Rocker shaft is not sitting flush...

Hey how's it going?

http://i.imgur.com/7UtBLS3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VQK7K2s.jpg

I'm trying to put my rocker arms back on but they won't sit flush in the head girdle thing. This doesn't seem right to me. Also, the rocker shaft bolts don't even snug down the retaininer/clip that separates the rockers.

Ideas????

Are you sure you have the right bolts? The shaft is supposed to pull down when you tighten the bolts. Remember you have valves open and that puts pressure of the shaft to hold it off the supports

keep an eye on the distance between the bottom of the shaft and the (5) saddles & tighten the bolts evenly so the distances stay the same as you tighten em down a little at a time. What Stump said, some valves will be free (& their respective bolts will turn easy) and some will be under tension (& their respective bolts will turn hard) but stick to the plan & keep the gaps even, as they decrease with turning the bolts down

Also make sure all pushrods and rockers line up correctly and are seated before beginning to snug down the bolts.

I take the oil dipstick out and lay it across the rocker pedestals to hold the pushrods aligned while tightening the bolts down
I have bent stock pushrods by not keeping them aligned while tightening the bolts
Good luck, take your time and get it correct the first time

Agreed, & a thin straight length of non flux coated (bare) welding rod wire is good for that

That's a neat trick.
I'll have to remember that one.

Take the shaft back off of there and run those bolts down to be sure they're not galled or hydrolocked. I've seen a couple of them bolts galled over the years for limited reasons. 'nuther words, I dunno!

drop the wrench and step away from the vehicle... call for help

Drop the wrench and step away from the vehicle... call for help

Longer bolts in two center pedestals only!

I finally was able to see the pictures ...

The rocker shafts will not sit flush against the pedestals when you are assembling them onto an engine that has a CAM AND LIFTERS installed because all your valves are CLOSED and some of them will be OPEN, to varying degrees, once the shaft is torqued in place.

Do as stated above and make sure the pushrods are in the right postilions and slowly tighten all the bolts one by one , end to end till you get the shafts against the pedestals then torque them to spec .