# comp 1.65 rockers



## Boomstick (Sep 13, 2021)

so i got a set of comp 1.65s cheap. i installed them in the car by using the standard pontiac method. i.e., put the rockers in, balls in, nuts on and tighten till they stop. well every single valve wouldn't close. i called comp and they said i needed shorter push rods. my car has the factory 350 cam for 69 so it doesnt make sense i'd need shorter rods. i got the thinking that i didnt use the nuts the rockers came with because they seamed too tight on the threads. was i supposed to use them instead of the factory nuts and tighten them down using them to set lash like you do on a ford? 

yes i already cut the relief in the heads so the rods dont rub


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

It's not "tighten till they stop". It's torque to 20 lb. ft. If you're certain that the problem is that the valves aren't closing, then fixing that is going to require different "geometry" at the rockers. That might indeed mean shorter pushrods (don't guess, >measure< using light valve springs, a checking tool, and a solid lifter or a hydraulic packed with foil so the plunger can't move to make sure the rocker contact patch on the valve stem is centered). Another, less ideal alternative would be to replace the torque-to-spec rocker nuts with adjustable poly locks. That would allow you to compensate by setting the rockers "higher" on the studs. I say that's less ideal because having the rockers higher will put more sideways stress on the studs, and the bottleneck area on the factory studs is a known weak point. When they break, the break there. It could also mean you'll have less thread engagement on nuts themselves, depending on "how high" you have to go with them. 

Bear


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Sounds to me like you have the wrong balls on there. Its been 25 years since I dealt with it, but as I recall, at least one GTO head configuration had 7/16 studs with 3/8 threads. If you used the balls for the 7/16 stud, it wouldn't work, because you could bottom it out.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

I remember ordering roller rockers from Jegs, for my 67, back in 98. I went by stud size and not by thread size. It held the build up... but Im vague on the details now.


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## Boomstick (Sep 13, 2021)

armyadarkness said:


> Sounds to me like you have the wrong balls on there. Its been 25 years since I dealt with it, but as I recall, at least one GTO head configuration had 7/16 studs with 3/8 threads. If you used the balls for the 7/16 stud, it wouldn't work, because you could bottom it out.


you know its funny you mention that. I did notice the balls are almost twice as tall/thick? as the stock ones and was thinking that may be the problem... I'm going to try using the stock balls, if that doesn't solve it, I'm just going to shelve the idea until my new heads arrive... the current heads are #94's, the ones on the way are 46's...

bear, i think it takes more than 20# just to threat the nuts that came with these rockers, the stock ones can be spun down by hand with just a socket, the ones that came with them need a bit of force behind a ratchet to thread, like a lock nut... which is why i was thinking i wasnt supposed to run them down and torque them. but like armyadarkness said, i think its the balls that are the problem. i did get this set in a walmart bag second hand but never installed. might be the wrong balls in the bag...

some instructions would have been nice...lol...


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

It's easy enough to compare the old to the new. Merely stating that they're Pontiac rockers isnt enough to make them correct for your car. Again, Im vague on the details, but press in vs thread in studs and different shaft sizes, all come into play.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

*Boomstick*: "might be the wrong balls in the bag... "

*PJ:* I hate it for you. I know that my balls are in the right bag. You learn these things over time, and with a little help from my girlfriend.


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