Rocker play after reinstalling

Alex_the_trex · May 24, 2026

Hey everyone, I finaly got around to changing the valve seal on my 1994 3.8.

However, after reinstalling some of the rockers I have a lot of play when I try to wiggle them. Is this normal ? I reinstalled them using, I think, the proper procedure -> piston at TDC -> 44 in-lbs -> 260 in-lbs.

Thank you for the help !

https://imgur.com/a/JyjN6uJ

RAU03MACH · May 24, 2026

1 oil psi up
2 torque spec check
3 are lifters dry or have you try starting it
lifters need to be oiled up running to tighten up rocker play

Alex_the_trex · May 25, 2026

RAU03MACH said:
1 oil psi up
2 torque spec check
3 are lifters dry or have you try starting it
lifters need to be oiled up running to tighten up rocker play

No the car has been sitting for 2 weeks so I assume the lifters are dry.

What the best way to prime the oil system, pull injector fuse and spark plug wires?

Terrorist 5.0 · May 25, 2026

Alex_the_trex said:
No the car has been sitting for 2 weeks so I assume the lifters are dry.

What the best way to prime the oil system, pull injector fuse and spark plug wires?

If you hold your gas pedal to the floor and try and start the engine, it will just crank over. It’s called clear flood mode. Not all cars have it, in fact, mostly American cars do, but these cars have it.