I have a 98 Camaro and I'm throwing a good set of LS6 heads and BTR stage 3 on. Obviously I'm upgrading the springs, push rods, oil pump, fuel pump, trunion rockers etc...But I have a series of dumb questions...

What size push rods should I be using? All the youtube videos I see they just drop the rods in and go and the BTR kit wants pushrod length while ordering so I'm just like confused on that part because from my understanding the head gasket can add thickness and that needs to be accounted for as well as if the heads themselves have been worked. The other dumb thing is I see people just slap the rocker arms on whether or not there is compression on that cylinder and they just torque down the rocker. I understand you should be rotating the cam each time to take pressure off the valve but I've seen some do it and some not.

In short my questions are: pushrod length needed for a BTR stage 3 and LS6 heads and is just bolting down the rocker arms OK or at the very least rotate until the valve has no pressure on it?

Not a newbie but a newbie at stuff like this.

 

If heads are not milled, stock gasket and block then you can usually make a good guess and be okay. Lots of people go with 7.4 or 7.425 and be fine. With stock lifters. Once you start radically modifying things that's when you really need to measure.

 

That is pretty much what i figured and to be honest I will toss in LS7 lifters and new trays so nothing crazy. Thanks for the input. that was my main concern.

 

You'd have to know what lifter preload you'd want to run, and then check with and adjustable pushrod once the motor is assembled