• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

I'm getting close to switching to a roller cam in the big block!

I don't recall what sort of button you're using, but.....
I would grind a bit off the back (cam side) of the button, and shim it to the clearance you want, rather than trying to precisely bend the cover. (With its possibility of warpage and leaks).
 
BSB67 said:
In post 486 you show a ball style adjuster without oiling provision in the PRW rocker body. If you use it as pictured it will not oil properly.
Click to expand...
That picture was of the 9th RH rocker that was in the kit, the adjuster is from the replacement LH rocker that they sent. The ball adjuster came threaded into the rocker that had an oiling hole below the adjuster on the top right here:

RC 217.JPG


I'll take another look at it. If the rocker body has no provision for pushrod tip oiling, now is the time to replace it.
 
Kern Dog said:
That picture was of the 9th RH rocker that was in the kit, the adjuster is from the replacement LH rocker that they sent. The ball adjuster came threaded into the rocker that had an oiling hole below the adjuster on the top right here:

View attachment 2005475

I'll take another look at it. If the rocker body has no provision for pushrod tip oiling, now is the time to replace it.
Click to expand...

Got it. I thought you were mixing and matching adjusters between rockers
 
The replacement rocker had the fully threaded ball ended adjuster. The rocker in the above picture is the "extra" RH rocker that is left over. I just put the cup style adjuster in the replacement once it arrived. Again, the replacement is the oddball with the different oiling hole that may or may not work.
 
33 IMP said:
I don't recall what sort of button you're using, but.....
I would grind a bit off the back (cam side) of the button, and shim it to the clearance you want, rather than trying to precisely bend the cover. (With its possibility of warpage and leaks).
Click to expand...

If I had a way to somehow machine material from the button, it would help. The button has a ridge to it....

RC 26.jpeg


....that rests against the ring as shown below...

RC 35.jpeg


The ridge of the button is larger in diameter than the hole in the cam sprocket so no grinding on the ring would help unless the outer diameter of the button itself were reduced. It is only .001 according to the cheap Harbor Freight calipers...

RC 25.jpeg


RC 27.jpeg


It would not fit by pressing on it by hand.
 
I took what I felt was the path of least resistance for my first BBM roller install in like 1995.

A big socket on the outside, a smaller one on the inside……. A few whacks with a hammer…….. done.
The same system has proven sufficient for subsequent roller installs when factory covers have been used.
 
Thank you. I thought I remembered that you mentioned that.

PRHeads said:
you meant to say…….. .010”
Click to expand...

Yeah, I seem to screw up these small measurements. I was a carpenter that measured everything in feet, inches and fractions. Decimal points are a sticking point for me.
 
Last edited:
Kern Dog said:
Thank you. I thought I remembered that you mentioned that.



Yeah, I seem to screw up these small measurements. I was a carpenter that measured everything in get, inches and fractions. Decimal points are a sticking point for me.
Click to expand...
Your caliper is odd, in that it doesn't show three digits to the right of the decimal point. Terrible accuracy.
A caliper that can't measure to the thousandth is worthless in my world. I have a six dollar plastic metric- only dial caliper that does better than that.
 
Last edited:
Seeing the clearance issues with using a roller button is making me think the nylon would be better and easier to fit.
 
33 IMP said:
Your caliper is odd, in that it doesn't show three digits to the right of the decimal point. Terrible accuracy.
A caliper that can't measure to the thousandth is worthless in my world. I have a six dollar plastic metric- only dial caliper that does better than that.
Click to expand...
That is just a cheap Harbor Freight caliper that I have. It isn't the only one that I use but it is the easiest to read.
This set works too but the scale on the side is really small.

1773020855366.jpeg
 
Kern Dog said:
That is just a cheap Harbor Freight caliper that I have. It isn't the only one that I use but it is the easiest to read.
This set works too but the scale on the side is really small.

