Thread:

Amatuer needs help

So I finally got my 350 put together and ready to start. Of which I thought was a hydraulic roller vortec engine.

I go to start it and I already know something is wrong. Sounds like no compression. Sure enough, none of the cylinders have compression.

I back off on the valve adjustment and I get compression on that cylinder. I do the the following adjustment again:
1) make sure top dead center for that cylinder
2) while rotating pushrod, tighten the nut such I feel when the rocker engages.
3) tighten another 1/2 turn.
Result: still no compression

Well I did the same thing, but this time 1/4 turn
Result: still no compression

Well I did the same thing, but this time no extra tightening
Result: compression.

I know they are roller lifters, what are the odds that I have solid lifters or am I just doing the #2 step wrong or is something else very wrong?

Any help would be appreciated.

Just curious, I remember having to "Pump up" the lifters. What I did was fill a small tin can with oil then repededly pump the top of the lifter with a pushrod, untill it was full. Full meaning it did not compress. After doing this assemble the rest of the engine then prime it using a dummy distributor with the gear teeth machined off. If not the lifters must rely on engine oil pressure to pump them up.

I went through this same exact thing on a mark IV bbc. I found after some research that it was a solid lifter cam. Lashed the valves as such and fired and ran beautiful. It sounds to me that this might be the case for you as well

Well, I tore it back down to long block stage so that I could inspect the lifters.

I put a lifter in a vise between a large socket to hold it and a small socket to apply pressure like the pushrod. Oil started to bleed from the side of the lifter. So it has to be hydraulic lifters.

In researching this, I noticed my rocker arms did not look quite right. Well, I need 7.122" as opposed 7.724" pushrods. I got those ordered, but then I started to double check other things. My roller cam does not have a mechanical fuel pump provision. Oops.

Well, anyone want to recommend a camshaft? 350, vortec heads, edlebrock performer dual plane intake. This is going in a twin engine 26' deep vee. It says Scarab on the side of the boat, but I am pretty sure its a Nova. Probably a camshaft similiar to mercruiser's 5.7 HO.