he never says he is not moving it up/down.
he says the idea is to remove verticle clearance while twirling it. i assume he is moving it up/dn as he holds/twirls it.

 

Funny how one day you wake up and suddenly realize that your old. So now I say things like , "well, when I worked on my '69 camaro" which was 22 years ago, I read many, many books and never heard of the twirly method. Just remember the "back off till they start clacking then tighten till they just stop making noise. " Then again, I believe I am getting Alzheimer's. My wife bought me Ginko Biloba, and she asked if I thought it helped but I wouldn't know because I keep forgetting to take it. So, truth is, I don't "think" I ever heard of the twirly method.

 

WAY too many people doing it wrong IMHO. I almost hate to see the question asked anymore. Twirling is only for people that do not need to ask the question.

Up and down is the best way to answer the question if asked.

When I assemble an engine with a hydraulic cam, I adjust ALL the valves at the same time so that all the lifters are about 1/2 turn past zero, then rotate the engine 360 degrees, then repeat the adjustment but only on the rocker arms that are now loose.

The concept is that on the first go-around, you will have a few lifters that are raised up and some more that are currently on the base circle. You adjust them all on the first go around. Then you rotate the engine 360 degrees and the lifters that were previously up off the base circle will now be back down on the base circle. Those are the rockers that will be now loose and need to be re-adjusted. The rocker arms that are now tight will be off the base circle now and need to be left alone. If you do a visual check on the rocker stud threads they should all be about the same amount of thread showing when you are finished with the second go around. Easy and it works great too.

-Mark.

P.S. - Please do not ask why this method is never found in any book because I have no idea. It is much simpler than the other methods.

 

Are you guys serious that you actually can't tell zero lash when you twirl the pushrod..?? As soon as you hit zero lash (and it doesn't have to be a solid lifter - you'd never do this with solids), there is a change in friction on the pushrod. You can feel it at the very instant that the lash is gone. It's accurate and repeatable. You have to pay attention to the subtle change in rotational friction, but it's very accurate. If you're expecting the pushrod to lock up solid and resist rotation, you shouldn't be using this method. If you treat the pushrod like a woman, you can nail the lash right on the money every time.

 

I tried it with the up down way and twirling and I can sure feel with the twirling method and I've never had problems with it. I think most people go wrong by tightening too fast so you miss the sweet spot

 

Think of it like giving someone the wrong directions, sure it's mean as hell but watching them run around in circles for awhile is a great hoot.

 

remind me to never ask you for directions

 

TOM454....thanks, for the detail on whats going on during the adjustment. I dont think I have enough experience to ge the twirl method down were I dont load the lifter. Thanks again!

 

Lars... yes.. that seems to be the case.

I wish I had saved some of the junk engine parts I threw in the dumpster because of this procedure done by owners.

I spent a lot of hours examining this phenomena.

The "subtle change to rotational friction" can occur at zero lash... .010... .020 ... .030... and beyond because there is no guaranteed uniformity.

The problem is that not all lifters will give you the feedback (resistance to spinning) you need to judge zero. I had people try it for themselves at my "seminars". If it were a cult.... I'd have a new religion.

I suppose I could go into the physics of it and write it up.

 

I like to use the Seinfeld method and end with a counter-clockwise swirl.

 

Hoot Hoot Hoot

I don't know who David what's his name is... but he probably read it in a book somewhere too.

I am the proverbial "doubting Thomas".... don't believe hardly anything I read after I found out how easy it is to write.

Here's one....

Any fool can make a rule, and every fool will mind it.

I'm not saying that it's impossible to adjust lifters by twisting the pushrods, I'm just saying that the method leaves a lot to be desired. It leaves too much to chance based on what I have seen in the field as a professional mechanic.

While most of you guys were out chasing women & drinking beer, I was in my shop getting intimate with engine parts. See there? That's what you get!


PS- Lars.... thanks for the advice on the welder purchase.

 

...I'm still in my shop with my engines... never cold run fast enough to chase the women.