first off, let me inform all, that i do not know much about engines other than the basics, oil change, maintance, adjustments, etc...

i had a engine built by dominator engines in arlington texas. it is a 355 small block with a few goodies in it.

the builder claims that the engine has approx. 400hp, but i dont know yet for sure.. waiting for dyno printout from him...

when i recieved the engine, it had roller rockers on it. well the rockers were not adjusted like the builder said they were after the dyno.
as a result, some of the rockers were flat spotted where they come into contact with the spring after running for a few weeks. i contacted the builder and he sent me a new set of roller rockers. the box says that they are SBC self-aligning roller tip rocker set 1.5 ratio with a 3/8 head. but on the roller rocker itself, it is stamped with "ybg" and a 3/8 socket will not fit so i have to use a 5/8 socket. the problem is when i try to adjust the rockers while engine is running, the 5/8 socket binds the engine and it wants to die. the builder said that i need a 1/4, 5/8 deep socket but i cannot find one anywhere... i have searched orielly's, autozone, sears, walmart, and even contacted craftsman tools for help but it is like this socket is a mystery and nobody has had one. DOES ANY GEARHEAD OUT THERE HAV A SOLUTION FOR THIS??? PLEASE HELP ME, I WANT TO GET THIS FIXED SO THAT I CAN DRIVE IT WITHOUT RUINING ANY MORE ROLLER ROCKERS....PLEASE, PLEASE,PLEASE HELP.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

he is talking about a 1/4 inch drive, 5/8 socket. Deep well. its a thinner walled socket then the 3/8 drive, 5/8 socket.

 

any suggestions on where to get this socket??????

 

If you are using roller rockers with poly locks you need to use a wrench anyhow so you can use the allen wrench to lock them down. 3/8 rockers mean they fit a 3/8 stud size not wrench size.

 

are poly locks the same as a set screw? i have also tried to use a wrench but it binds the engine as well.... so freakin' frustrated

 

The set screw should be an allen head.

Also the 3/8" part is the stud size those rockers fit, not the socket size.

 

Adjust the rockers with motor off you should be fine.

Tighten the polylock until all the slack is taken out of the rocker
arm and pushrod. By lightly turning the pushrod with your fingers as you tighten the
polylock, you will discover or feel a point at which there will be slight resistance. At this
point, you have taken all the excess slack out of the pushrod. You are now at what we
refer to as “zero lash.” Turn the polylock 1/2 turn more, and while holding it with a
wrench, tighten the set screw using a T-handle or Allen wrench. This will give you the
ideal preload of the rocker arm, pushrod and lifter. Repeat this procedure for each
cylinder and carefully adjust all intake valves.

 

do the exhaust and intake valve need to be t.d.c.? when the engine is off???

 

whatever valve you are ajusting the rocker arm to, the cam lobe for that lifter needs to be on the base circle... meaning the cam lobe cannot be touching the lifter at all otherwise it would be pushing it upwards and you cannot adjust the rocker arm properly.
This is when the engine is off, and do it with the engine cold. There is no need to do it on a warm engine. You will need to rotate the engine by hand, so pull all the spark plugs out.

Don't waste your time adjusting with the engine running, there is no reason to ever adjust lifter preload with the engine running, it's messy and not an easy thing to do with the engine running, and you run the risk of engine damage if you screw up.

http://www.centuryperformance.com/ad...h-spg-149.html

here is an ok writeup on adjusting rocker arms, also known as setting lifter preload or valve lash.
you can get #1 cylinder at TDC then based on the camshaft and firing order you will know which valves (rocker arms) you can adjust, then you get #4 cylinder at TDC and then you can adjust the others. This is the fast way to do it but you can screw up if you use the correct adjustment procedure for the wrong firing order.

The best way is to do one at a time and rotate the engine by hand for each, it is a lot more work though. rotate the engine and work on the 2 valves for a given cylinder,
EOIC - exhaust opening intake closing. When the exhaust valve just begins to open then you can adjust the rocker arm over the intake valve because you know that lifter will be on the base circle of the cam. Then rotate the engine until the intake valve for same cylinder fully opens and then begins to close (but not closed all the way) then you can ajust rocker arm over the exhaust valve because that lifter will be on base circle. Repeat for each cylinder. Make sure you know which valve is intake and which is exhaust, when you rotate the engine the exhaust valve opens then the intake immediately after then when the intake is closed there is a good amount of engine rotation before the exhaust valve moves again.

other way like you mention, is to get a cylinder on top dead center, then both valves are fully closed and their corresponding lifters are on the cam base circle, so you can adjust both rockers at the same choice. Only problem with this is it's not easy to know when a given cylinder other than #1 via the timing mark is at TDC.


http://www.scorpionperformance.com/V...MadeSimple.pdf