Valvetrain adjustment Weird!
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,096
Likes: 15
Valvetrain adjustment Weird!
My 82 has developed a engine noise which sounds like a lifter noise no big deal so I decided to adjust them with the engine running. First off I have Edelbrock aluminum heads with Comp 1.6 roller tip rockers. Well I have learned that I can't adjust them with those rockers cause the socket itself is making noise. Very tight fit. But here's the weird part, as soon as I started to loosen the first one (#2 exhaust) the idle dropped dramatically and the engine died. Thought it was a fluke so I started it right back up and the same thing happened, just barely turning the socket to loosen idle dropped and engine died. So I'm checking them with the engine off but think I found the culprit #1 exhaust rocker seems very loose. Why this would be beats me??
Last edited by alconk; Sep 18, 2015 at 10:08 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 112
From: Great Plains Iowa
My 82 has developed a engine noise which sounds like a lifter noise no big deal so I decided to adjust them with the engine running. First off I have Edelbrock aluminum heads with Comp 1.6 roller tip rockers. Well I have learned that I can't adjust them with those rockers cause the socket itself is making noise. Very tight fit. But here's the weird part, as soon as I started to loosen the first one (#2 exhaust) the idle dropped dramatically and the engine died. Thought it was a fluke so I started it right back up and the same thing happened, just barely turning the socket to loosen idle dropped and engine died. :confused2 So I'm checking them with the engine off but think I found the culprit #1 exhaust rocker seems very loose. Why this would be beats me??
Fist of all only use 3/8" drive sockets because they'll have a lot thinner wall thickness.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,837
Likes: 1,028
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,096
Likes: 15
Well after going through the adjustment there were several that needed tightening, not much but made a difference. Sound is now gone. Really don't have that many miles on the upgrades maybe and stretching it a 1000 if that. Will take it out tomorrow and drive it to see if I notice any difference. I did have a CES light came on after finishing and starting the car. Scanner read 02 Sensor rich. Cleared the code and we'll see what happens tomorrow. Thanks for the help.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
My 82 has developed a engine noise which sounds like a lifter noise no big deal so I decided to adjust them with the engine running. First off I have Edelbrock aluminum heads with Comp 1.6 roller tip rockers. Well I have learned that I can't adjust them with those rockers cause the socket itself is making noise. Very tight fit. But here's the weird part, as soon as I started to loosen the first one (#2 exhaust) the idle dropped dramatically and the engine died. Thought it was a fluke so I started it right back up and the same thing happened, just barely turning the socket to loosen idle dropped and engine died. So I'm checking them with the engine off but think I found the culprit #1 exhaust rocker seems very loose. Why this would be beats me??
I would start the whole procedure over again starting at #1 @ TDC.
And yes you can get a socket that has thinner walls.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 6,284
Likes: 1,171
From: Hermosa
With those same rockers I had problems with the pivot ***** wearing out. Pull one off that is or was loose and check your pivot ball and see if the rocker pivot is blued.
I went through tightening them, then them loosing, then tightening, then loose rockers again. Finally figured out it was pivot ball wearing, not nut backing off.
I went through tightening them, then them loosing, then tightening, then loose rockers again. Finally figured out it was pivot ball wearing, not nut backing off.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,096
Likes: 15
With those same rockers I had problems with the pivot ***** wearing out. Pull one off that is or was loose and check your pivot ball and see if the rocker pivot is blued.
I went through tightening them, then them loosing, then tightening, then loose rockers again. Finally figured out it was pivot ball wearing, not nut backing off.
I went through tightening them, then them loosing, then tightening, then loose rockers again. Finally figured out it was pivot ball wearing, not nut backing off.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 6,284
Likes: 1,171
From: Hermosa
I was also dealing with some loss of spring control and ended up bringing the open pressure up, above 350#, so I switched to full roller rockers. No problems since then.