Somewhat new 383b build, shaft mount roller rockers not all oiling

[jandj]

Hello, just got done putting my 383b back in. Block is .030 from the previous owner. I installed a comp cams Thumpr cam kit and some 1.5 aluminum roller rockers I found on EBay.
Complete Holley sniper EFI and hyper spark ignition system.

Car fired right up. I shut it down to check some things. Started it again and started my cam break-in journey. Realized I needed to open some doors up so I let it idle down and shut it down. Fired it back up, and started hearing some lifter noise out of the pass side.

Pulled the valve cover and noticed a few dry pushrod cups and some dusty balls.

Pulled the drivers cover and it’s dry every other cup.

Pulled both shafts. Oiling holes were down. Both shafts are identical, holes offset to one side. All rocker bearings land midway over the oil hole or closer to the outside based on shims. Oil hole lands on one side of each rocker bearing (bushing?)

Not really sure what to do here, I’ve swapped the shaft end to end, same thing.

Any trick to this?

Thank you

 

[jandj]

 

[jandj]

View attachment 1480096

 

[RemCharger]

Is there an oiling hole shooting at the ball???

7

 

[radical rob]

Check feed line from cam bearing. Make sure getting full pressure and flow

 

[beanhead]

All good advice above.
Are the pushrod ends showing signs of heat stress/blueing? The shafts don't look galled in the pictures so that's good. They don't always throw around a ton of oil, you can get a better idea of what's happening by watching it run with the valve cover off.

Did you happen to disassemble and clean all the holes on those rockers? More than once I've seen them have metal chips and/or gunk in the passages from manufacturing. Run a tiny piece of wire through each rocker's oil passage to make sure they're clear. The shafts themselves are usually pretty nasty inside, even when new.

 

[Geoff 2]

I would think the oil holes in the shaft would be in line with the prod adjuster [ or close to it ], so that the adjuster gets a direct squirt of oil. Holes look nowhere near where they should be.

 

[jandj]

Ok, so I’ve got our machine shop filling the old holes and drilling holes that center to each rocker.

Each rocker has a hole to oil the pin and the roller.

The shaft fills up just fine when priming or running. Oil pours out around each rocker side and spacer. But never filled the rocker body.

Looked at a bunch of new kits online and the holes all center to the body. So I hope this works.

 

[RemCharger]

So the rockers have oiling holes to the adjuster ball, correct?

 

[jandj]

So the rockers have oiling holes to the adjuster ball, correct?View attachment 1480493View attachment 1480495

Yeah, the holes are there. One to the stud and one leading to the roller. See how the one in your pic is in a bearing surface? Mine have a bushing on each side with a .375” gap between the bushings with the holes. The oiling holes in the shaft landed center to a bushing or on the outside edge. Never really pressurizing the cavity.

Looking at their website and other models they have, all piling holes center-ish to the rockers body. Brand is Speedmaster.

 

[BSB67]

So the oil from the rocker shaft is fed directly to one of the two rocker arm bushings, is that correct?

 

[jandj]

So the oil from the rocker shaft is fed directly to one of the two rocker arm bushings, is that correct?

Correct, with the exception of added shims. Just about every other rocker is on the edge of an oiling hole. Would explain why I was seeing oil gushing out in between the spacers.

 

[69Bee]

Your last word in the above comment explains your problem. Awesome Chinese Quality there... You should be able to buy some quality hard chrome rocker shafts with the "Bananna Grooves", and that should allow the rockers to oil.

 

[BSB67]

So the oil from the rocker shaft is fed directly to one of the two rocker arm bushings, is that correct?

Correct.....Just about every other rocker is on the edge of an oiling hole. Would explain why I was seeing oil gushing out in between the spacers.

This seems odd to me

 

[steve340]

One hole in the rocker shaft is larger and this needs to align with the support pad were the oil comes up the cylinder head.

 

[RemCharger]

One hole in the rocker shaft is larger and this needs to align with the support pad were the oil comes up the cylinder head.

Yes, but it should #2 #4 on both so they can go on either side

 

[Geoff 2]

There is a similar thread on A bodies where the rockers have scuffed the shaft. Pic shows where BOTH rockers have scuffed the shaft, but only ONE oil hole which looks to be where the spacer sits.

 

[beanhead]

The oiling holes in the shaft landed center to a bushing or on the outside edge. Never really pressurizing the cavity.

Okay...so if I understand this there are some rocker oiling ports that are not completely covered by the rocker. That's no good....oil will just leak out instead of getting where it needs to go as you've discovered. Getcha some new proper shafts (I like Hughes, they're heavier-wall and have threaded plugs on the ends for cleaning, just my opinion..)

 

[PRHeads]

I admit, this won’t be helpful to you.

I’d never use a set of rockers from Speedmaster.

And your pics of the “quality” workmanship on those shafts is reinforcing that feeling.

What heads are you running? Pro Comp Victor heads?
The rockers look to have more offset than others that fit std heads.

 

[RemCharger]

The quick answer is make an internal oil groove in the rocker

I’d never use a set of rockers from Speedmaster.

And your pics of the “quality” workmanship on those shafts is reinforcing that feeling.

What heads are you running? Pro Comp Victor heads?
The rockers look to have more offset than others that fit std heads.

I wondered that as well on the offsets