Pushrod length checking questions
Pushrod length checking questions About to do this and have a few questions...
1. I'm using the Trickflow checker and can't seem to find how to tell the length. Would it be alright to use a micrometer to check? I figure this would be more accurate than any other method anyway.
2. I have LS7 lifters. How do I figure out preload? Or adjust it? Didn't know this was an option and I don't quite understand it. Valvetrain math is over my head, I'll be the first to admit. But I have to figure it out quickly.
3. Will all of the pushrod lengths be roughly the same? Or do I need to check all 16 valves at TDC and measure each one?
Thanks!
1. I'm using the Trickflow checker and can't seem to find how to tell the length. Would it be alright to use a micrometer to check? I figure this would be more accurate than any other method anyway.
2. I have LS7 lifters. How do I figure out preload? Or adjust it? Didn't know this was an option and I don't quite understand it. Valvetrain math is over my head, I'll be the first to admit. But I have to figure it out quickly.
3. Will all of the pushrod lengths be roughly the same? Or do I need to check all 16 valves at TDC and measure each one?
Thanks!
TECH Addict
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,481
Likes: 5
From: PA/MD
With your pushrod length checker you are looking for 0 lash....if you get say 7.320 at 0 lash and you need .080 preload you will want to get 7.400 pushrods. All of them " should" be roughly the same, but it doesn't hurt to check a few to be sure
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
From: south dakota
i would do 1 or 2 intake valves and the same exhaust just to be safe having said that i am about to do this as well from what i understand just make sure your lifter is on the base lobe of the cam than adjust your pr checker to 0 lash, than ad in your desired pre load to determine what length pr. someone correct me if i am wrong
Trending Topics
About to do this and have a few questions...
1. I'm using the Trickflow checker and can't seem to find how to tell the length. Would it be alright to use a micrometer to check? I figure this would be more accurate than any other method anyway.
2. I have LS7 lifters. How do I figure out preload? Or adjust it? Didn't know this was an option and I don't quite understand it. Valvetrain math is over my head, I'll be the first to admit. But I have to figure it out quickly.
3. Will all of the pushrod lengths be roughly the same? Or do I need to check all 16 valves at TDC and measure each one?
Thanks!
1. I'm using the Trickflow checker and can't seem to find how to tell the length. Would it be alright to use a micrometer to check? I figure this would be more accurate than any other method anyway.
2. I have LS7 lifters. How do I figure out preload? Or adjust it? Didn't know this was an option and I don't quite understand it. Valvetrain math is over my head, I'll be the first to admit. But I have to figure it out quickly.
3. Will all of the pushrod lengths be roughly the same? Or do I need to check all 16 valves at TDC and measure each one?
Thanks!
First you should figure out how much the length changes with each turn and what your starting length is then you can figure out how it is used.
Also, note that the measurements that are used by most pushrod vendors is gauge length. If you measure with a caliper from end to end then you will be measuring overall length as long as the adjustable pushrod has something on the end to flatten it like the hole in the pushrod. If you use calipers, then subtract 0.017" from the length you measure to get an approximate guage length.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo Alright guess I'll have to figure out how to measure this checker or else just get a different one. So let me make sure I have this right...
1. Install stock pushrods in 2 valves of same cylinder.
2. Lightly tighten rocker bolts.
3. Get lifter in one valve at TDC (base circle of cam)
4. Take off rocker and pushrod, install length checker, and reinstall rocker
5. Adjust checker until there is no play in the rocker when the rocker is up all the way.
6. Check pushrod length.
7. Add desired preload (I'm shooting for .07" with my LS7 lifters) to pushrod length.
8. So that if my initial measurement was 7.38" on the checker, I would need 7.45" pushrods. 7.38+.07=7.45
9. Check other valve and perhaps another cylinder if desired.
Am I correct in my method of thinking here?
1. Install stock pushrods in 2 valves of same cylinder.
2. Lightly tighten rocker bolts.
3. Get lifter in one valve at TDC (base circle of cam)
4. Take off rocker and pushrod, install length checker, and reinstall rocker
5. Adjust checker until there is no play in the rocker when the rocker is up all the way.
6. Check pushrod length.
7. Add desired preload (I'm shooting for .07" with my LS7 lifters) to pushrod length.
8. So that if my initial measurement was 7.38" on the checker, I would need 7.45" pushrods. 7.38+.07=7.45
9. Check other valve and perhaps another cylinder if desired.
Am I correct in my method of thinking here?
When I do this I take a black marker and paint the tip of the valve black.
then I bolt down the rocker and spin the motor over several times by hand. If your length is correct the tip of the rocker will remove the marker in the CENTER of the valve.
then I bolt down the rocker and spin the motor over several times by hand. If your length is correct the tip of the rocker will remove the marker in the CENTER of the valve.
That will not work on an LS1 motor. That is a stud mounted method.
Alright guess I'll have to figure out how to measure this checker or else just get a different one. So let me make sure I have this right...
1. Install stock pushrods in 2 valves of same cylinder.
2. Lightly tighten rocker bolts.
3. Get lifter in one valve at TDC (base circle of cam)
4. Take off rocker and pushrod, install length checker, and reinstall rocker
5. Adjust checker until there is no play in the rocker when the rocker is up all the way.
6. Check pushrod length.
7. Add desired preload (I'm shooting for .07" with my LS7 lifters) to pushrod length.
8. So that if my initial measurement was 7.38" on the checker, I would need 7.45" pushrods. 7.38+.07=7.45
9. Check other valve and perhaps another cylinder if desired.
Am I correct in my method of thinking here?
1. Install stock pushrods in 2 valves of same cylinder.
2. Lightly tighten rocker bolts.
3. Get lifter in one valve at TDC (base circle of cam)
4. Take off rocker and pushrod, install length checker, and reinstall rocker
5. Adjust checker until there is no play in the rocker when the rocker is up all the way.
6. Check pushrod length.
7. Add desired preload (I'm shooting for .07" with my LS7 lifters) to pushrod length.
8. So that if my initial measurement was 7.38" on the checker, I would need 7.45" pushrods. 7.38+.07=7.45
9. Check other valve and perhaps another cylinder if desired.
Am I correct in my method of thinking here?
7.38 total length - .070 lifter preload = 7.31 (length of the pushrod checker after adjusted to make zero lash) ------>Am i correct in my assumption? Obviously i was using the example from above...
TECH Addict
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,481
Likes: 5
From: PA/MD
So you are measuring the pushrod checker's length after you found it and then add .070" ?
7.38 total length - .070 lifter preload = 7.31 (length of the pushrod checker after adjusted to make zero lash) ------>Am i correct in my assumption? Obviously i was using the example from above...
7.38 total length - .070 lifter preload = 7.31 (length of the pushrod checker after adjusted to make zero lash) ------>Am i correct in my assumption? Obviously i was using the example from above...
So if I measure and get 7.44" with preload added in 7.45" pushrods should suffice correct? The preload amount should be flexible enough to make up for the hundredth of an inch.
Two questions. How are you measuring the adjustable pushrod length? If you are using a caliper and measuring end to end then you need to correct for this depending on the pushrod vendor. Second, what lifters and what is the range of preload?