Rocker arm assembly removal

[dmruschell]

I'm liking what I'm reading here!


I'm already planning a custom exhaust and I have a spare engine ("just in case,") but just out of curiosity: what's the price tag on cams & exhaust?

I think DPI sells the cams for just under $700 with a core charge. It's no longer listed on their website, so you have to contact him directly.

Spec 1 exhaust is just under $2k, and the cat forward exhaust is just under $800.

http://www.deloreanindustries.com/spec-i-exhaust/
http://www.deloreanindustries.com/sp...tem-stainless/

If you're planning a performance exhaust in the future, I'd do cams while the heads are out, even if you don't realize their benefit immediately. When you do install the exhaust, you'll then get the benefit of the cams, too.

[Rich_NYS]

Checked the rocker arms tonight; I couldn't see as well as I'd like, but from what I could see everything looked concave. I need to get a smaller inspection mirror to do a better job.

IMG_1058.jpgIMG_1017.jpgIMG_1007.jpgIMG_1073 - Copy.jpgIMG_1043.jpgIMG_1085.jpg


I'd like to check the oil squirters....where are they?

[content22207_2]

You do realize your lock nuts are nowhere near where they're supposed to be?

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Rich_NYS]

You do realize your lock nuts are nowhere near where they're supposed to be?

Bill Robertson
#5939

lol

[DMCMW Dave]

You do realize your lock nuts are nowhere near where they're supposed to be?

Bill Robertson
#5939

It's hard to check the rocker arm surface without backing them off all the way.

[Rich_NYS]

A plugged rocker oiler will cause a knock....right away....and damage shortly after. I do agree that the engine has no lifters...hydraulic or solid. As for removing rockers without replacing the head gasket while it is not recommended I have successfully done so (and cleared a plugged rocker) for someone on a tight budget before. Probably of more importance would be to replace the head bolts as they are "torque to yield" style and it's a very good idea to replace them especially if you're trying to get away with leaving the gasket in place. Another important snippet of advice is to drain the cooling system and both sides of the engine block or you will wind up with antifreeze in your crankcase.
Rob

I think the mystery is history, I went down the checklist of all the good advice I received (much appreciated, thank you.)

I proceeded in order of easiest to most difficult:

-I had already adjusted the valves a few times, so that was already checked off.
-I backed off on the adjustments to check the surfaces of the rocker arms & cam, and took pics for inspection (thanks again Dave!)
-I bought a USB borescope w/minature inspection mirror attachment and was able to inspect each [PITA to find] rocker oiler and made a video of each.

Five of the six rocker oilers I found look similar to this:

Cyl 3 I.jpg

Here's the oiler where I have the isolated noise:

Cyl 2 I.jpg

Here's a Youtube link to the video I made of the plugged oiler:



The other five oiler videos can be found on Youtube where Uploaded this one.

[Rich_NYS]

What is Josh's 20-50-80 torque method I've seen mentioned?

I'm guessing it's the sequence in the manual but 3 steps of 20, 50 & 80 ft.lbs. (instead of an angle torque.)

[dmruschell]

What is Josh's 20-50-80 torque method I've seen mentioned?

I'm guessing it's the sequence in the manual but 3 steps of 20, 50 & 80 ft.lbs. (instead of an angle torque.)

That is correct. Per his instructions, that's what I/we did when replacing the heads/cams on an engine last spring and it worked great.

He did recommend getting new head bolts after we had already installed one head, so we got new bolts for the other side. Most people here have said that reusing them once is usually ok, but they're cheap enough that it might be worth getting new ones and avoiding any issues.

[Rich_NYS]

Thanks!

[opethmike]

I would never, ever recommend reusing head bolts, even once. They're torque to yield.