i had to take the head off my slant so i could drill out a snapped manifold stud (not my doing) to fix the annoying exhaust leak it was causing. i marked which pushrod went were and i did the same with the rockers. after torquing down the rocker shaft i noticed that some of the rockers had a severe amount of play, like the push rod wasnt touching the rockers in some cases. is that normal?? wen i put it together and started it up. i noticed a lot of slapping and clacking coming from the valve train. so how do i fix this problem? do i just adjust the the screw on the back of the loose rockers, or will that just make my pistons tap? thanx in advance.

-sonny

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1975 Dart Swinger 225 2bbl

Any time you pull the head or any valve train component you should do a complete valve adjustment. You can never get everythng to the same exact torque settings (headbolts, rocker shaft bolts) and differences in old/new head gaskets, they all add up.

Try http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... ment#72139 for instructions, or use the search function of the forum for "valve adjustment" you'll get plenty of hits. You shouldn't just "adjust until you don't hear them" its a fairly precise measurment with feeler gauges.

thank you! my valve train is now quiet as a mouse! now if i could just find that god damn exhaust leak..

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1975 Dart Swinger 225 2bbl

Might have a warped/cracked exhaust manifold. The end ports had a tendency to curl inwards.

What year car are you working on?

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

its a 75 dart. i had to drill out the last stud (closest to the firewall). so that does make sense. im also using a mopar preformance header.

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1975 Dart Swinger 225 2bbl

Ohh, I didn't see that you were using a header. Did you check it for straightness before installation? Most of these things come out of the box warped. They are a pain to seal. What gasket are you using? The Mr. Gasket 320 is a very thick gasket designed to deal with these sorts of problems, if the warpage is not too bad. Cox brothers also makes extra thick gaskets.

Dutra Duals are a better choice than headers.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

i'd love to get my hands on some dutra duals but im kinda strapped for cash at the moment. im gonna give that extra thick gasket a shot. thanx for all the help guys. ill keep you posted on the progress.

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1975 Dart Swinger 225 2bbl

More on the gasket types here

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

who carries that Mr. Gasket 320? i can't find it anywhere!

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1975 Dart Swinger 225 2bbl

Summit should almost always be the first place toy try, IMHO:

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... 0G&FROM=MG

VM

i guess it helps if you know the whole product number. summit's got a month's wait so i ended up ordering from these guys:

http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp?Page ... dID=109477

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1975 Dart Swinger 225 2bbl