Loose roller rocker

[Nate355RS]

I was driving around about a week ago and I notice my car was making a pretty loud ticking noise. I figured it was an header leak so I pulled the gasket and sure enough the gasket was burnt all the way through. School's been taking a lot of time latley so I just got around to replacing the gasket and getting it seal up nice and tight today. I started the motor up and I hear a loud ticking noise again, and since I just put a new gasket on the header I put my hand on the valve cover and sure enough I could feel it tapping. Pulled the valve cover and the second rocker from the front was not even hand tight. Should I just go ahead and tighten it back up, or is it a sign of another problem like a bad lifter? Since I may have driven it about 50 miles with it like that is there anything else I might have messed up?

[Nate355RS]

I forgot to mention I have Comp Cams Pro Magnum 1.6 non self-aligning roller rockers with Comp Cams 'R hydraulic lifters if that makes any differance.

[Savage Messiah]

well first off depending on what header gaskets you got they may need to be heat cycled.

[silicon212]

If you have pressed in rocker studs, you might want to use a straightedge and ensure that all 8 on that head are at the same installed height. If the one with the loose rocker is raised above the others at all, then you'll want to hammer the stud back down and pin it in. It's not uncommon for a pressed-in stud to work its way loose - especially with a higher lift cam.

If they're all the same height, simply tighten it down. Do this with it - make sure that you do this with the engine off, and that the cam lobe for that rocker is down, i.e. the lifter is resting on the base circle. Tighten the rocker down, while spinning the pushrod by hand, until the pushrod stops. Tighten it a further 1/2 turn. This should adjust it as long as the cam lobe base circle is what's making contact with the lifter.

[Nate355RS]

Thanks silicon that fixed it right up, the top nut (not really sure what it's called) had just come loose, the stud was still in place.

Savage, I started it up, let it get to temp, let it cool, made sure the bolts were tight, and then did it again after I just got back from about a 40 mile ride so they should be good to go but I'll keep checking about every 200 miles. I just didn't want to drive it too much until I got the rocker arm set right.

[HotZ28]

If you want to prevent them from coming loose again, tighten the setscrew snug at “0 lash” + 1/8 turn of the nut, then use the box end wrench to tighten the locknut another 1/8 turn. This will set your preload to 1/4 turn. Using this procedure, you will lock the setscrew and nut tight enough that it will never come loose. I have been doing this for many years on roller rockers and have NEVER had one come loose!

By the way, if you don't like to replace header gaskets every few months, get a set of copper gaskets. They cost more, but it would be the last set you would have to buy.

[Nate355RS]

That's a good tip. What I did was tighten the nut like silicone said and then took an allen wrench and tightened the locknut down so it felt pretty tight. If I have to do it again I'll do it your way.

The main problem that I've had with the header gaskets is sealing the square port SLPs to the bottom of the D shaped LT1 exaust ports. The headers cover about 1/8" on each exaust port, so if it's not on there good it'll burn the gasket up. I ended up using some high temp RTV sealant and two felpro gaskets and it seems to be holding up well so far. I looked at the copper ones but I'm not sure if the exaust gasses would burn through the little lip they have, because it will be hanging over the port and the felpros were 30 bucks cheaper. What I really need are some D-shaped headers that will fit a thirdgen but so far I haven't had any luck finding any.

[HotZ28]

I do understand your header gasket dilemma. The copper gaskets will not burn through. I use ASM 1 ¾ in headers on my LT1 with copper gaskets, that I installed back in 1999. The same gaskets are used today! Prior to that, I replaced the gaskets several times a year using Fel-Pro composite gaskets. High temp silicone will not help for long. After the silicone gets hot several times, it will get brittle, like burned rubber. I also have a third gen with Hooker 1 ¾” headers with Vortec heads that have a similar port to the LT1. Again, I tried Fel-Pro gaskets, to no avail. Copper solved the problem! Another trick I used back before copper gaskets were available was to wrap the “Fel-Pro” gaskets with aluminum foil and form the aluminum around the gasket and bolt holes. This procedure, did work for many years.

[Nate355RS]

Man, I never though about wrapping them in foil. With all these good tips it seems like you've probably been doing this stuff for a while. Well, I'll see how long these gaskets hold up and when they burn out I'll look at those copper ones. If they only last twice as long as the felpros than they pretty much pay for themselves.