Gary Lewis

I bought a Lunati pushrod length checker, I got it in 5.70" to 6.70" I think is the range. I did the half lift method to get the rocker arm level at mid lift. For those that dont know the process is you take the lift of your cam at the valve and divide it in half. In my case intake is 0.520" at the valve and half of that is 0.260". You draw a line or envision an imaginary line from the center line of the roller tip to the center line of the trunion pivot. You then hold the rocker arm up against the polylock and screw it down till the line is horizonal level to that of the valve spring retainer. After that you take the half lift measurement and adjust the poly lock down to half lift. In my case using 7/16-20 studs which is one full turn equal to 0.050", it would take me 5.2 turns to reach 0.260". Once you get the rocker arm positioned here you adjust the pushrod out till it touches both the cup in the lifter and the cup in the rocker arm then measure. I did this and measured 6.50" length. But I am concerned with this as I put a sharpie mark on the valve tip and reinstalled the rocker arm with the length set to 6.50" and wiggled the roller tip to mark the valve tip. It was actually showing the wheel to be resting on the outboard side of the center of the valve. Thats not right, you want the roller to be on the inboard side of the center of the valve as the valve moves the roller tip rolls outwards and you want mid lift to be in the center of the valve. I did this again but set the pushrod length to 6.25" which is OE 5.0 roller length and wiggled the rocker arm to mark a fresh layer of sharpie on the valve tip. This put the roller inboard of the center line of the valve as shown here. In this photo since I didnt get a photo of the mark with a 6.50" pushrod length the line drawn is where the mark was located at. The redline represents where the wheel was touching the valve and the blue line represents roughly center of the valve. This is also done without the headgasket installed and the head just simply resting on the deck. So adding the head gasket will pull the rocker arm contact inboard but not that much inboard to pull it back inboard of the center line of the valve. AFR stated to use OE length push rod or a pushrod 0.100" longer than OE with this head. I set my adjustable pushrod at 6.35" which is 0.100" over OE and it moved the wheel closer to center line. If I want to maintain this starting position then I need to add the head gasket thickness to the pushrod length to compensate for the extra length needed. So I am looking at 6.391" if I stick with the 0.041" thick gaskets or 6.389". It looks like I probably should be looking at 6.40" to off set the gaskets but the thing that is bothering me is I did the half lift method just like it is supposed to be done and it put my rocker arm outboard of where it should have been. I really want my rocker to be perfectly level at half lift as this would minimize the movement of the tip across the valve but I just dont know why this way is not working out. I tried it multiple times as well as doing my math multiple times and it comes out the same with the pushrod length being around 6.50" and the roller tip outboard of the center of the valve which will mean it will get extremely close to the edge of the valve tip as the rocker arm moves the valve. Next two photos is just of the AFR Renegade 165cc head sitting on the dowels. I didnt feel like digging the box back out to put the head back up and feel it should be safe on the block till I get the head bolted down. I currently have the roller lifters soaking in a quart of BR40 Driven 10w40 break in oil which is what I will be using for the initial 30 minutes of run time. Im going to run the engine at an idle for 15 minutes followed by a full cool down and another 15 minute idle time then a full cool down and oil change to Valvoline 10w30 conventional which will stay in till 500 miles for the first oil change then I will use it till I hit the third oil change which should be around 5,000 miles (going to do first oil change at 500 mi, second at 1,500, third at 3,000) I will be switching over to valvoline full synthetic 10w30 just to try and squeeze as much longevity out of this engine as possible. Tomorrow the lifters should have soaked enough to get the needle bearings in the roller tips fully saturated in oil and I will install them in the block along with the dog bones and spider retainers. That way I can go ahead and decide if I really want to get the Felpro 0.039" head gaskets and just dont use the 0.041" I have. It would give me a bit more compression and would put me a little closer to ideal quench. I also need to hit up the engine builder I know see if he will be turning his blast cabinet on this coming up week, if he does I am going to see how much he will charge me to sand blast the NOS oil pan I got, I am concerned the paint inside may flake off and clog up my pickup so want to get that out of the inside of the pan. I also am afraid the eastwood 2K engine primer might have a chemical reaction to the grey paint on the oil pan exterior so I rather start off with all bare metal. I need to get this done this week or next cause my ARP timing cover and water pump bolt kit comes in this coming up week from jegs and I will be installing the timing cover and then I can install the oil pan. One thing I found out is if I ever have a roller lifter problem I will have to pull the head cause there is no way to get the OE roller lifters out I tried to get cylinder 1 out with the head sitting on the deck surface so I dont know if the extra height added from the head gasket would allow them to come out or not but I will be installing them before I torque the head in place just in case. On the evaporative cooler it actually worked quite good today, I didnt sweat much with the cooler on. One thing though it helps to follow the instructions it states to run the pump for about 10 minutes to saturate the media pads before turning the fan on. One at work the other guys just flip the pump on and the fan on at the same time and it takes for ever for the pads to get saturated with water and start to cool. In 4 1/2 hours of being outside I used 3/4 of the 10 gallons of water I put in it so it is thirsty but it works good and I was able to run it on low speed the whole time. Also I am in Texas, bout 35 miles from the coast so its fairly humid here. Today humidity was 63%. Yipes, that's a looooooong post! I'm not a valve train guru, so while I understand what you are doing I don't have any suggestions for you. However, I got lost in your math, or more specifically your statement of "So I am looking at 6.391" if I stick with the 0.041" thick gaskets or 6.389". On the break in, I've always been told that you want the first 20 minutes to be at 2000 RPM, not idle. Anyway, glad the cooler worked.

