LemonWedge
Well-Known Member
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.
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.
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