Johnson 2110 Preload Questions
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Bolton Masshole
Johnson 2110 Preload Questions Finally fired up my winter build last weekend. Car is a 2008 z06. Motor is a brand new 363ci gen 4 aluminum block with trick flow 220 LS2 style heads, ls2 intake, johnson 2110 lifters, BTR stage 3 twin turbo cam etc. I fired it up and it builds up 60PSI oil pressure and the motor sounded very healthy. No tapping or noises, just like every other healthy LS i've ever had, so that was a releif. The car idled like crap though and sometimes wouldnt even stay running. I checked the log after I shut the car down and it seemed like I had ~85kPA MAP pressure at idle which seems very high and almost (to me) indicates a vacuum leak. I tripled checked all obvious areas and did not see any issues. Visually everything seems like it is sealed up just fine, including the brake booster connection on the back of the manifold.
Im still waiting for my tuner to get back to me with an updated tune, but while I wait im doing my due dilligence to ensure it is not a mechanical issue on my side.
Before the motor was installed i measured for pushrods and came up with 7.400 to zero lash. Johnson calls for .035" preload +/- .010. Pushrods were available in 7.425 or 7.450 but I went with the 7.450 since most people seemed to agree 0.050" is fine for the Johnson 2110 and also aluminum motors will expand more as they heat up which will reduce that number. I just doubled checked multiple cylinders on both banks last night and got similar numbers at 7.3875 up to 7.40625. If I add .035 to that smallest 7.3875 number I get right at 7.425. I am wondering if maybe I should have gone with the 7.425 pushrods, but Im looking for some opinions from you guys. The pushrod length cannot be drastically off as I seem to measure within .018" difference to zero lash MAX across the board. Like I said, just trying to do my due diligence and make sure Im not hanging a valve open or something. One other thing I noticed on some valves was when I tightened to 22ftlbs, the lifter seemed to not compress at all and the valve would open slightly. I am wondering if this is normal or not. Ive done a bunch of cam and valve spring swaps on LS motors before and can't say i've noticed that before. This is my first set of Johnson 2110s. I am positve the lifter was on the base circle during all of my checks.
One other thing I forgot to do was apply sealant to the intake rocker arm bolts. Not sure if this is the case on stock style LS1 heads, but the intake rocker bolt hole goes right through to the intake port on the head. I will be applying some sealant to all of those, but I am doubtful that would cause a major vacuum leak.
Again, mayne the tune just needs work and i'm being paranoid, but im doing my homework in the meantime. Thoughts welcome.
Im still waiting for my tuner to get back to me with an updated tune, but while I wait im doing my due dilligence to ensure it is not a mechanical issue on my side.
Before the motor was installed i measured for pushrods and came up with 7.400 to zero lash. Johnson calls for .035" preload +/- .010. Pushrods were available in 7.425 or 7.450 but I went with the 7.450 since most people seemed to agree 0.050" is fine for the Johnson 2110 and also aluminum motors will expand more as they heat up which will reduce that number. I just doubled checked multiple cylinders on both banks last night and got similar numbers at 7.3875 up to 7.40625. If I add .035 to that smallest 7.3875 number I get right at 7.425. I am wondering if maybe I should have gone with the 7.425 pushrods, but Im looking for some opinions from you guys. The pushrod length cannot be drastically off as I seem to measure within .018" difference to zero lash MAX across the board. Like I said, just trying to do my due diligence and make sure Im not hanging a valve open or something. One other thing I noticed on some valves was when I tightened to 22ftlbs, the lifter seemed to not compress at all and the valve would open slightly. I am wondering if this is normal or not. Ive done a bunch of cam and valve spring swaps on LS motors before and can't say i've noticed that before. This is my first set of Johnson 2110s. I am positve the lifter was on the base circle during all of my checks.
One other thing I forgot to do was apply sealant to the intake rocker arm bolts. Not sure if this is the case on stock style LS1 heads, but the intake rocker bolt hole goes right through to the intake port on the head. I will be applying some sealant to all of those, but I am doubtful that would cause a major vacuum leak.
Again, mayne the tune just needs work and i'm being paranoid, but im doing my homework in the meantime. Thoughts welcome.
Aren't the 2110 slow leakdowns? Perhaps the lack of compress when you tightened down the lifters to 22ftlbs is due to that feature? Not speaking from experience on those lifters as I've *just* ordered my first set from Tick a day or so ago. The kit will include custom length pushrods , but they are not shipped until I get everything else assembled and I measure the actual distance with a pushrod checker and let Tick know what I found. Good luck on finding your issue.
