Roller rocker bar type?

[davidplymouth1@]

I was thinking of changing to a 1.6 roller rocker - Currently running 1.5 PRW roller rockers and bars with needle bearings for the bar. During my research today I read what someone wrote at youtube saying that you "cannot run needle bearings on a chrome moly rocker bar!" Is that true? I don't know what I have now but it came with the PRW set. But it got me to thinking if bushed is better? Is it true about a chrome molly bar and needle bearing failure? Any thoughts on this? thanks

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Couple things, needle bearings were originally intended for rotating loads which would tend to wear consistently around the full circumferance of a shaft... Rockers don't rotate, they rock back a forth, all the force is only on one side of the shaft so it develops grooves in the bottom of the shaft, most shafts aren't hardened to the Rockwell 65C range...

Bushings are better suited to the application...

 

[Vertex_Jeff]

Couple things, needle bearings were originally intended for rotating loads which would tend to wear consistently around the full circumferance of a shaft... Rockers don't rotate, they rock back a forth, all the force is only on one side of the shaft so it develops grooves in the bottom of the shaft, most shafts aren't hardened to the Rockwell 65C range...

Bushings are better suited to the application...

This. Even my nice, Harland Sharp rockers (with needle bearings) have put wear marks onto the nice shafts they sell with the rockers. 2 seasons, maybe 50 or 60 1/4 mile passes, and about 2,000 street miles. I went bushed on my stroker build because of this.

 

[gkent]

I have HS rockers but would much sooner have bushed rockers - if only for a "worst case" scenario" ... A bushing or the shaft will gall if debris gets to them whereas a bearing will self destruct. Bearings should be riding on "hard chromed" shafts.