Scott - That's all I needed. Thanks! I'm thinking that this winter when I install the EFI I might add fans. My radiator is the Champion MC1451, and they have a shroud with a model # of 1451FS14: https://www.championradiators.com/1451FS14_fan_shroud. I'll have to ask if that's the right one, but I'm guessing it is. Having said that, I need to drive it a lot more this summer to see if there are any problems at stops with the A/C.

Yes, Scott/kramttocs has good questions. And I'll bet there is no continuity in one of the wires going to that speaker. I usually use a D cell across the speaker wires at the radio - with the wires disconnected from the radio. That's enough juice to cause a good pop in the speaker, but not enough to hurt the speaker. So if you don't hear a pop you don't have a circuit.

Welcome, Matt! Glad you joined. What part of "lower Alabama"? I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we can add you with a city or a zip. As for the sons, I hope they'll join as well. And glad you like the forum.

Those are good "before" pics. You've come a whole long way.

Yes, this thread is EPIC! And you are learning a lot. I'm not a machinist, but I do machine work. And .025" is way beyond an interference fit. More like .0025". But you aren't working with the types of parts that are typically thought to have interference fits. They are usually solid so there's no compression to speak of. But you have a tube that can compress, and there's rubber inside of it that'll give. So it isn't unusual for bushings to be that much larger than the component they are going into. And with that HF press, and a bit of lube, that bushing should go right in. I have the same kit and have done several of the bushings, and they have all gone in. But I use a small wire wheel to clean the inside of the radius arm and a round file to smooth any gouges.

I use a torque wrench of everything - but not those nuts. Can't get in there w/o using a crowfoot and I don't want to do the math. So I just use a box-end wrench and guess at the torque.

On my 02 Dodge Durango it has a electric pusher fan out front of everything and comes on when the AC compressor runs or if the motor temp gets to hot with out the AC compressor running. The truck also has a motor driven fan. Gary, shops use a big fan to blow on the condenser when charging the AC just for the reason you had. If they have one of them floor drier blower fans they will set it up on a stool to blow into the condenser. Dave ---- Yes, when my nephew charged it up he used a fan like that. And suggested I might want to put a pusher fan on. But if Scott says the fans he got will fit between the radiator and the pulley I would rather just go with two fans behind the radiator.

I agree with you engine builder - I think your cam bolt will be fine. And it sounds like you are now starting to make progress. Good plan to mock it up, measure the push rod length, and get that going. Are you cutting an old rod and installing an all-thread to make it adjustable? Or how are you going to measure? The cooler should be a big improvement over just a fan, but a lot of that depends on your humidity. They work great in AZ where there's very little moisture in the air, and not so well in FL where the moisture level is very high. But I forget where you live?

Scott - Have you checked to see if the fans will fit between the radiator and the pulley? Bill said he couldn't get the fans he had in there on Darth.

I applaud your compassion. I wish I had some. I'm a by-the-rules kind of guy, and we tend to lock people up and throw away the key. But it is a bummer about insurance. However, I agree that it isn't worth going to the dark side.

