I had a disaster in Valdosta when 5 push rods jumped out from under the rockers. These were new smith brothers push rods. Two of the bolts holding down the shaft came loose also. I had torqued down all the shaft bolts to 25 lbs. Dont know what is causing this problem. So off with the roller rockers and back with the stock shaft and rockers and also using the old push rods I had before. My question is this. I have the old shaft and rockers bolted back on and it is time to set the lash. I need to set the lash at .020 for both intake and exhaust. Can I start with the first rocker and bump it open and continue down the line until finished. Is their a preferred method to do this after the shaft has been removed. Not a mechanic here so anyone responding be simple. Thanks Norm

Norm, all I do is use a remote starter switch and bump the engine over until I see the intake close on #1. Tap it just enough to make sure both lifters are all the way down. Set the lash, and go to the next cylinder in the firing order and repeat. I set them dead cold and be done with it.

1-5-3-6-2-4

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Slantzilla I did what you said and the motor cranked fine and seems to be oiling well. The only problem I see seems to me the rockers on #3 and #5 has a lot of play on the shaft. Looks like the rocker tip is hitting on about half of the little round thingie on top of the spring. Is it normal for the rocker to m0ve back and forth like that. I checked and made sure all the spacers were on the shaft.

It is common to see a lot of side clearance between the rocker arms.
For most stock engines, this does not hurt anything but you do get a little more 'side loading' on the valve stem which can cause valve guide wear.
For a race engine that sees a lot of high RPM work, it is best to get all the rocker arms centered over the valve stems, this also make setting the lash a little easier.

If you have a rocker arm that does not "center" over the valve stem, it is best to change around the shaft's hold down bolt spacers to push the rocker arm completly over the valve stem.

Take a close look at the spacers, some have bumps on the ends that make them a little wider and note that the center shaft spacer is wider then the rest of them.
You may have to get some more wide ones and grind them to get the proper rocker arm placement.
DD

Doc when I broke a push rod in Columbus I was running the 1.5 Cox Brothers roller rockers. The cup broke off the top of the push rod. I also noted the two center bolts holding the shaft down had come loose. I could turn them with my finger. I torqued those bolts to 25lbs each I cant understand what made them loosen up. Is it possible or advisable to use lock tight on the shaft bolts. I am replacing the broken push rod with a stock push rod. I may be better off going back to the roller rockers and shaft that came with them. It has no play at all on the shaft. The Smith Brothers push rods were too long and 4 jumped out in valdosta. I will call them and see if they can shorten them to the stock specs. since they are chrome moly. They also have the little ball on the end that sits in the lifter.

You shouldn't need loctite on those bolts. Check the pedestals themself, they may of cracked. May hold 25ftlb when cold but when things get toasty and expand a smidg, the bolt may be working itself loose.

I remember Doc putting spacers under the shaft to make up for the valve train geometry change and hose clamps around the pedestals to hold them together.

Inspect the rocker shaft support towers, sometimes they get cracked along the bolt holes, if that happens, they don't stay tight.
There are a number of ways to fix a cracked tower but I will not go into detail until we know that that is the problem.

Another thing to check is to be sure you have the correct bolt length for the hole, a short thread will loosen up quickly.
DD
http://www.dutra.org/pictures/engine/pa ... easure.jpg

docOK Doc I took off the rockers and shaft and inspected the towers and could not find any cracks. I measured the bolts with the roller rockers compared to the stock bolts and they were the same. Now I wonder since the push rods I tried using were too long if that caused some type of vibration to cause the bolts to loosen up. Update I have sent the new pushrods back to Smith Brothers along with a stock one to have them recut to the exact length. After I get thes back I will try reinstalling the roller rockers with the new pushrods and hopefully everything will button up like it should. I have a little bit of damage on the underside of the rockers where the pushrods jump out but the adjusting balls all look ok.