Season interrupted - breakage scare in the new 470.

[LemonWedge]

a week ago we had a Friday - Saturday pair of races at Pacific Raceway. 1st hit Friday I accidentally left with the shifter in 2 after the burnout. Just as I realized what I had done and backed out of the throttle, a bad sound erupted and I quickly shut it down. Since I had made the driver error above, I assumed something broke in the transmission. This was backed up by the fact that the ugly Banging noise seemed to be at “crankshaft speed”.
Quick inspection at the track showed no visible evidence of breakage, which made me feel slightly better, but I was still very unamused by the situation. Winched it into the trailer and brought it home.
the Saturday race was a points race, and with me currently sitting in an NHRA Div. 6 Race of Champions position, I did NOT want to miss that race. A friend came to the rescue offering his daily as a rent-a-racer. A 2012 392 Hemi Challenger! The car was fun, but the electronic drive by wire deal was just impossible for me to get to know quickly enough to get it to leave on time. Ultimately, I was a 1st round runner up.
Back to the issue at hand…. I tore the 727 loose and completely disassemble, only to find a zero issues. Now feeling frustrated and beat, I turned my attention to the engine And did what I should have done at the moment I got it back to the pits…. Removed the valve covers to inspect the valvetrain…..
Quickly found a broken rocker. Was elated to see the needle bearing cages still in tact and on the shaft. Pushrod us unhurt. Went to the lifter valley and found no damage at the cam lobe or lifter. Did a leak down test and found no evidence of valve damage.
I think ive managed to dodge a bullet here; minimizing damage by shutting it down quickly. Yes, these are cheap Speedmaster / Procomp rockers, which were carried over from the 451. Probably (definately) a big mistake with the current spring loads.
I’ve ordered a set of Harland-Sharpe 1.6 rockers, they should be here next week. The 727 will also get a refresh as it gets re-assembled, and with any luck I’ll be back on the chase on the 19th.

 

[Aron Gleason]

That sucks to know, but that was a good call to shut down immediately.

 

[padam]

Wow nice catch.
Even though they are cheap rockers its a good deal that the bearings didn't come apart.

 

[451Mopar]

I din't know at what point lift and spring pressures when the valve train needs serious attention, but I had issues running 0.726" lift with 700+ lbs open pressure.

 

[RemCharger]

Look how much material is removed for the bearings.

 

[Budnicks]

Good you got out of it... could have been worse

easy enough fix, unfortunate points hit,
& your wallet will feel the pain...

 

[33 IMP]

Pardon me for not going thru your build thread to find it, but...... what was your spring pressure?
(I've got some speedmasters that I'm probably gonna use in a moderate solid flat bbc.)
Good on you, for minimizing damage, and investing in the proper fix!
(And I made fun of the terrible lights by the drive-by-wire late model cars, till I tried it myself. Now, I just shut up.)

 

[stage3]

Pardon me for not going thru your build thread to find it, but...... what was your spring pressure?

if they were the springs that came with them they r Pac units, 590 open at .700 and 280 closed. thats what mine are.

 

[1KoolBee]

Harland Sharp is your friend! Cheap parts can cost you way more in the long run. Glad it turned out OK!

FYI, if you are running Eddy style head castings ( Edelbrock/Trick Flow/ Stealth/ etc) be sure to get Sharp’s rockers designed for them. They solve a lot of potential geometry issues.

 

[biomedtechguy]

if you are running Eddy style head castings ( Edelbrock/Trick Flow/ Stealth/ etc) be sure to get Sharp’s rockers designed for them. They solve a lot of potential geometry issues.

Agreed, but I believe that is best addressed to its fullest potential with the valvetrain geometry correction kit from B3E. Then again, Lemon Wedge is not only racing but winning, and I'm struggling to financially finish my 572 build.
Good catch LW! Looking forward to your posts.

 

[1KoolBee]

Why spend extra $ on a “correction kit” when off the shelf parts solve the problem for no extra cost over standard parts?

 

[biomedtechguy]

Why spend extra $ on a “correction kit” when off the shelf parts solve the problem for no extra cost over standard parts?

To each their own.
EDIT (although the above still stands)
I have seen and respect that Harland Sharp has 2 different rocker arm designs w/their own part #s for Edelbrock and TrickFlow heads. This does aid geometry from what I've read and seen.
Not to hijack, I will leave it at this. I read all 4 of the "blog posts" by Michael Beachel of B3 Racing Engines and I fully agree with his philosophy and his evidence regarding the variety of factors involved with ideal valvetrain geometry. One of my "goals" in my 572 build is reliability and reduced maintenance, keeping in mind what it is I have, that "reliability and reduced maintenance" are relative. I figure that having the best possible valvetrain geometry in every aspect of it would keep me from having to use "extra" spring pressure to keep things in place vs just doing the job of controlling the valve motion. That and not having anything slightly out of alignment, not being "off a bit" or "less than ideal" would reduce wear, reduce the chance of breakage, and keep lash where it should be. All of that may give me a smidgen of increased performance, but it DEFINITELY gives me Peace of Mind, and there are times when that's the most valuable thing I can have.
I respect Michael for his experience and his steadfast position on this topic, his explanations, and the effort involved in it all.
Lastly I expect to only be able to "do this" once, and it is really a "Once in my Lifetime" build. I've been at it with my builder John Mercedes of Southeastern Performance for several years now, which I told him from the outset that I could only buy parts as my wildly varying income would allow, and he agreed and has been fantastic to work with. John has helped me get together parts, components, and systems outside of the BMP aluminum block and other engine parts, they have been installed in my Roadrunner along the way, and I have nothing but the highest praise for the results. John gave me "some gruff" about the correction kit, but he agreed to let me get that and the "special" T&D rocker arms, shafts, and hardware from B3E and use them when he does my build.