Excellent point. I have these fans set up so that when the AC is on, they are both on "low". When the thermostat tells them to, they both come on "high". Absolutely no complaints about how that works well with the AC system. The AC system itself... turns out the York reman compressor that O'reilleys sold me was a piece of junk. It's got less than an hour of run time on it, and it is leaking at the front seal and has apparently broken a piston. Yeah it's under warranty, but still a pain to have to deal with. And it really doesn't speak well for the quality of the next one to go in. Your setup is a good one where they just come on low with A/C. That would help dramatically at a stop and on the highway the fans may not pull much current due to the air moving through. And the bad compressor is a bummer! Individuals don’t usually have a way to reclaim the refrigerant so there’s a big expense to recharge. My FS10 isn’t quiet so I’m not sure that it is new, but it was supposed to be and sure cost enough to be. Hope it lasts.

Electric fans aren't a bad idea if you are upgrading the alternator and electrical system. And there's an advantage that I've not seen discussed - cooling for the A/C system. With a large radiator, like the 4-row Champion on Big Blue, it takes a whole lot of idling to cause the engine-driven fan to come on. Yesterday I was charging the A/C system and the pressures were going higher than they were supposed to - that is until the fan came on. Then they dropped to right about where they should have been and the outlet air temp dropped as well. But if I had electric fans I could set them up such that any time the A/C compressor was on at least one of them would be on. Yes, that would run that fan more then needed as it would frequently be on going down the highway and it, by itself, wouldn't be needed then. But at least at a stop it'd cool the A/C. Another option though would be just to add one fan for the A/C and leave the engine-driven fan.

If the truck is missing a number of things then you have a dilemma. You have to find basically all of the pieces to put it back to its original state or ditch the emissions and go with a DS-II ignition system and non-feedback carb.

The A/C Pro Car Air Conditioner R134A Refrigerant Can Tap is only $9.50 from Amazon. (Link installed using Firefox.) And it worked perfectly with my older gauges, replacing the older can tap.

Ok, I won’t . But I will 🤣. So far Firefox works perfectly. I may convert.

As for pictures and a discussion re installation, start reading here.

I ordered the Champion Cooling, 4 Row All Aluminum Radiator for Ford F-Series/Bronco, MC1451 from Amazon.

I, too, put in a Champion, but mine was a 4-row. It is working very well. Today I idled the thing for an extended period as I was charging the A/C system and it took at least 30 minutes before the clutch in the cooling fan kicked in, which was at about 208 degrees. So it is cooling things quite well.

Yes, the potting makes a MESS! I had one in a box and it ran out, causing me to throw the whole box and ignition module away. Anyway, I hope the new one makes a big difference.

I think they are universal.

Bummer! It is happening here as well.

Thanks, guys. I'm using Safari to respond on this tablet since I can post a link and get a permalink. HOWEVER, on my shop computer, which is also a Win10 machine, I can get a link or permalink on Chrome. So I don't know what to say the issue is. It works on some computers and not on others.

Yes, it is confusing. And I'll bet the MPC is wrong - again. And I see you've posted about the link in the other thread, so I'll respond there.

Worked on the A/C today. The pressures were low and the low pressure switch was killing the compressor after it ran a few seconds, but I had part of a can on the gauge set so I put it in and that brought the pressures up a bit and kept the clutch in longer. So I went to the store and got some dye, a UV light, and a couple more cans of 134A. The dye can has a connector that you are to push onto the low pressure fitting and hold for 3 seconds and it injects dye into the system. I did that and then ran the system for 10 minutes and checked with the UV light. THERE WAS DYE EVERYWHERE! Turns out that when you take the can off the fitting it sprays dye all over everything. Thirty minutes later, after a whole lot of cleaning, I ran the truck for another 10 minutes and didn't find any leaks. So I decided that I'd put more 134A in and drive it a while and see if the leak shows up. But then I discovered that the new 134A cans are different than the old ones as they have self-sealing valves in them. In the pic on the left the can in the center is the old style, which takes a valve with a point on it to pierce the top of the can. And the can on the left is an old-style can that's already been used. Last, the can on the right is the new-style can with a self-sealing valve on top. And in the pic on the right is the new tap that I had to go back to the store and buy alongside the old piercing tap. I discovered the hard way that the self-sealing cans do not work well with the old piercing taps. Long story I know, but I did get the pressures up to from 50 & 300 with the doors closed and on Max to 60 & 325 with the doors open and on normal. My nephew says the latter is high, but I'm betting it'll be down in a few days anyway. However, as I was testing the pressures dropped to 40 & 300, and I was scratching my head as to why. Then I checked the coolant temp and it was at 208 and I'm assuming the clutch came in on the fan and that brought the pressures down. Anyway, I still don't see any signs of a leak so I'll have to drive it and see if something is apparent.