Help on Head swap
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 54
Likes: 1
From: Mississippi
Help on Head swap Hey guys, I'm about to do a head swap on my 2001 z28. Here's what I have now, stock 241 heads, ms4 cam, PRC dual spring kit, TSP 7.4 hardened pushrods, stock lifters and rockers. Here's what I'm changing over to, 243 heads with a valve job and have been milled like 5 thousandths just to clean the surface up, LS7 lifters, I'm doing the rocker arm trunion upgrade, keeping the ms4 cam, of course I'll be swapping the dual springs over to the 243 heads, new head gaskets-GM part# 12498544. My question is what length pushrod will I need to run with this setup? Will the 7.4's work? I've got an adjustable pushrod and will check for length if I can figure out how to go about it. Any ideas?
No one will ever be able to tell you what length you require. Its all just merely a educated guess. Just because someone same exact setup requires a certain length pushrod, does not mean you will be the same. Every engine is different. You have to measure, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Goodluck
Each turn of the pushrod is 0.050". When fully closed, it is 6.800". This is pushrod "gauge length" so you can't measure it directly as the pushrod length is actually based on the length between the ball ends where the ball end measures 0.140" in diameter. Assuming you are using stock rockers or a non-adjustable rocker.
1. Open the adjustable pushrod to the same length as your stock pushrods
2. Close it down two turns
3. Put your rocker rail on the head
4. Make sure you cylinder (typically #1) is at top dead center on the firing stroke so both valves would be closed
5. Put the pushrod in place on the intake valve and make sure it is in the lifter cup
6. Install the rocker and snug down the bolt (don't need to torque, just make sure it is snug)
7. Lift rocker tip up and down, if it "ticks" the pushrod is too short. If you can't easily move the rocker the pushrod is too long.
8. You can try and adjust the pushrod in place buy my fingers are too fat so I end up pulling the rocker and adjusting the pushrod length. Go either shorter or longer 1/2 turn and try again.
9. You are trying to get to the point where the lifter doesn't "tick tick" with the pushrod in place nor is the rocker snug. When you get the pushrod length such that you just barely get rid of the "tick tick", you have found "zero lash".
10. When you have found zero lash, carefully remove the rocker and pushrod without rotating the pushrod.
11. Tighten the pushrod until it is fully closed counting the turns as you go.
To figure out your pushrod length you do the following. Lets assume it took 10-1/2 turns to close the pushrod down to its shortest length after you reached zero lash. Each turn is 0.050".
Your length is then: 6.800" (fully closed length) + 10.5 X 0.050" (number of turns times the length change per turn) = pushrod length minus preload. So for this case:
6.800 +10.5 X 0.050 = 7.325"
This is the length you measured to zero lash without any lifter preload. Now lets say you want to have 0.075" lifter preload, you add that to the measured number and you end up with 7.400" pushrods.
Now repeat for the exhaust valve to verify the length. If you have something like Yella Terra's, it is the same procedure but you must snug down the rocker pair rather than the single rocker.0.0125 0.0375
Each turn of the pushrod is 0.050". When fully closed, it is 6.800". This is pushrod "gauge length" so you can't measure it directly as the pushrod length is actually based on the length between the ball ends where the ball end measures 0.140" in diameter. Assuming you are using stock rockers or a non-adjustable rocker.
1. Open the adjustable pushrod to the same length as your stock pushrods
2. Close it down two turns
3. Put your rocker rail on the head
4. Make sure you cylinder (typically #1) is at top dead center on the firing stroke so both valves would be closed
5. Put the pushrod in place on the intake valve and make sure it is in the lifter cup
6. Install the rocker and snug down the bolt (don't need to torque, just make sure it is snug)
7. Lift rocker tip up and down, if it "ticks" the pushrod is too short. If you can't easily move the rocker the pushrod is too long.
8. You can try and adjust the pushrod in place buy my fingers are too fat so I end up pulling the rocker and adjusting the pushrod length. Go either shorter or longer 1/2 turn and try again.
9. You are trying to get to the point where the lifter doesn't "tick tick" with the pushrod in place nor is the rocker snug. When you get the pushrod length such that you just barely get rid of the "tick tick", you have found "zero lash".
10. When you have found zero lash, carefully remove the rocker and pushrod without rotating the pushrod.
11. Tighten the pushrod until it is fully closed counting the turns as you go.
To figure out your pushrod length you do the following. Lets assume it took 10-1/2 turns to close the pushrod down to its shortest length after you reached zero lash. Each turn is 0.050".
Your length is then: 6.800" (fully closed length) + 10.5 X 0.050" (number of turns times the length change per turn) = pushrod length minus preload. So for this case:
6.800 +10.5 X 0.050 = 7.325"
This is the length you measured to zero lash without any lifter preload. Now lets say you want to have 0.075" lifter preload, you add that to the measured number and you end up with 7.400" pushrods.
Now repeat for the exhaust valve to verify the length. If you have something like Yella Terra's, it is the same procedure but you must snug down the rocker pair rather than the single rocker.0.0125 0.0375
