Two Steps Forward and Three Steps Back, AGAIN!!!I've done so many steps forward and then back it's feelin' more like a barn dance than an engine build...
horchoha wrote:
Thanks for sharing your experiences JD, great awareness for those rebuilding engines.
Kind words indeed, Perry. I hope this diatribe will someday, somehow be helpful to another builder. If not, at least y'all got a laugh or two (or 17) out of it all...
OK, remember that "bad lifter" problem I was talking about? I went to the parts store this morning and bought me a shiny new lifter for the ol' motor and then trundled* off home to install it. Did so, put the push rod back in and the rocker arm and then pumped up the oil pressure again. That one was still sloppy, showing slack between push rod and rocker. I tried a different push rod. No difference. Then it finally dawned on me that I also wasn't seeing oil flow out of that rocker like I was on the others.
*Are y'all familiar with the word "trundle"? As in "trundled off home"? Think about how a Possum walks, or a rhino, or maybe an old, tired VW Beetle leaving a stop light. Or a Citroen 2CV... Yeah, like that...
So a little further inspection was called for. Found the culprit, I did... Look at this picture of a "good" rocker arm, from underneath--
Attachment:
09 03 18 Good Rocker.jpg
Near the top of the picture, see the dark piece in the end there? It's a hardened seat of some kind that fits into the Al-You-Minny-Umm body of the rocker arm for the push rod to nestle into. It "seats" the push rod and channels the oil flow out of the rod down onto the rocker itself. Now, the rocker that was loose, same pose--
Attachment:
09 03 18 Bad Rocker.jpg
That dark piece is missing! That's the origin of the slop in the fit and the reason that oil wasn't being channeled to the top of the rocker. There's also a divot out of the rocker arm itself, perhaps related to the "seat" going missing.
Summit racing will be more than happy to send me one new rocker arm, and while I was at it I ordered some shiny new stainless steel bolts to hold the headers on. Should be here about Wednesday. So check back with us, we'll be having even more fun then.
Peace, Love and Trundling Possums-
JDK
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JD, father of
Quinn, Son of a...
Build LogQuinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special "Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom