I see... not to prescribe bad medicine but so far my truck running okay. but it is easy enough to keep track of them in order so if I did it again I would keep them in order for sure. All in all these engines are pretty forgiving. If you could post that picture that'd be helpful to others! Thanks

 

For a newbie jumping into an involved job like that, you done good, well pretty good, except for............

What I am trying to say in a simple way, is that you did accomplish a lot, however, that does not qualify you as an expert and the "advice" you are dispensing from the experience you gained from your first attempt is somewhat flawed.

The reason you keep the pushrods in their original locations is that there will be minor differences due to factors such as wear and you really should keep them matched up in their original pairings to avoid any unnecessary problems from intermixing. These engines are not as forgiving as you think, just because it seems to be running ok now does not mean that it is optimum or will last as long as one where particulars like that are indeed followed.

Your statement that they "should be interchangeable" would apply to new parts made to same tolerance with no wear. On used parts being reassembled, it don't fly. You are not dealing with theory here. Be weary of those "Should BE" statements.

It is great to relate your experiences to everyone. It helps us all learn or at least be aware. We all learn from mistakes. I like as much as possible for that to be the mistakes of others, not my own. Even though I do make some occasionally. I hate to see someone advocate something that is not a good standard practice if you catch my drift. You are not the first rookie to do such and won't be the last either.

Listen to Tom. He gives sound advice. After a while you learn that not all information provided by everyone is truly good advice.

One other thing: "Write down torques for everything before you begin to keep your laptop clean and so you don't have to interrupt your progress."

I prefer to print out the applicable sections before I start. Greasy fingerprints don't hurt a printout, and then you have it handy to refer to as you go, can mark up as needed, and have a record of what was done afterwards.

Live and learn. Keep up the good effort.

 

Yeah I agree Danny, certainly not a pro at this haha
But seeing as how there has not been a detailed write up done yet on this forum I thought I would take the first step. Just to serve as a push off point for anyone interested in reading this. It's really a compilation of everything I've read, heard and seen. There are too many threads to read through so hopefully this makes it easier.
If you read something that is incorrect or skewed (other than the push rods) just quote it and reply with what it should be. Yeah printouts are favorable obviously and hopefully my engine continues to run strong. Feels great so far!