Hi all I recently picked up a 69 barracuda. with a warmed over 318. When I got it I was told it was a solid lifter cammed 318. It sounded like one, but come to find out its a hydraulic cam. The noise is coming from no preload on the lifters, And 4 lifters have lost the plunger retaining clips! The heads look new, the cam looks new, pushrods are new, and the rockers look new. The pushrods measure 7.495" which looks to be close to stock. There is almost .020" between the vave and the rocker. I am new to these small block mopars and dont know what would cause this, other than something not being the right size or something being messed up! How much play are the Stock non adjustable rocker arms supposed to have on the shaft (up and down movement)? the rocker holes dont look to be perfectly round kinda egg shaped and this makes the arms a sloppy fit on the shaft. Is this normal or could this be my problem? Maybe the cam has a smaller base circle and I need loger pushrods?
Thanks in advance!!

If you're sure the lifters are hydraulic, I would start with a set of new rocker arms, on good shafts that aren't trashed-galled up. Normally the preload is pretty deep, even on most aftermarket cams. I wonder if your eng has too short replacement pushrods. If the intake is off, you can easily see how much the plunger in the lifters clears the clips, and make sure you have each cam lobe on base circle, one at a time to check the depth of plungers.

I would not run it if the clips that hold the plunger in the lifter body are not in place

The rocker shaft holes in the rocker arms are always a bunch bigger than the shaft. Why?? I have no idea but they always seem to be that way.

Thanks guys. After seeing the lifters are popping apart, I am not going to run this thing, until I figure out what the problem is. The shafts look new no galling, but Im picking up a set of new stock rockers and shaft, and going to get a set of stock low mile pushrods and see how they do. Othe than that, the only things it could be, is small base circle cam, too thick of head gasket, or the valves are shorter in the head, right??? Maybe these could be fixed with longer pushrods, or should I just start saving up for some adjustable rockers and pushrods?

I think I am going to just search for a set of old 273 adjustable rockers and conversion push rods, I was thinking about going with a cheap set of roller rockers, but dont know if I trust chinese rockers.

I had a similar problem on the 318 in my Barracuda some years back. I ended up with Proform roller rockers and slightly longer push rods to get the angle right on the rocker arms (you will need cup topped push rods with most aftermarket push rods). WARNING: 3 adjusters broke on my rocker arms while I was torquing them up to specs(Cheap China Junk) and I replaced them with Comp Cams adjusters that were great. Imagine if they had broken while my engine was running . Summit sells a pushrod tool to help determine the pushrod length you will need. I recommend a quality brand like Harlem Sharp or Comp Cams and iron factory rockers are awesome for a cheaper and reliable set up. Also, some aftermarket rockers will interfere with factory diameter valve springs/retainers - something else to check. Good Luck!

Well I checked the cam and it looks to be a mopar .484 purple cam. I checked lift on all the lobes and found one lobe to be worn. all lobes but one measured .322 lift #3 Exhaust was .265! So it looks like I am in need of a new cam and lifter set too. I would think that the .484 purple cam would be way to big for a mild 318. I looks like the duration is around 240 deg at .050!! I am looking at a coupe other cams. both are howards cams. first ,is 226at .050 in and exh with a .457 lift on a 108 lobe sep, The other is 230 at .050 in and ex with .480 lift and a 109 lobe sep. Not ure which on to go with but both are a pretty good price. The good thing is this car is not a daiy diver, dont need vacuum, and would like a fairly lopey idle. I would think either of these cams would have a lope.

Yep, I am going to order the pushrods after i get the cam and everything else setup that way I can get the correct length.
So What cam do you guys think I should run? Its a .030 over 318, ported J heads, 2.02 1.6 valves, Not sure of pistons but have a quench pad, cranking compression with the .484 cam was 155 - 160 psi on all cylinders. I am going to CC the heads, but Im guessing compression is around 9 to 9.5 to 1. The car has 3.55 gears and the converter stalls around 2400 rpm Like I said befor I am currently looking at the
Howards cams listed in my previous post. But I will listen to any recommendations that you guys have.
Thanks
Shawn

both cams are still aweful big...I'd probably look at a lunati voodoo 60402 if it were me....has less duration, but more lift than the cams you listed.

I havnt tried any of the lunati Voodo cams. Looks to be comparble to the com extreme energy cams. I was leaning to a single pattern cam, since the heads are ported and have a good flowing exhaust system. But if a plit cam will work better I dont have a problem going that route.
Thanks
Shawn

I like split cams. Have had real good luck with them. I would also look into Crower. They also make some good cams. The HDP series works well for me.
I also have reason to like Hughes and they will be a lot of help to you getting it set up right.

Since the shaft spacers and springs (and pushrods to a lesser degree) hold the stock rockers in place, there is no need for a tight fit to the shafts. The rockers only wear on the bottoms. But they can wear out over time. I have some where the bottoms have worn paper thin and must be replaced.

wrong.we had some factory rockers on my dads 440,the holes were alot bigger than the shaft,kinda egg shaped and sloppy.took a set off a 45,000 mile 440,holes were tight and round.they arent supposed to be that sloppy.they wear out.

Well I went and looked at some new hd replacemnt mopar rockers and they are the same ones that I have, the holes are egg shaped just like these. I am starting to think it might be the head, with the valve set at the wrong height. Hopefully set of stock adjustable rocker arms will work.

I have to get a new cam and lifters. One of the lobes is bad on the cam. as for the rockers, I wonder if they do that for drainback of the oil? You know so the oil doesnt just sit in the rocker.

It's called "splash lubrication". As long as oil
comes through the pushrod and in the passages of the rocker shafts at all operating rpms, the valvetrain stays lubed. Lack of oil at the valvetrain causes wear on the rocker shafts, arms,
and valve guides. Big problems!! Most of it will start at the lifters, so keep the oil clean (changed on schedule) and use good quality oil and
filters.