I'm j/w... is it normal for the pushrods to be rubbing up against their guide plates? I can't remember mine ever being like this, but I noticed that they are now. This is how they are/were when I got the engine from the builder. j/w....probably nothing.

as long as they are not grinding into the guideplate grooves and the pushrods are heat-treated/hardened for guideplate use this shouldn't be a problem.i would advise removing the plates and lightly sanding the pushrod grooves with fine emory cloth to smooth any friction-producing sharp edges left on the mating surface from the factory press.are these brand new heads or are you having them refreshed from previous use?whats the history of the engine block and cam?several things could cause the pushrods to try to bind in the guideplates.

Sounds good. The heads are relatively new. (Edelbrock Performer RPM heads) I'm guessing about 5,000 miles on them. They are off of an old 327 (331 actually) I had that ate up two camshafts due to an oiling problem. I brought the engine to an engine builder around here and he went through EVERYTHING. The heads were cleaned up, resurfaced, valve job....etc etc. He also checked the pushrods and guideplates for wear and everything was ok. I was working on the valve covers a little while ago, and noticed that the pushrods looked to be touching the guideplates. I figure this is probably normal, since they are "guide" plates, but I just thought i'd ask because I honestly can't remember how they were the last time I had to adjust the rockers on the old 327. That was about 2 1/2 years ago. I don't know if it's normal for the pushrods to be touching the guideplates, or whether there should be a slight space on each side of the pushrod from the guideplates?

thanks for the reply

pushrods that are designed for guideplate use(heat-treated/hardened)are done so in case of heat from friction caused by contact with the guideplates.as i said before,if they were mine i would take some fine grit aluminum oxide sandpaper and slick up the grooves in the guideplates where the pushrods are possibly rubbing.the guideplates don't have any kind of heat treatment so don't worry about sanding off any kind of anti-friction coating out of the grooves,it does'nt exist.just be sure they are not binding from improper geometry.try to twist them back and forth between your thumb and forefinger when setting your valves.it would probably be a good idea to ensure that you are getting a good supply of oil inside your valve covers to help keep your valvetrain cool.