All you engine guys.............

[Tim S.]

Is this from a rocker stud that is not installed straight?It can't be normal............can it? I've never seen it.

[Edward J.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

Tim, Have you removed the rocker arm and inspected the stud for wear? sometimes when the top of the valve is not square with the rocker the valve will wear the stud and cause the rocker to run off to the side as in your pic. If this is the case the repair will be to remove head and have the machinst do a valve job. does not take much for the valve to be out.

My 63 SHP solid lifter car had about 6 or 7 studs gone the machinst installed screw in studs and guide plates on my heads.

[Tim S.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

Tim, Have you removed the rocker arm and inspected the stud for wear? sometimes when the top of the valve is not square with the rocker the valve will wear the stud and cause the rocker to run off to the side as in your pic. If this is the case the repair will be to remove head and have the machinst do a valve job. does not take much for the valve to be out.

My 63 SHP solid lifter car had about 6 or 7 studs gone the machinst installed screw in studs and guide plates on my heads.

Brand new, fresh studs, fresh rockers and balls, fresh valves. I know exactly what you are speaking of. I've had a couple too.

Tim

[Edward J.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

Tim, take a close look at the boss where the stud presses into head is it cracked? is the stud look to be straight?

[Brad S.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

The push rod locates the position of the rocker. What does the push rod hole in the head look like? Is it oblong? It doesn't look like the head has guide plates which also locate the rocker

[Duke W.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

That's what I'm thinking. Are these early heads - like 461 or 462? If Bubba opened up the pushrod bore in the head which guide the pushrods, this could be a result. A bent rocker should be easy to check with a good straight edge.

If the pushrods bores have been opened up, you can correct it by placing guideplates under the studs, assuming the heads were machined for screw-in studs. but verify that you have pushreods with hardened tubes if you install guidelplates.

Another possibility is too wide a slot in the rocker, which would be a manufacturing defect

Duke

[Clem Z.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

That's what I'm thinking. Are these early heads - like 461 or 462? If Bubba opened up the pushrod bore in the head which guide the pushrods, this could be a result. A bent rocker should be easy to check with a good straight edge.

If the pushrods bores have been opened up, you can correct it by placing guideplates under the studs, assuming the heads were machined for screw-in studs. but verify that you have pushreods with hardened tubes if you install guidelplates.

Another possibility is too wide a slot in the rocker, which would be a manufacturing defect

Duke

you an buy bolt on guide plates that use the head bolt to retain them so you do not have to install screw in studs

[Tim S.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

That's what I'm thinking. Are these early heads - like 461 or 462? If Bubba opened up the pushrod bore in the head which guide the pushrods, this could be a result. A bent rocker should be easy to check with a good straight edge.

If the pushrods bores have been opened up, you can correct it by placing guideplates under the studs, assuming the heads were machined for screw-in studs. but verify that you have pushreods with hardened tubes if you install guidelplates.

Another possibility is too wide a slot in the rocker, which would be a manufacturing defect

Duke

Duke,

These are 461's. Virgins at that. The shop I purchased them from (well known for restoration engines up this way) installed the studs and completed the entire remanufacturing process. Bubba did not have his way with any porting or modification here.

In my limited experience, I have seen these off center. It just seems excessive and fear that it will eventually wear the valve incorrectly, wear the guide, or worse yet drop a valve at full song.

I will say, I need to compare the width of the rocker slot to some of the others. There are other rockers that are not centered but did not alarm me like this particular valve.

[Peter H.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

.. Could you not use a straight edge ruler ? The push rod rocker, stud and valve stem should all line up...peter ...

[Ray G.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

Hello Tim;
Is the rocker off center when this valve is in the closed position ?
Is the push rod against the opposite side of the hole ?
Are this the Generals push rods and rocker arm combination ? (not that there is anything wrong with NAPA parts)
Ray

[Jerry G.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

I have 461 heads in my vintage road race motor and had a similar problem with rocker alignment. I run this engine up to 7200 on a regular basis so it was necessary to solve this. The vintage racing rules require use of stamped rockers. The solution was to purchase split pushrod guides and very carefully align each guide for the individual rocker. Its still a compromise but it gets it pretty close. Close enough to race with. Once the guides are set you weld them and number them. I think this is the best you can do. Jerry

[Tim S.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

Hello Tim;
Is the rocker off center when this valve is in the closed position ?
Is the push rod against the opposite side of the hole ?
Are this the Generals push rods and rocker arm combination ? (not that there is anything wrong with NAPA parts)
Ray

The pushrods are Sealed Power. The rockers are Comp Cams

to Ray and everyone who took the time to consider..................

After replies, suggestions, and some good SWAG's, I took a few more photos to answer some questions. Through it all (and cycling the valvetrain some more) I am really confused. Perhaps, my problem is not a problem.

pushrod location on the offending valve



same valve at TDC



same valve at MPOL next time around



Furthermore, I was asked by the fellow who did the heads for me about the issue. He asked for the fluctuation of center to center measurement of the rocker studs from this cylinder compared to the others. It varied from .040 to .085 from the others (with this cylinder being the widest). Am I being too critical? Is this normal? Judging by some of the replies and PM's, this may not be too unusual. While I am not going to buzz this at a regular 7000 RPM, I do not expect this to be driven like a Sunday church ride either.

Your thoughts again?

in advance......................thanks everyone!

[Duke W.]

Re: All you engine guys.............

Comp Cams... How about a dimensionally defective rocker arm. Swap it to some different valves and see if it shows the same misalignment.

I always recommend using Sealed Power valve train parts. Anecdotal evidence indicates that Comp Cams has a lot of quality control issues, and I have always recommended avoiding their products.

Duke