Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines valve lash for 216

I bought a 51 Chev.recently,216,manual trans.The engine didn,t run,but the seller said,and had receipts that verified, the engine had been rebuilt, and the head had been milled also.He said he had put less than 200 miles on it.I,ve found one broken rocker arm and four bent pushrods.Before I install the new parts ,I,m wondering what caused the problem,and if I should still set the valve lash to the factory spec,s.Any help will be very appreciated.Thanks!

I would pull the head to see if the valves hit the piston tops.Do the build sheets indicate how much the head was milled? Check the lift(lobes) on the cam too to make sure it wasn't damaged.Something wasn't set or broken in right if it was that damaged within 200 miles!

I don,t know how much the head was milled,or if the guy that set the valve lash ,just set them too tight.If millng the head made that much of a difference,then I would think all of the pushrods or rockers would have been affected.Probably best to pull the head as you suggested.Thanks Drew!

More likely the valves stuck in the guides. Pull all the rockers and check the valve heights against one another. Manually push each valve down and make sure it returns fully. Marvel Mystery Oil is often used to lubricate the valves and guides to keep them from sticking.

On the first 235 I had rebuilt, The #1 intake froze up after about 2 hrs of running. Because of it freezing up, it also gave the piston a "black eye" and bent the valve. I pulled the head and had them replace the guide and valve. No problems after that.

Thanks to everyone for the help.I,m still not sure what the valve lash should be set at initially.All I can find are spec,s that are for an engine that has been warmed up.Anyone know?