help with pushrods

can someone please give me an idiots guide to adjusting my pushrods? ie how do i tell if a valve is open or closed?(told you i wanted idiots guide). :-[

[kiwidave]

OPEN MANUAL at page/s marked installing/adjusting pushrods!! That's the first step. Have a read there, and.....


Hold the lower tube up out of the way. Use a rubber band attached to a piece of bent coathanger hooked to bottom of the push rod tube and then attach the free end of the rubber band to a rocker box bolt. Clothes pins get in the way of the adjustment.


In 4th / 5th gear and using the rear wheel (off the ground) to turn engine over, bring the front cylinder to TDC on the COMPRESSION stroke.

You can identify the compression stroke by watching the front pushrods as you turn. When both of them have dropped to their lowest positions, you are on the compression stroke. Confirm by looking in through the front spark plug hole and seeing that both valves are shut and the piston is right in your face.

Start adjusting on front cylinder, doesn't matter which rod.

Adjust it outwards (longer) with your fingers until you can no longer move it up and down, but it should still spin freely.

Give it a shake side to side to make sure that the ball on the upper end is seated in its cup in the rocker. If it slips and gets loose, do the finger adjustment again.

Wipe the oil and goo off the side of the rod you are adjusting. Mark the side of the rod with a pencil or something so that you can count turns.

Expand the rod by whatever number of turns is right for your pushrod - .Crane, H-D, Andrews, etc have different thread pitch. Presuming you have adjustables? FOLLOW the instructions. If you have none, identify which ones you have to go to Crane or Andrews site for online spec.

You'll use at least two spanners, and two pairs of hands you might think!

Do the other front pushrod the same way. At this point you cannot turn the pushrod with your fingers. They are under load between the lifter spring and the rocker arm.

WAIT FIFTEEN MINUTES. This will let the lifters you just adjusted bleed down. If you try to turn the engine over too soon you can bend a pushrod or ding a valve on the piston. When they are bled down you can probably turn the lifters with your fingers again, but it will be harder. .

Once you have front cylinder's pushrods adjusted and both have bled down, you bring the other cylinder up to TDC on its COMPRESSION stroke, then adjust those two and wait

Once all four of them are adjusted and bled down use the rear wheel to turn the engine through a couple of full revolutions, listening for clicks or even CLANKS!!. If you don't hear any, then install plugs and go on to the starter.

Also, be sure to roll any pushrods on a flat surface before you install them. They really must not be bent
Also be sure to tighten the adjuster TIGHT.=Its surprising how they will back off if they are the slightest bit loose.

Reminder: Don't turn the wheel, and don't fer chrissake hit the starter until you have turned all pushrods easily with your finger.

Hope this helps

cheers dave, even i can follow that guide. ;D