How often do you need to adjust valves with a solid lifter cam ?

I was told that in "the old days" it was about every 2000 miles.

Have there been advancements, that allow a longer adjustment interval ?

And yes I've already done a search for this info. graemlins/waving.gif

It kinda depends on the cam and the way you drive it... My friend has a solid cammed motor that he beats on every single day and he needs to adjust them like every 2 weeks. I know some guys who only have to do it when they change their oil (and sometimes even then the lash is still in adjustment)

I just got the 1st solid roller cammed motor I've owned, so I don't really know much about them, but I was told that after checking them after some driving, that I'd only have to check/adjust it around every 4k miles unless I hear "the odd rocker" (the only thing I'd hear would be a catastrophic failure, maybe I'm not the correct owner for a SR..!).
It has comp springs, lunati titanium retainers, crower SS roller rockers, manley pushrods, and this incredibly-hard-to-use stud girdle. Which, making just a guess here, will probably keep itself adjusted better than stamped steel slot style rockers. So yeah I guess that its possible to have it go longer than 2k miles with the correct parts on top.
Which, aside from me just making sure that I am getting off to the right start, means probably checking them 3x a season, start, mid, end even though I think only two summers of owning the car have I put on more than 3k miles, and only once more than 5k, usually 2.5k miles.
I had never heard 4k miles before though.

matt

Unfortunatly there really is no answer other than...You should adj them when they need adjusting.

Mechanical lifter cams got a bad reputation way back circa 1964 when the 097 Duntov solid lifter cam was dropped and replaced by the much larger 30-30 Duntov.Chevrolet recomended you adj the valve with the engine hot and running.Also given the fact that the stock crimped adj nuts would often lose thier tension and back off some.Honestly I actually know one person who would adj his 30-30 Duntov EVERY WEEKEND ! Hot and running ! He would red line that tach every chance he had.... and never replaced the stock adjusters.


Then when HP Books came out with the books " How to Hotrod Small Block Chevys " and the How to Hotrod Big Block Chevys they said the same thing ..adj them hot and running....What a PITA....

Back in the 70's I did them that way untill I discoved that really wasnt necessary.Havent done them that way since.... with no regrets.

If you have a good polylock type adjuster and use them properly they should stay adjusted ( street type cams ) for quite a while....Ask CJ Landry how many miles he puts on his solid lifter engine....
If you have a "REAL ROLLER ROCKER" they are even easier to adj and stay adjusted better than the stock type rockers.

But the fact remains that a gentle easy on parts lobe tends to stay adj longer than a real aggressive lobe....Just look at the Dodge slant 6 engines...95 % of them had solid lifter cams and most owners of those engines never even knew it!!
But if you are buzzing your engine to 8000 RPM alot you are apt to need to adj them alot more often than my lower RPM engine.

I have a very small Isky solid cam in my El Camino and it was Feb of 2003 when I adj the last time...I spot checked them a couple times but didnt need to adj them...so I didnt....

But there is no set time table or rule that says you must adj them at a certin time or mileage... Just listen to what your engine is telling you and adj acordingly.

Al,

What is the spec's an part number of your small Isky solid cam??

BTW, My Buddy, Doc's '70 Duster with the good old slant-6 in it went at least 175,000 miles AND never had the valve cover off as far as I know... I asked him once about it and that was what he said and then he asked me why I asked after I found out it was ticking merrily along as usual..

pdq67

the only time my old Crane moved was after I over-revved it, well past 7000 maybe 7400. However, the opening up of lash was a few pushrods mushrooming ( likely from float), not the cam melting or things simply getting out of whack. That's how nice a set it took. You could tell something was amiss when the lash opened up. I torqued the devil out of those posi-locks. SO much so I had to replace them :rolleyes:

The new UD cam is a bit more tempermental, I think. Too soon to tell. Took quite a few settings initially to hold ( btw, I didn't break in the old Crane cam, so can't compare). And it seems to need a tweaking once in a while. In fact I just brought it home tonight and remembered that it nneded a going over. I put it up shortly after racing it and thought the valves might need a going over last October. The last time they were set before that was at CB03, approximately 2000 miles prior.

