valve lash adjustment

does it matter to the process if the lifters are full of oil, because the engine is not after a rebuild?
or do they drain after some time the engine is off?

eran tomer said:

does it matter to the process if the lifters are full of oil, because the engine is not after a rebuild?
or do they drain after some time the engine is off?

Click to expand...

Any lifter connected to a valve that is partially-open will bleed down--the oil squeezes out over time. However, the lifter plungers are spring-loaded "up", so as long as you're careful about achieving zero lash, oil or no oil in the lifter makes no real difference.

Most cam companies tell you to adjust the preload with no oil in the lifter when installing new lifters.

my lifters don't go up and down when pressing on the pushrods. it's like they are stuck on the bottom. am i missing something?

eran tomer said:

my lifters don't go up and down when pressing on the pushrods. it's like they are stuck on the bottom. am i missing something?

Click to expand...

Yes, the lifters are sitting on the cam shaft lobes and they will not move up and down unless the camshaft is turning.
Find an animation video of a valve train in operation. Here;

I mean the plungers barely if at all move up and down when pressing on the pushrods.

eran tomer said:

I mean the plungers barely if at all move up and down when pressing on the pushrods.

Click to expand...

Short-travel lifters, or they've still got oil in them.

in case they are short travel- shall i go for 1/2 turn of preload?

I went to Elgin 1.6 stamped rockers last year so went through the valve lash then. My only time so not an expert but I've had no problems since. With the #1 cylinder at TDC compression I tightened the rockers while turning the rods until they locked up. They locked up real quick between easy to turn and impossible with a VERY slight turn of the nut. I then added 5/8 of a turn. General consensus seems to be a 1/2 turn but some said they had loose rockers so added another 1/4 turn. Some said 3/4 turn. Factory apparently says 1 full turn and a few argue for 1/4. I did 5/8 as a compromise between the two most common recommendations I could find (1/2 and 3/4). I really didn't want to deal with loose rockers because getting the valve cover off the drivers side on the 1998 L31 is a pain with the AC compressor bracket interfering there. I then turned the crank 1/4 turn and went to the next cylinder in the firing order and repeated until I did all 8. I know there are easier ways to do it but it seemed the best foolproof way to ensure I was tightening on a cam base. Crank turns easy by hand with the plugs removed. One lesson is that the rockers will loosen up after being tightened when the oil in the lifters bleed down. I redid the #1 three times (loosened the rocker and repeated zero lash +5/8) since it kept loosening before I went and looked up what was happening. Entirely normal. So once you set zero +(5/8 for me) leave them alone and expect some to loosen. They press back up when the motor turns over apparently. Again, I do not claim to be an expert but I did it more than a year past and have had zero issues.

eran tomer said:

in case they are short travel- shall i go for 1/2 turn of preload?

Click to expand...

Depends on the lifters. Some will not tolerate 1/10 of a turn. The plunger has maybe .005 travel.

It's unlikely that your lifters are that restricted, but lifters like that have been made; and Lunati, for example, is not at all good about mentioning that some of their part numbers are like that. I ruined a set of lifters, and a camshaft, because I had no idea that the lifters they sent me were restricted-travel. No note in the box, no instruction sheet...nothing.

eran tomer said:

but which valve is exhaust and which valve is intake? if you don't remove the manifolds.

Click to expand...

They will line up with the runners. You'll see.