View attachment 2005671
Click to expand...
I have a digital caliper too, but it reads to the thousandth. But I prefer a dial caliper. I have five I think, in assorted lengths. (4" to 13". The helios 13 was not cheap. The 4" is used the most).
 
Roller camshaft end play.
There is some “variance” of opinion on what is right. The Comp Cam instructions state that the proper amount is between .005 and .010 but they didn’t specify any difference between a solid nylon button and a roller bearing one like I bought. I was told that I could run to zero end play with the roller button but what I wonder and didn’t ask was…what if there is a preload ? I’d think that you don’t want the bearing under compressed tension, right? With that in mind, I’ve had my mind set on following the spec in the instructions.
I decided to try pushing out from the inside as a means to gain clearance. For a test, I used the old timing cover.

IMG_4316.jpeg


I greased the inside and used a single Fel Pro .030 cover gasket and trial fitted it.

IMG_4317.jpeg


You can see that despite this one being .019 deeper than the new cover, with a single gasket of .030, there was contact and no clearance. I placed a huge socket on the press…

IMG_4318.jpeg


Then the cover.

IMG_4319.jpeg


I didn’t bend it much, or so I thought.

IMG_4320.jpeg


IMG_4321.jpeg


With a crude straight edge and feeler gauges stacked, I got .053.

IMG_4322.jpeg
 
One could busy themselves with math for this and maybe make sense of it.
The first effort on Saturday was a cover that was .019 shallower but I used two .030 gaskets.
It made contact.
Today, I used a cover .019 deeper but with one .030 gasket, this actually put the cover .011 closer to the button.
As shown in the previous post, it made contact too. (Obviously)
Now with the dimpled cover…..

IMG_4328.jpeg


IMG_4329.jpeg


Yeah…. Quite a bit outside of spec! I see .027. The road to get the spec for end play was a real pisser though.
Trying to manipulate and position the dial indicator in such a weird spot SUCKED. The Charger front bumper is 30” off the front of the engine.

IMG_4324.jpeg


I had to stand in the engine bay to find a suitable point from which to measure. I ended up putting the needle end on the rim of the cam sprocket. Trying to finagle the dial so I could see it while struggling to have clearance for the rods and clamps… it took me some time. Maybe if I had a different dial indicator with more rods and swivels, it would have been easier. Sorry if this rant is distracting but I thought it needed to be mentioned so that those that decide to do this are armed with as much information as I know. I wanted to cut down on as many surprises as possible.
Now that I see for myself that the cover can be pressed to get clearance, I’ll move onto doing this to the new cover. It is not only thicker gauge, it has an additional plate over the inverted triangle area so it surely won’t bend as easily. I intend to “creep up” on the clearance number by only bending it a little at a time.
Stay tuned, more to follow.

IMG_4325.jpeg
 
I didn’t like the idea of that. This one does have the Torrington bearing.
Initial fitment showed the new cover to “rock” as I tried to set it flush to the block. This meant there was something preventing it from sitting flush, obviously this was the cam button so I pressed it out once…

IMG_4331.jpeg


IMG_4332.jpeg


Not enough. A second press though went too far. I had .024 movement. I pressed the dimple back in…

IMG_4333.jpeg


Using the distributor hole as my line of sight…

IMG_4334.jpeg


IMG_4335.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Kern Dog
What level of longevity can one expect from using a bronze tipped fuel pump pushrod in a roller cam application?
Replies
12
Views
376
ynst
ynst
Kern Dog
Roller cam end play: Why is the spec for this so tight?
3 4 5
Replies
95
Views
3K
BSB67
BSB67
Road Grabber
Solid Roller Lifters on a Hydraulic Roller Cam?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Nxcoupe
Nxcoupe
Paul_G
Knocking in a cam bearing, and it's tight
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
kiwigtx
kiwigtx
S
383 cam degree in 66 coronet
Replies
1
Views
385
496 polara
496 polara
Back
Top