guide plate question

Hi All,

I am in the process of upgrading my rockers to GM self aligning roller rockers. I am having a clearance problem between the guide plates and the pushrods. I'm pretty sure the hardened guideplates have to go, but I'm unsure if I should:

1) screw the studs back into the heads directly. (Aluminum AFR 190's)

2) put a hardened washer under the studs.

3) or put a set of non-hardened guide plates (for self aligning stamped rockers) under the studs...

I tried the non-hardened guides as a trial, but it still seems tight between the pushrod and the guide with the rocker seated on the valve...

Do we have any gear-heads out there???


Thanks in advance,

Greg.

You don't need the guide plates with self aligning rockers, in fact as you found, they interfere with each other. I also wonder why you are using self-aligning rockers anyway? They were introduced to compensate for lack of a machined pushrod slot in the later heads, but the ARPs have them, don't they? As far as installing the studs, as an engineer I say put a hardened washer under the stud to protect the aluminum. But you should really contact ARP for their recommendation, as well as ask about the rockers. JoeI

Thanks for the info, Joe. The roller rockers are from my previous set of heads, which is why I kept them. The AFR's came to me pre-assembled with the guideplates, and I just wanted to be sure it was OK to remove them.

I have an extra set of Head bolt washers here that should work fine, and not gall the surface.

Thanks again,

Greg.

Have you tried loosening the studs to align the guide plates , or are there other issues here . I also would recommend talking to afr about your problem before making a move one way or another. I run the the same heads and there is a bit of plate movement to be had by loosening the studs . Joe is also right about the use of a steel washer under the studs if you choose to remove the plates .

Geo