BTW when No.1 is at TDC so is No. 6. So in you should be able to measure PR length for the intake and exhaust for both of the those cylinders as the cam lobes "if the cam is installed correctly those lobes will be on their base circle"

 

Yeah I'm learning now that the cam can be in 2 different spots when TDC... Either 12 or 6 o clock. The video I watched (watch me wrench is the guy), he checked the length with both cam and crank in a 12 o clock position. I checked it again and came up with 33 turns, putting me at 7.28 +.08 would 7.36. I could make the Texas speed pushrods work but that's putting the preload at .095 ( found the other btw... Rolled under one of my trays in my tool box.

so here's the scoop.... Pushrod measured at cylinder 1, TDC with cam dot at 12o clock... Intake valve side was measured...33 turns for Zero lash... 7.28 is the measurement. With preload of .08 it's 7.36 or preload of .095 at 7.375. I hate asking redundant questions that I'm sure "just Google search" or "read the instructions" are the answers that are due for my silly misunderstanding... But it's new to me, I'm still trying to grasp the idea of measuring the length and EOIC, etc... Thanks again you guys. If you were local, I'd buy ya a beer haha 🍻

 

Yeah if you measured another cylinder and came up with the close to the same result then I'd say you have it.

 

The cam gear will only go one way and when the dot on the crank gear is up and the dot on the cam gear is down then 1 & 6 are at TDC but in order to find absolute TDC you need to put a dial indicator on it which in theory coincides with the dot on the crank gear.

 

Ok so my next question is if cylinder 1 is TDC when the cam dot is UP and also when the cam dot is DOWN, which way matters? I checked both ways and I can see in the spark plug hole the cylinder is at the top of it's stroke. Seems like I'd only get a longer reading if the cam is at it's base circle right?

 

I don't have my cam installed into the block yet but I do have my crank in and trust me when I tell you that your cam is installed correctly when the No.1 cylinder piston is at TDC which is all the way up as high is it will go, Once you turned the engine over to reach this point you will notice.

1.) The key on the crankshaft is pointed towards the No. 1 cylinder.
2.) The dowel pin on the front of the camshaft should be to the right in the 1-2 o'clock position when looking at the front of the engine or in other words it should point towards the No. 1 cylinder.

When you finally install the cam gear and timing chain the dot on the cam gear should be pointed down towards the bottom of the engine and the dot on the crank gear will be pointed up towards the top of the engine and the dots will line up. If you want I can post some pictures up later for illustration.

 

Oh okay.. yeah I figured the cam was in right but just the pushrod issue and the correct spot/way to measure is what's getting me. I ch ecked another cylinder and it too gave the 7.36, so I'm torquing the rockers in the correct sequence now

 

When it rains, it pours... Torqued the rockers down in the correct sequence, went to bleed clutch and the valve fell down in the bellhousing... Felt it with my finger, tried putting some gorilla tape on a small rod to grab it but think it went further... Guess I'm pulling it all out again

 

Get a pen magnet

 

Isn't it brass?

 

Are you talking about the bleeder rod on the clutch slave?

 

Yeah, takes a 7/16 to turn. Had the gf push clutch to floor, made sure there was full fluid and released it but nothing came out so.... I unscrewed it as far as I thought needed and it came out... Wasn't the issue until trying to get it back in was when it fell

 

I think that rod is steel and you can fish it out with a cable magnet but the problem will be getting it threaded back into place. You could try and use some Permatex to glue it to your socket to keep it from falling off while trying to thread it back in.

 

Yeah I'm thinking I need to drop the tranny this time... Tried loosening bellhousing bolts and pushing tranny back far enough while un mounted from crossmember... I think it's sitting right on the slave cylinder and not moving unless moved lol

 

Actually, they are not. #1 will be at the end of exhaust beginning of intake and any measurements will include overlap of the cam. #6 will be at TDC of the firing stroke and both should be on the base circle. Crank keyway will be at around the 1 oe 2 o'clock position with the dot at the 12 o'clock on the crank sprocket.

 

There is a missing parameter in this discussion when discussing TDC. TDC is top dead center of the piston, however the cam may not be correctly oriented for the cylinder you are measuring. It must be TDC on the firing stroke to measure, otherwise use the EOIC method.

 

Btw, the bolt at the very top of the bellhousing.. it's not that hard to break loose requires a long enough wrench to get leverage and sitting in the engine bay... Pulling the damn thing tonight so I can get this **** over with.

 

Spent a good hour underneath the car just trying to pry the bellhousing off the block... Have about a 1.5 inch gap but can't get it to "drop" off... Have a jack underneath and it's not binding... Gonna try leveling car more on the jackstands

 

I've found it best to remove the transmission from the bell housing.

 

That did it! I unbolted the 8 bolts from tranny-bellhousing, pulled it back till it was ready to slip off an voila, there she was. Sitting right above the clutch fluid line, under the bleeder nozzle... Gonna bolt it back up, not worrying about bleeding it anymore, tried it for about 10 mins and can't get the pedal to "pump up". Has fluid in it (confused on the rubber plunger function) and had the valve open, seemed to just pour it out. Does the drill mod have anything to do with this?