cams 98 silverado

ok so ive made some posts here and there and i have heard a lot of the guys say about engines and so on and so forth. i love GM. but i dont love their idea of making some cheap stamped steel rocker arms for they over time start to wear and make a sexy ticking noise when engine is at runninng temperature. so i want to throw in some new rocker arms. i will be honest. i have a lot going on since im 18, just graduated and want to get into auto body and painting and soon computer engineering and engine work. well. my question to you engine guys is... can i replace my crappy rockers with some scorpion 1.5/1.6 ratio rockers. either scorpion or comp cams rockers. now i only have this truck as my daily driver and it cant sit out long because of work. so... is there a way i can install new rocker arms and springs without removing the heads? what is this self aligning rocker terminology mean? and im not really looking for huge power increase. i just want to put in new rocker arms and springs so i can get rid of that ticking sound and also add life to the motor and worry less about it poopin on me from the rockers. ive heard of a way of jamming a lot of nylon rope into the chambers until all the valves are up and do it that way... but in all honesty the less i have to take off the better because things dont always go smooth when theres more taken off and i cant afford to miss work or **** an engine. so. if you could help me. it would help me a lot. thanks guys.

jmack91z28

They make a tool just for that, a valve spring compressor that bolts to the head and has a handle for leverage to compress the valve spring so that you can remove the valve locks.

I've never worked on heads while still bolted to the motor, but thinking logically, i'd say your gonna have to rotate the motor as your removing the springs so that you can get the tension off the springs, you know what I'm saying? And make sure you buy STOCK replacement valve springs as well. You do know how to torque the rocker arm nut till your at 0" of valve lash right?

I wouldn't see why you couldnt replace the stamped ones with rollers. I don't know about using the higher 1.6 ratio though. I'd go with stock hight rocker arms so it won't **** off the computer or what-not. The engine knock sensor might pick up the roller sound and put out an engine code, but i'm not positive.

You say its ticking? Have you checked to see what the valve lash is at before you go assuming its "cheap" parts??

In my opinion, i'd just buy stock stamped steel rocker arms, they'll last another 200-300 thousand miles, theres nothing wrong with them, they are cheap to buy, and overall they just work better with your motor. You go installing high performance components into a stock fuel injected motor, your gonna start having a lot of problems. But it's your call.

Best way to learn is the hard way in my opinion.

cams 98 silverado

well i only say they are cheap because ive read a few books about 350 engines and each of them said their first bench test for stock power before mods they didnt want to use the stamped steel rockers because they were just too weak and they went for exactly what i was looking at. and ive researched it you can stay at the stock compression which is rated at 1.51 but im safe with the cam to go either 1.5, 1.51 or even 1.6. but yes i was just going to end up sticking with stock. now, i understand how to take off the springs but what does this "self aligning arm" mean. i know the stamped steal rockers can last a long time on vehicles but my truck was bought from people that didnt care for it enough. now i take care of it very well. thats why i want to put new ones in. the oil wasnt changed for like 8000 miles then i got it n changed it. ran some engine flushes in them and all that. it helped but the lifters i feel need to be changed. but thank you for the reply it does help. thanks

jmack91z28

Self aligning means theres a notch on the rocker arm tip that keeps the rocker arm from moving side to side on the valve stem. GM started using them after the development of the center bolt heads. If the truck had them on there factory, you need to replace them with the same.

The reason the book you were reading said that was cause they were looking to produce more power, your not, and just replacing the rocker arms isn't going to add 30hp, it probably won't do much of anything. The higher ratio won't do anything for you either. The most it'll do if you go with 1.6 ratio is possibly bind the valve springs from the extra lift that your adding with the 1.6 ratio rockers. Theres nothing wrong with going with the roller tip rockers, they are stronger, and do produce less friction, which is always good. But I would strongly recommend going with stock lift rockers. That's just my opinion.

I'd hate to see your dependable chevy start giving you problems cause of a simple mistake.

cams 98 silverado

yea i was talking with my friends about all this last night. i just want to replace the rockers. im not looking for more power. i know for sure im sticking with stock ratio. and i was thinking about comp cams since they sell the stamped steel ones.

jmack91z28

Yea, a good website to go to is enginekits.com They have a good set of stamped steel roller rockers for about $80 for the whole set of 16. If thats along the lines of what your looking for. Its always worth it to call them up during their business hours and ask them if they will fit your application, i've talked to them before, they're pretty damn knowledgeable and helpful. If not, the good people at summit racing will always be more than glad to answer your question.