Replacing rocker arms and pushrods(should have done it when I installed the tupy head).what is everyone’s thoughts on oil groves,wide at valve or wide at pushrod?thanks
Rocker pivot oil groove orientation?
- Thread starter Moglocker
- Start date
I don't know if it makes much difference , my vote is wide at the pushrod side to collect the pushrod oil to the center of the fulcrum . millions and millions of Chevy engines had pivot balls with NO oil grooves , they seemed to be just fine. It will be interesting if someone really knows and why .
I know. I was looking at the photos from when I switched them, but just couldn't find that I gave it any thought as I removed them. I took a couple photos as a I went of the swap, but none of the oil grooves flipped over. Best I can tell in a couple points, it looks like they were narrow to the pushrod end, wide on the valve end.
Actually I looked at the photo below and it looks like it might just be random. Cyl 1 appears to be one each way, Cyl 2 both wide on the pushrod end. And to be honest, that wouldn't surprise me at all from this constructor.
I have a stock engine on a stand in my garage that I assume has never had the rockers worked on...I can see if the ones on it are in any specific orientation when I get home.
And one other thing you might consider before dropping them in is to soak the rockers overnight in a high zddp assembly lube. Ie Lucas
Well, not sure what to think of this.
Motor came out of a 94 XJ that had something like 190K on it when I bought the engine. I don’t remember exactly. The guy told me it was pretty much left alone although the block had definitely been worked on before because some of the bolt bosses were broken and had slots ground in them like the bolts had been cut and drilled out or something.
Anyways, I don’t know if the rockers were untouched. What I can tell you is I took all 6 bridges off and all of the pivot’s lines actually match corresponding lines that are in the rockers….UNLESS, those lines were pressed in over time by the pivot and the rockers actually don’t come with lines on them? Hard to say.
Now, as for the positions. It was a total crapshoot which was which way. It was half and half and totally random. Some pairs faced the same way one direction, some faced same way the other direction, some pairs faced opposite.
Not sure if any of this helps or just makes it more confusing.
I’m going to revise my opinion to say that I don’t think the direction matters. Why?
1) I looked closer at the rockers. There are no grooves in them. Just rusty/discolored lines to match where the pivot grooves were. So they’re definitely factory and just look like that from how they were installed.
2) the rocker arms can’t be installed incorrectly, so it’s not like they got accidentally flipped around. So we know they’ve always been like this.
3) the design of the pushrod and oiling in general isn’t different from one cylinder to the next, so we know that certain orientations at each cylinder or valve position isn’t important either.
So my opinion is that it’s totally random which way the pivots drop in and doesn’t matter. The grooves are probably just to help oil get into the surface, and it likely doesn’t matter which way the lines angle. On new rockers I’d just throw them whatever way feels best.
1) I looked closer at the rockers. There are no grooves in them. Just rusty/discolored lines to match where the pivot grooves were. So they’re definitely factory and just look like that from how they were installed.
2) the rocker arms can’t be installed incorrectly, so it’s not like they got accidentally flipped around. So we know they’ve always been like this.
3) the design of the pushrod and oiling in general isn’t different from one cylinder to the next, so we know that certain orientations at each cylinder or valve position isn’t important either.
So my opinion is that it’s totally random which way the pivots drop in and doesn’t matter. The grooves are probably just to help oil get into the surface, and it likely doesn’t matter which way the lines angle. On new rockers I’d just throw them whatever way feels best.
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