UD 276/284 BBC. 3000+ miles and three adjustments. This last one had 2000 and it was slightly out on three valves. In the past I have found that after the first few thousand miles they take a set and should go longer. It is no big deal. Worth it in my book.

Pdq,

There was a number on the box but I threw the box away after installing the cam.... Since this cam is not something that is a catalog item it didnt have a normal Isky part number..... Now ya have to remember I was looking for LOW SPEED TORQUE not a race cam.My El Camino is used for hauling stuff ...a work truck not a race car....so dont laugh too hard at the specs.


Single pattern .481/256/212/ on a 110 lashed at .020.....timing 18-58...58-18 .and it is symetrical.

I'll email the cam card if you wish.This lobe is old and has been avail since at least 1976 or possibly earlier.... Tons of low speed torque !...

And yes I did look at Harolds smallest mechanical but I just felt it was abit too large for what I needed.

With polyloc nuts, our L78 was still fine after 20K miles. If they need adjusting all the time, either something is coming loose or something is wearing out.

Thanks Guys, graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I was thinking about a solid to spice up the 396 in my 68.

Even with a solid, I'd probably still want to shift at about 6000 rpm, in a car that only sees about 2500 miles a year. But about 4 (and hopefully more in the future) trips to the track annually.

I've never adjusted valves before, and would seek assitance with the cam install, and at least the first valve adjustment.

Its something I've thought about since my brother had a solid lifter 496 in his 68 Camaro.
What a car,
Sounded like the Devil's own Hotrod.
Ran 11.30s @ 128 mph, on pump gas and ET streets, on his first time out.

I adjust mine 3-4 times a year, racing 24-28 weekends a year.

I was too slow in buying the "Garage Sale" Crower Monarch 268/222, 110/?, .450" or so solid they recently sold out of.

And I am looking for a little bitty solid cam about like it for my 283 as well as a set of -601's off a 305HO motor to keep the CR. up..

And I have looked and chatted with Harold about his three small SB solid cams and also think maybe they are a schosh big for my motor size?? I will really have to think on it..

pdq67

Pdq,

In my last 327 I had a Crane F218/2933-12 lobe.
.440 / 218 @ .050 on a 112 .Great idle , pulled 17 in vac at idle .. dead under 2000 but went nuts between 4000 and 6000 RPM....Mainly due to that 112..Grind it on a 108 and it would be great.... or maybe the E-4 ?

I check my solid every 5,000 miles but it has been right on and has not required adjustment. I have roller rockers with poly locks and that helps a lot. Really, unless something is wrong the adjustment is only necessary to compensate for wear. The clearance needs to be checked with feeler gauges when the engine is hot but definately not running, as it would be impossible to feel the tension on the feeler gauge with an engine in motion. Now hydraulic cams you can adjust with the engine running. I used to have stock stamped rockers with stock nuts and it still didn't come out of adjustment.

Thanks Al for all the little-bitty solid cam info!!

I honestly believe that a lotta the street motor, daily driver guy's are missing out on great running cams that are a lot better then their Hy- counterparts b/c of being solids!!

I bet it's mostly just b/c of being put off by the periodic lashing/checking thing if nothing else.

I do know that before hy- cams got really popular with all the car makers back in the '50's, they were pretty much all solids and people took it for granted that a lash job went along with a tuneup job so it was no big deal at all.

But we have gotten lazy in our modern ways, imho...

pdq67

1990 LS6 crate engine owned since new, driven day in day out for 40,000 miles. I check valve adjustment every 2000 miles or more often if I been thrashing the heck out of it. I say "check adjustment" because there is rarely any valves out of adjustment. I use the factory installed rockers and adjusting nuts never any problems. Dave

I've run my crane solid (link to cam card on my webpage) since January 2nd, 2003. I've literally driven it well over 25,000 miles in that time, and have had to adjust them maybe three times. At first I checked them once a month, but have slacked off. The engine lets me know when something needs adjusted.