352 Rocker Arm Assemblies

[Tbird1044]

After reading some of Daves posts re: rocker arm, I thought I better check mine to make I sure I put it together correctly. I checked the oil holes in the rocker shafts and although they were not at dead bottom center, they were on the lower part of the shaft. Probably 7 or 8 Oclock position. I also checked for the marks on the ends of the shafts but could not find any. Probably aftermarket shafts.
I also checked the bolts to hold down the rocker supports to see if I had the undercut bolts in correct positions. I pulled about 5 of the studs and they ALL appeared to undercut. Maybe Ford started undercutting the bolts so you couldn't get one in the wrong position???
Nyles

[simplyconnected]

Did the shafts have these slits at the bottom oil holes?

These grind slits are there because many rocker arms are not centered well. So the slits give oil a fighting chance to get to the center trace inside your rocker arms.

Did you see scoring on the shafts?
Were the rocker arms' inside traces washed out, or were they visible? (Mine were washed out so I used a Dremmel diamond wheel to re-establish them.

Did you clean out the two oil holes in each rocker arm by hand with a drill bit? These holes are so tiny, some are hidden because they were packed with dirt.

Could you see oil coming from each rocker arm after the job was done w/the engine running?

[Tbird1044]

Dave:
It was many years ago I rebuilt the engine and it has less than 20 miles on it since the rebuild. I couldn't remember if I checked the position of the oil holes in the shafts or an undercut bolt for the oil galley supports.
I verified both of those items are okay, but now you have me wondering about the "small" oil holes in the rocker arms. Are there galleys in the rocker arms to get oil to the push rod socket and also the top of the valve stem?
I didn't notice any grind marks by the shaft holes.
I'm not sure what the "rocker arm inside traces" refer to?
I do remember that the shafts were completely disassembled and cleaned and there wasn't any scoring or wear on the rocker bushings or shafts.
Nyles

Did the shafts have these slits at the bottom oil holes?

These grind slits are there because many rocker arms are not centered well. So the slits give oil a fighting chance to get to the center trace inside your rocker arms.

Did you see scoring on the shafts?
Were the rocker arms' inside traces washed out, or were they visible? (Mine were washed out so I used a Dremmel diamond wheel to re-establish them.

Did you clean out the two oil holes in each rocker arm by hand with a drill bit? These holes are so tiny, some are hidden because they were packed with dirt.

Could you see oil coming from each rocker arm after the job was done w/the engine running?

[simplyconnected]

Nyles, carefully read my rocker arm site:

http://www.squarebirds.org/simplyconnected/390Build/RockerShafts.htm

Pay close attention to pictures #9 & 10. - Dave

[Tbird1044]

Thanks Dave. Another excellent write up. I saw this before but couldn't find it. Would be great to have a link in the TRL.
Nyles

Nyles, carefully read my rocker arm site:

http://www.squarebirds.org/simplyconnected/390Build/RockerShafts.htm

Pay close attention to pictures #9 & 10. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

Nyles, I'm going to shock you with this information...
See that blue link in every one of my posts that says, "CLICK HERE to see my..."?
Rocker Shafts, is one of the subheadings inside.

As I enter more pictures and I move my sites, the changes would render the TRL version useless.

Wonderful Comcast closed down everyone's 'personal web pages' which is where all my sites were for years. At the end of this month I am separating from a very long relationship with Comcast. They overcharged for their services for far too long. Robin finally sat me down and we took a good hard look at the competition and their offerings. AT&T offered a $400 Visa card and lowered my rates by a huge amount. They already serviced my land line so the TV and Internet bundle knocked that down by ten bucks/mo (forever). Time will tell if this was a good move. - Dave

[jopizz]

Wonderful Comcast closed down everyone's 'personal web pages' which is where all my sites were for years. At the end of this month I am separating from a very long relationship with Comcast. They overcharged for their services for far too long. Robin finally sat me down and we took a good hard look at the competition and their offerings. AT&T offered a $400 Visa card and lowered my rates by a huge amount. They already serviced my land line so the TV and Internet bundle knocked that down by ten bucks/mo (forever). Time will tell if this was a good move. - Dave

Verizon did the same thing. I guess giving free personal web space is a thing of the past.

John

[sidewalkman]

Verizon did the same thing. I guess giving free personal web space is a thing of the past.

John

LOL, I think they started to do that back in the early days of webpages when a few hundred megabytes covered it.

Now my webspace here is over a gig I think!

[Tbird1044]

Rocker Arm Assemblies

Dave:
I knew I saw your write up regarding the rockers, but didn't know your link had a lot more info that the title says.
I did pull my rocker arm assemblies and cleaned the heck out of them. (I was so tempted to use a bottle brush, but didn't per your write up) I couldn't remember if I did any cleanup when I rebuilt the engine 25 years ago. BTW, it now has 17 miles on it. How do I know that? I zeroed the speedo when I rebuilt the engine. ;-)
There was a fair amount of gunk in the rocker tubes and it appeared a few of the oil holes to the rocker arms were pretty well plugged. I now feel this would be pretty good preventive maintenance on high mileage cars. It's not that difficult, and after going through it, well worth the trouble.
Your write up is great and helped bunches. I did end up replacing the end plugs for the rocker tubes, but was surprised when O'Reilleys had them for $0.59 each. Worth the investment.
Thanks for the heads up on this. I am going to run the engine without the valve covers, just to verify the oil flow and see how it all looks.
Nyles

Nyles, I'm going to shock you with this information...
See that blue link in every one of my posts that says, "CLICK HERE to see my..."?
Rocker Shafts, is one of the subheadings inside.

As I enter more pictures and I move my sites, the changes would render the TRL version useless.

Wonderful Comcast closed down everyone's 'personal web pages' which is where all my sites were for years. At the end of this month I am separating from a very long relationship with Comcast. They overcharged for their services for far too long. Robin finally sat me down and we took a good hard look at the competition and their offerings. AT&T offered a $400 Visa card and lowered my rates by a huge amount. They already serviced my land line so the TV and Internet bundle knocked that down by ten bucks/mo (forever). Time will tell if this was a good move. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

I'm glad my documentation helped you, Nyles. FEs ain't your typical Chevy engine.

There are many engine tasks that require no money but a few hours of time. The problem with that is, nobody wants to invest the time.

When I document a task, taking pictures triples the time it takes to complete the task because I'm constantly wiping oil, solvent, and dirt from my hands. Morning dew did my last camera in so now I use a waterproof Nikon. After taking the pic's, they need to be sized, cropped and straightened for my sites. What you see is a fraction of the total pictures taken so the investment is a time-thief.

The payoff comes when folks like you benefit from my sites. Enjoy. - Dave

[Tbird1044]

I got the rocker assemblies back on and since I had all the spark plugs pulled, decided to spin the engine to verify oil flow. Once I saw oil at all the rockers/push rods, I was happy and put the newly painted valve covers back on. I feel a lot better knowing that the oil galleys are open and the rocker tubes are free of all the gunk inside.
I also made a custom battery hold down for my 27 series battery. It appeared that the one offered from our vendors would not fit. It sure beats the tie wraps that I was using.
Nyles

[simplyconnected]

Nyles, I recognize Kirkland as a brand from Costco or Sam's. Except for the sticker, it looks identical to my WalMart battery, right down to the colored date sticker.

I was told there are only a few battery makers in the USA. Your battery supports that claim.