Compression test prior to startup
-The cylinders need to be equalized in order for the motor to run correctly. If the cylinders are not balanced, you will chase your tail trying to tune. Cylinders must be within 10% of one another. If not, go back and readjust the pushrods.
Let lifters bleed before adjusting opposing cylinder
-The lifters need to bleed off the residual oil within its body. Adjust one cylinder's lifters, go have a smoke, come back and shine a high power flashlight into the spark plug hole. Look into the intake and exhaust ports for light. If you don't see any, roll over to the other cylinder.
Verify oil pressure prior to starting
-Thumb the starter (no more than 5-8 seconds at a time) and watch for the lifter cups to fill up with oil. You could really leave the top rocker cover sections off untill you do this procedure just to make sure you're getting oil up top. Usually when the lifter cups fill up, you're good to go.
Adjust pushrods at top dead center on compression stroke
-There's a couple ways of doing this. Looking at the tops of the lifters, thumb the starter til both lifters are at their lowest position (on the heel of the cam). Or, look into spark plug hole and rotate motor until the piston is at it's highest position. Now look at the lifters to make sure they are at bottom. If not, rotate another 180 degrees and you should be right there.
Adjust base time correctly (see install notes) EVO and XL only
-Most ignitions now days have a static timing l.e.d. which is useful for setting the base timing. Hemi's need to run less timing because of the efficiency. bring front piston top dead center, compression stroke, and verify the mark on the flywhhel in the timing hole. if it's not dead on nuts in the center, you can just forget the rest. Turn ignition on, run/stop switch to run, do not start. Wiggle the hall's sensor (or the ignition itself if it's in the cone) until the l.e.d. comes on. Rotate clockwise til it goes out. Rotate til it just comes back on and lock it down. that is pretty much 3-5 degrees retarded which is where the hemi needs to be.
Gap plugs whether they are new or used
-Don't use one of those dime store gapping tools, use a Vernier caliper or feeler gauges
Adjust your float bowl
-You can't imagine how critical this step can be. Do it and do it right
Heat cycle the motor before it leaves the garage
-Start the motor and let it idle. Don't rev it or blip the throttle aggressively. Let it warm up to operating temperature (i.e. you cannot keep your hand on the rocker cover), then shut it down and let it cool. Repeat the same procedure when you can put your hand back on the rocker cover (relatively cool to the touch). Do this at least three times before you sling a leg over. Now would be a good time to change the oil. You don't necessarily have to change the filter at this time, but hey, oil and filters are cheap insurance. After the third heating cycle, let it cool completely before putting it on the road.
Verify oil circulation within the oil bag while the motor is running
-Softails and Sporty's are easy, remove oil filler spout and shine a light in. You should see oil circulating with minimal foaming. Dyna and bagger models are a little more difficult. Follow the same procedure; just try not to burn your face off trying to look down in the filler.
Verify a good chassis ground
-Find your chassis grounds, this means all of them. The obvious is the battery ground, and you should have one at the voltage regulator. Late models have them on the neck of the frame and some connect directly to the starter housing. Find all of them and prep them. Meaning, make sure there is a positive contact between them. Grind or sand away the paint to achieve a good connection.
While top end is off, check rod end play
-You can see right down into the case, what better time is there. Get out the service manual and check the clearance. Also a good time to take a look at the wrist pin bushings.
Check flywheel endplay (those with Timken sprocket bearing sets)
-Pre '03 models use the correct bearings, dual tapered Timken bearings. Affix a dial indicator to the pinion shaft and check the endplay. Again, something that should not be overlooked.
Check for air leaks upon initial startup
-As soon as you start that puppy, have a can of carb or brake cleaner handy and spray around the intake manifold where it meets the heads. Also between the heads and cylinders. If the pitch or the rpm's of the motor changes, you've got a leak. Fix it right now or there's big trouble
Change studs and bolts
-These are what we consider wearable items, just like brake pads, fuses, and oil. Replace them, especially the twin cams.
Chase all thread holes
-You cannot achieve proper torque readings with holes filled with old Loctite, gunk, oil, grease, muck- you get the idea. its not overkill, it's called doing it correctly
Clean all fasteners with a wire wheel then clean in solvent
-Same as the threads, clean the crap off the fasteners
Evo motors- disassemble oil pump and clean. You can't imagine how much sludge builds up over time
-Take it apart and clean it. You may even have to scrape the sludge out of the nooks and cranny's. Inspect it while apart.
Disassemble your lifters and clean them
-Seen them all sludged up too. Give them a good scrubbing and check the roller endplay.
Use Torrington type inner cam bearings, they have a greater torsional load capability than OEM
-Not too much to say here, OEM is usually needles and cages whereas torrington's are all needles
Prep your case deck surfaces and verify they are flat
-Clean all the old gasket material off and check for flatness, straightedge and feeler gauges are what you need here
Clean all gasket mating surfaces with acetone, denatured alcohol, or carb cleaner using a lint free cloth
-Can't stress enough how clean things need to be. Gaskets cannot do their job if there are contaminants between themselves and each mating surface.
Use only OEM thickness head and base gaskets
-We have engineered this so that you, the consumer, can go to any dealer and get off-the-shelf oem gaskets. The critical clearances between the Hemi head and piston design is based off the OEM crushed thickness of the head and base gaskets. Do not alter this part of the design
Use only petroleum based oil for initial startup and break in
-Simply put, synthetic oils will not allow the rings to seat. Use conventional oil for at least 1000mi
Pour 1/4 qt. oil in tappet block covers so the oil pump doesn't cavitate
-Before you even turn the motor over with the starter. You are priming the oil pump
Use plenty of assembly lube
-On anything that rotates, moves, slides, pushes. That's your protection for initial startup before the oil gets to where it needs to be.
Run dtc codes and correct prior to initial startup (EFI only)
-Find out if you have any problems and correct them before you start the motor
Use the correct type Loctite
-The different colors aren't just to look pretty or to bring you back to the mid 60's, they serve a specific purpose. Get the right strengths for the job and use them accordingly. You don't have to glop it on either. The old saying 'a little dab'll do ya' works wonders here. A little tip, avoid getting it on the first couple threads.
Wash pistons, wrist pins, and cylinders in hot soapy water
-If the tune up is right, all galling in the cylinders is attributed to a filthy install. Rings can't seat if they are gliding on dirt. As soon as you blow dry the cylinders, get some lube on them because they rust instantly (unless of course they are nickasil coated)
Twist the throttle before starting
-You'll create a phenomenon called hydrolocking. The cylinders fill up with fuel and liquids are hard to compress. Do this enough times and you're likely to bend a rod.
Use Spiro core suppression or capacitive discharge plug wires
-Most ignitions cannot compensate for the stored energy in a capacitive wire which, in turn, sends erratic signals to the coil. Spiro cores receive too many rf's which interfere with the ignition operation
Use the multispark option on the ignition
-We run less timing because of the efficiency; let's not add any more spark than what we need
Use dual plugs
-Dual plugs are for shovels or piss poor combustion chambers. If you're running 17:1 compression where the piston comes out of deck .500", then you probably would have to
Put filthy fasteners back in
-C'mon people, if you can't take the couple extra minutes to prep your fasteners then you shouldn't be building motors
Ride two-up during break in
-We don't want the motor to endure any unneeded stress so tell mama she's on her own for a little while
Guess on how many turns to adjust the pushrods
-Get the manufacturers instructions and read them. If you don't have them, or don't know what type pushrods you have, get a pitch gauge and determine the tpi (threads per inch). Divide the tpi by 1 and that will tell you how many thousandths each revolution equals. Most lifters have roughly .200" total travel. You want to set the lifter valve body in the middle of it's total travel
Drink beer and build your motor
-I don't think this needs too much explanation, however, I had a guy call and say that his roller rockers wouldn't fit and they were hitting the spring retainers. Well, that's usually the case when you forget to put the lower tray in position first. Nuff said.