SR keeps throwing rocker arms

[180fan]

Like the subject says. This would make it the third time I've had to deal with this.

First time: rocker arm for intake side cylinder 1 throws the rocker arm. Valve spring pops off but valve was undamaged. The rocker arm guides on all 4 rocker arm guides break though. All debris and everything else is checked and reassembled.

Second time: rocker arm for intake side cylinder 1 and 2 goes off. Nothing else but the rocker arm's are tossed. The rocker arm guides break on 2, 3, and 4. All 4 guides are replaced. Along with rocker arms 1 and 2.

Third (current time): Being notably aggrivated at this point, I find that my car won't start so I push the car into the garage and find that rocker arm 3 has flown off breaking its guide as well. All other guides are fine just #3 broke this time. All 4 will be replaced...again.

but this time I suspect that my cam might have a small bend in it. Would I be wrong to think this way? I suspected a bent cam earlier with the first time, but didn't want to blow so much for a replacement cam. Now I don't think I've much of a choice. Any other ideas before I give my intake cam the old heave ho and get a new set of HKS cams?

[Und3rprshUr]

What are you revving it to? or is this jsut normal driving?

if its racing related might want to look into somthing like this.

Rocker arm stopper

[180fan]

3k, no more. it's not like i'm downshifting either, when they go they just fly. rocker arm stoppers, yeah I've got them from Tomei. Didn't keep em on. Obvious stuff like that has already been considered.

[Und3rprshUr]

Obvious stuff like that has already been considered.

How is that obvious? I'm trying to help and you come back with somthing in this nature. hah good luck

[180fan]

yeah sorry dude, this pos problem's been pissing me off pretty bad. third time man. but still no excuse if it came off as *****ing at you, didn't mean to come off that way. The thing that gets me is that everything was on nice and tight, shims, guides, lash adjusters bled, the works. Yet it still insists on popping like popcorn. I've checked over everything several times and even turned the crank several times over to double check if the rocker would work it's way off at low speed and it didnt. On the intake side almost everything's been replaced and without a problem just the intake cam hasn't and it's only on the intake side.

[Und3rprshUr]

Maybe its a worn cam. not bent. i would try a stock junkyard replacement if possible before buying HK$ .

[180fan]

It's strange cuz the rocker arms that get tossed keep moving, it's never consistantly at one. Hence my thinking that it's a slight bend in the cam. First time it was at cylinder 1, second time at 1 and 2, and third time at 3. I'm gonna go with the HKS just cuz it's something that I was planning on getting later anyway and no real point in wasting money on stock cams if I was gonna get the aftermarket ones. Just kinda bad timing with the cams though. Only other thing I can think of is that the shim was a bit thin. I've yet to go measure the shims across the board but they're in such small increments, could it make that much of a difference? Well in any case, I think I'm gonna go at it with feeler gauges and measure the shims to make sure they're in spec.

[Und3rprshUr]

They can make a diff. but i doubt a diff so big.

fix the shims if bad then put cams in.. if it still does it.. then it might be a mechanical error. no pun intended

[180fan]

Only other thing I can think of is that the lash adjuster's giving out, but that'd be weird. Why would they be giving out at random intervals unless something's causing them to. But that's just ramblings. I'm pretty damn certain I've assembled the top side properly though. That wasn't my first RAS/Cam/valvetrain install and all the others I've done are all still fine.

[s13sr20chris]

I've yet to go measure the shims across the board but they're in such small increments, could it make that much of a difference?

oh heck yeah! you really want to have them adjusted right. the hla takes up the slack right? the shim is just there to keep the rocker arm level. if the rocker arm aint level...well, thats bad. one clue is that you keep breaking the guides. by guides do you mean the shim looking thing with the slot in it? they have been known to break when installed backwards. sr motors are funny like that. look at the rockers on the exhaust side(since it never messes up) and see how the smooth side of the rocker goes on the shim. also note how the funny looking side goes on the guide(or shim with the groove). make sure its the same on the other side. every sr iv taken apart has had the shim and guide reversed from front to back from intake to exhaust. by that i mean if the exhaust has the shim on the front of the rocker then the intake would have it on the back of the rocker. i have seen that cause a lot of broken guides.

[180fan]

Yeah I had the intake side's rocker arm guides (the grooved shim like thing) on the front of the pair, not the rear. I'm gonna have a measurement of the shims on the intake side and make sure everything's good there. Damn these weird problems my SR's been tossing at me. *shakes fist*

[s13sr20chris]

intakes on the front and exhaust on the rear? ok, thats good. i guess you just need to get them adjusted. it requires a special tool. i have done it once and thats it. my dealership does not even have the special tool.

[180fan]

Actually Chris, the way I put the guide back were with the rocker arm guides going towards the front of the motor. So it alternates between gude, shim, guide, shim, when looking from the front of the motor's intake side towards the rear. It alternates that way for all 4 intake side rocker arms. Ditto with the exhaust side. Was I supposed to have them flipped for the exhaust side if it's that way for the intake side?

[s13sr20chris]

YES! im sorry for being unclear. i should really pull my valve cover and take a pic for you but i dont have a digital camera. pull the rockers and look at the "feet". one foot fits really well into the guide and one does not. that should make it easier to install and longer running!

[180fan]

Ah ok, I think I now see my mistake. I double checked with the tomei engine build up guide, the intake side looks like shim, guide, shim, guide, etc if looked at from the front of the motor while the exhaust side looks like guide, shim, guide, shim, etc. Ok sweet. I guess I'll have a look see at how this turns out. But first I gotta get my replacement parts from courtesy.

[s13sr20chris]

well im very interested to see how this turns out bro.

[180fan]

heh heh heh heh, the more I think about it, the more I realize I wasn't really paying attention to the guides after the first time, which was after I bled the lash adjusters and put them on willy nilly and put them on the wrong way. When I rebuilt the motor, they were on just right and no flying rockers, just when I went to bleed the adjusters then it went all nutty. Ha ha ha how silly of me. Chris, thanks alot man! Chances are without your pointing it out, I would have just kept on making the same mistakeas I wouldn't have been paying attention to it.

[s13sr20chris]

no prob dude. we need more sr's out there trend or no trend.