out but you'll spend more time getting it back in that it's worth and still won't be able to replace the cam bearing (which is highly recommended) because the lifters have to come out the top.
Something does look strange - the rear exhaust shows more threads that the front exhaust. Too many things to list that "might" cause that, but I'll leave that alone for now.
So step back and take a breath, drain the fuel, pull the tank and take the rockers off. Or, adjust the pressure off one at a time and cut them so you can install the other style push rods. That'll add $150 - $200 to your project. Gaskets will run you about half that.
Last edited by t150vej; Feb 13, 2022 at 09:52 AM.
Reason: info from another thread deleted
Adjust the pushrods down.. Get it apart and pull the cam.. Post up pics of the inboard end of the cam, the lifters and cam bearing.. We'll see what kind of lifters are in there and we'll go from there.. as for the push rods I would think the rear intake possibly loosened up that's awful short.. Once everything is apart we'll measure the pushrods when completely collapsed to make sure the 2 longer ones are installed for the exhaust valves and the shorter ones for the intakes..
t150vej is correct about the push rods they are not fully collapsible but you still can pull the cam and also replace it as long as you use magnets to hold up the lifters in the blocks.. it can be done it just needs finessing...
Also the lift of the cam and duration is not going to indicate how to adjust the push rods... Most commonly the lifter preload is set to .125"-.140"
One more suggestion, if this is your first time going into an EVO motor you might want to just pull the rockers and get familiar with all that.. It's a nice learning step...
Last edited by 98hotrodfatboy; Feb 13, 2022 at 10:13 AM.
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