OldIHC

Wherever you heard that CRAP about "pushing and pulling in 3rd gear to get on the right stroke"...STAY OUT OF THAT PLACE!!! As long as you can find TDC on each cylinder, you can turn the engine WITHOUT having the truck in gear. We're talking about an engine here...and engines don't care how you turn them to get to TDC.

But "pushing and pulling in 3rd gear" sure is the hard way to get there. You DO know that you can adjust the valves with the engine on a stand, with NO transmission connected...right?

I put a socket on crank nut, once you have TDC on #1 you do those and just turn motor with socket to next in firing order, on & on, take the plugs out makes it easier,

manuals call for .025 HOT for both exhaust and intake on a BD motor, so that's a pretty big gap, if you don't hear any clacking of valves you are too tight.


I have a buddy who does em with truck running, kinda oily mess, you need go/no-go feelers to do it that way though.

I dont have a stand or hoist yet and yes i have clacking and it runs very well, after i get the new exhaust system put in im having the engine timed so ill have the valves checked to be on the safe side

Make sure that who you have checking it out, knows that they should not be tight/quiet. If Fact, give them the page from the manual as a courtesy.

I hope you understand that I was telling you that you CAN adjust the valves with the engine out of the truck...not that you HAVE to adjust 'em with the engine out of the truck. I was trying to use an extreme example to illustrate to you that you don't have to have the truck in gear to rotate the engine to set the valve clearance...that was ALL I meant.

As long as the engine will turn, you can set the valve clearance. You don't have to have it running to do it...but since the factory specification is for setting the valves while the engine is "hot," you CAN simply run the engine up to normal operating temperature...remove the valve cover...and then rotate the engine [with the truck out of gear] using a socket on the crankshaft nut.

Not sure why anyone would "have" the engine timed, either. Setting the timing is relatively simple, and you can do that yourself. If you can locate TDC on the compression stroke for #1 cylinder, and then set the rotor and cap so that when #1 is at TDC on the compression stroke, the rotor is pointing to the terminal for the spark plug wire that goes to the #1 spark plug...you're pretty much dead-nutz on. As long as the cap is wired correctly, once you have #1 in time, all the others are in time as well. If necessary, you can rotate the distributor when the engine is running to fine-tune the timing...but the basic timing is set as I described it. And just like setting the valves. sometimes starting with an engine that has been warmed up [so that no choke is necessary to get the engine to run properly...and so the throttle blades are closed at idle, so the vacuum advance isn't actuated] makes the job easier.

This ain't rocket surgery...it's so simple, us "cave men" with simple hand tools could do it.

Are the rocker arms supposed to spin slowly while the motor is running?

No. Rocker arms do NOT spin.

They rotate on a shaft, which is their pivot point. They rock toward the valve when camshaft, tappet, and pushrod act upon them, depressing the valve spring to open the valve. When the camshaft lobe rotates past the apex of lift, the valve spring acts to close the valve and keeps the tappet, via the pushrod, in contact with the cam. Without this return action, a phenomenon known as "valve float" occurs, as the valve fails to close on the valve seat.

But returning to the original question...NO. Rocker arms do not spin.

Are you sure you are not thinking about the valve lifters (and possibly the push rods also)? They are supposed to spin, sometimes slowly, because the top of the camshaft lobe is not horizontal, at least on a new camshaft with no wear.

Yes that, the names get me confused sometimes,

Yes push rods rotate.
Bill