Hello. hope you can help me, I have to pull a cylinder head on a 1991 Caprice 5.0 = 305 CID SBC. Due to an oil leak,the engine only has 30K miles on it. After installing head how do you recommend adj. valves? It is the O.E. cam as i said with 30K on it ofcourse lifter hyd. and pumped up. Any help would be appreciated looking to adj. with engine off do to the many vac lines and electical harnesses that need to be connected to run engine.They are routed over valve cover!
Thanks in advance for any help! Happy 4Th every body!
Gary M.

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Hello. hope you can help me, I have to pull a cylinder head on a 1991 Caprice 5.0 = 305 CID SBC. Due to an oil leak,the engine only has 30K miles on it. After installing head how do you recommend adj. valves? It is the O.E. cam as i said with 30K on it ofcourse lifter hyd. and pumped up. Any help would be appreciated looking to adj. with engine off do to the many vac lines and electical harnesses that need to be connected to run engine.They are routed over valve cover!
Thanks in advance for any help! Happy 4Th every body!
Gary M. =
Gary,
I adjust the rockers at TDC when I assemble an engine & then go back & recheck using the EO/IC method after breakin because I am a redundant kinda guy ;)
Bring the engine to #1 firing, be sure it is not on #6. Watch the valves & when the intake valve opens & closes the next time the timing mark comes up you are on #1 firing.
Adjust #1 in & ex until the pushrod just looses it's play & go another 1/2-3/4 turn for a stock adjustment.
If you haven't done this a few times it is best to "wiggle" the pushrod up & down or "wiggle" the rocker until you feel the play just disappears & go 1/2-3/4 from there.
Turn the engine 1/4 turn or 90 degrees & go to number 8, another 90deg & #4 assuming the normal firing order,,,, right down the firing order until you get back to #1
It really is simpler to do than write about :D

The other option is to use the EO/IC method which I always for rechecking after breakin.

Goes like so: When the exhaust is just starting to open, adjust the intake valve, when the Intake has fully opened & almost closed adjust the exhaust.

Just for info, the normal factory adjustment is 3/4-1 turn & I normally use 1/8-1/4 turn with performance cams & 1/2 with milder stuff & on some "anti pump up" lifters the adjustment is zero to .001-.005 lash hot. which essentially makes your hyd lifter a solid full of oil :D
But,,, I guess you can now call it "anti pump up" as it ain't got nowhere to go.

Mike thanks for your fast reply. Witch way would you do it cold motor sitting a few days with push rods out? Because i want to put valve cover on and leave it. Because of all the electrical harness and vacuum lines and air injection emissions junk. they Need to be on inorder to run engine and a pain to remove. Thanks again I appreciate your wealth of knowledge a your willingness to share!
Gary M.

Gary,
Hope Mike does not mind .... I normally would not recommend this method but ... it really seems that you are uncomfortable with the idea of adjusting valves. I know of several customers that never loosen the rocker arms when doing head gaskets on Chevy engines. They just loosen the head bolts and lift the head off, leaving the rockers alone. Then when they put it back together, they just slowly lower it into place with the pushrods already in place. Probably a two man operation at least. Then bolt the head down and the valves are adjusted the same as when you started. If you are not doing any machining to the head, it should work fine, just a pain in the rear if you ask me, but then again I can adjust valves with my eyes closed.
Also, just curious, what is leaking oil that requires you to remove the head ???

Bill, that's what I was going to ask. There is that plug in the upper rear corner of the left deck. The 327 I built for my 57 pick had a soft plug in that hole, I replaced it with another soft plug. About five years later guess what happened? Darn. I've run into a few others since then, I thread the hole. Never again.

Tom

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Mike thanks for your fast reply. Witch way would you do it cold motor sitting a few days with push rods out? Because i want to put valve cover on and leave it. Because of all the electrical harness and vacuum lines and air injection emissions junk. they Need to be on inorder to run engine and a pain to remove. Thanks again I appreciate your wealth of knowledge a your willingness to share!
Gary M. =
Bill, I never mind your expertise ;)


Gary,
Now I am curious too what was leaking?? Never thought to ask graemlins/clonk.gif

Either way will work just fine but check it a couple of times especially if you have not adjusted valves before.
Which ever way seems easier to you is the best way & doing & it cold is not a problem either way.
Using the EO/IC method is probably the easiest way for you as all you need to do is watch the valves & know which one is intake & which is exhaust,, & again check yourself a couple of times & you should be fine graemlins/thumbsup.gif

You know, on either my junk 301 or 406 I tried to drill out that plug, clean it out by brush rodding and then replug!!

Well, I drilled at least a 1/4" deep hole in it and never did break through that plug!!

I ended up leaving it completely alone with an unfinished hole in it...

What gives??

pdq67

Originally posted by pdq67:
You know, on either my junk 301 or 406 I tried to drill out that plug, clean it out by brush rodding and then replug!!

Well, I drilled at least a 1/4" deep hole in it and never did break through that plug!!

I ended up leaving it completely alone with an unfinished hole in it...

What gives??


pdq67 =
It is about 1/2" long & solid.
We drill them about 1/4", tap them & pull them with a slide hammer.
I put them back in & epoxy to the deck surface with some epoxy we use in heads called Splash Zone A788 that was originally designed to be used underwater to fix ship hulls & steel pilings among other things.
Killer stuff :D

Probably a lot eaiser to do it Tom's way graemlins/clonk.gif

Thanks Mike for the come-back...

pdq67

Thanks every one for your replys. the oil leak I thought was coming from the Passenger side rear of the intake manifold and running down the rear head line. Until I pulled the intake and discovered the piece of the head gasket was bent in on the top rear. Leaving a gap between the head and the block that you could see day light though. Must have been an assembly mistake at the factory. The car is my Aunts car and she never drives the car on the high way. Until I did to do the brakes for her. Bam leaking oil! :confused: Thanks again!!!
Gary M.

Gary,
I can't see it of course, but if it were mine I would clean it up real good with some brake clean, then use some good (Permatex Ultra Black) rtv sealer and put it back together. There is no pressure there to force the oil out, rtv should seal it up just fine.
Just my opinion,

What Bill said. There's no reason to pull that head unless you other concerns with the gasket. Buy a couple cans of brake cleaner, clean it up. Fill the gap with Ultra Black or similar quality RTV, put the manifold back on.

Mike,

I've gotten to where I feel real comfortable with a brass NPT plug with sealer. Ifyouknowhutimean. smile.gif

Tom

Just wanted to say thanks again to Mike and the rest of the gang. I pulled the head to day the gasket was crushed and buckeled. So I am glad I pulled the head off and replaced the head gasket. I adjusted the valves using the EO/IC method worked great.
Thank again!
Gary.M.

Originally posted by gnunzio:
Just wanted to say thanks again to Mike and the rest of the gang. I pulled the head to day the gasket was crushed and buckeled. So I am glad I pulled the head off and replaced the head gasket. I adjusted the valves using the EO/IC method worked great.
Thank again!
Gary.M. Great Gary, glad you got it fixed & it worked for you.
You are now a full fledged meekanik graemlins/thumbsup.gif

How's it go,,, yesterday I couldn't spell meekanik,,, now I are one :D :D