Rocker shaft

Engine Oily Bits, Ignition, Fuelling, Cooling, Exhaust, etc.
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GSouthee
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Rocker shaft

#1 Post by GSouthee » Sat Nov 11, 2017 3:38 pm

Hi new to this forum.

I have rebuilt a 2500 S engine, bored to 2600cc, balanced etc, Hepolite pistons Nos from Russ carpenter racing also balanced and matched etc. Piper 2TY ultimate road cam. Rejetted SU's. Head skimmed new valves, blah blah.

However I did not rebuild rockers as appeared all good and where supposed have been rebuilt a few years ago. Now trial running the engine I notice the oil is flowing from the rockers as I would expect, therefore looks like not enough oil running down to tappets. It has been suggested some blocked holes. I have checked shaft and the holes are very small, now before I strip the shaft I have seen on Rimmers a tuftrided shaft that appears to have modified oil holes.

Question is has any one used one of these and are they any good. see link https://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-214559UR

Oh and how do the remote oil feed kit work for the rockers, does it spray oil along the shaft or does it fir onto the shaft some how????

Any advice welcome.

Oh I forgot to mention the engine and box are fitted to a 1949 AC 2 litre Saloon.

Cheers Gary
1949 Ac saloon with 2.6 Triumph engine/gearbox.
1997 Chevy Astro tin top van
1955 AC saloon pickup project also to be Triumph powered.

A car is not an investment it is for driving and playing with :P

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Alec
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Re: Rocker shaft

#2 Post by Alec » Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:01 am

Hello Gary,

I don't quite see what the problem is, you say oil is coming out of the sides of the rockers which is normal and correct. As long as no parts of the rockers assembly are dry then all is well?
I have no eperience of the Rimmer's rocker shaft but the tufftriding is to reduce rockershaft wear. As long as the rockers are not loose on the shaft I would continue with your existing shaft.
You will find considerable opposition to the extra rocker supply line in the Triumph world and the claim is that it starves the main bearings. Personally I don't believe this is the case in a sound engine and that little extra is well within the capacity of the oil pump. It can contribute to a smoky engine at idle as there can be too much oil in the rocker area which is drawn down the inlet valve guides. This is what I found when i tried one but there were no other detrimental effects over very many miles.

I'm interested that you have an A.C. saloon, very many years ago I ran an A.C. Aceca with the A.C. engine, a very nice car.

Alec
Last edited by Alec on Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Clifford Pope
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Re: Rocker shaft

#3 Post by Clifford Pope » Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:49 am

I was worried a few years ago when I got the car that there didn't seem to be much oil around up top. But on reading up I found that that is intentional. The rocker shaft is not fed oil at full pressure - the flat on the rear main bearing by the oil supply passageway ensures that it only gets oil in one burst per revolution, not continuously, so perhaps 10% of full pressure?

I've had other cars where rocker supply was a full pressure, and running without the cover on meant being sprayed with oil. I also had an old Triumph/Standard 1800 engine which had oil passageways through the rockers to the tips, and hollow push rods so it would dribble down to the tappets.
But it seems all that was considered unnecessary with our engines, and a light trickle of oil vaguely around the valve gear was considered sufficient.
The old engine was certainly quiet - the electric clock really was louder at tickover - as the rocker gear was smothered in a shower of oil. As I discovered once, a tiny misfit in the rocker gasket pumped pools of oil onto the road.

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Re: Rocker shaft

#4 Post by GSouthee » Sun Nov 12, 2017 3:00 pm

Hi Guys and many thanks for info, I am used to seeing lots of oil spraying around on Ford engines. So no major worries then, I think I shall just check and clean out all the holes as no great problem to do, just to be safe.

Alec yes mine had an AC engine until it when home and the cost of £18-22k to do a full and proper rebuild was not justifiable, so triumph power it is and a dam sight cheaper to do, also spares availability.

Thanks again.

Gary
1949 Ac saloon with 2.6 Triumph engine/gearbox.
1997 Chevy Astro tin top van
1955 AC saloon pickup project also to be Triumph powered.

A car is not an investment it is for driving and playing with :P

Paul64
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Re: Rocker shaft

#5 Post by Paul64 » Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:21 am

I fitted the modified shaft to my car when stripping the original shaft and rockers as it turned out they were all pretty worn. In the end, I fitted a modded shaft with NOS rockers from Chris Witor and the solid spacer kit rather than the springs to keep things in place more securely.
Seems to work well - I was a bit worried by the apparent lack of oil on test however, it's fine without the external feed and with the oil mist up in the rocker box when running, there's plenty of oil enough for the job in the area.

If you go ahead with the new shaft, just make sure you can clean it through with a welding rod and some cloth or similar to remove any remaining deposits from the machining / hardening process to stop them potentially blocking the oil ways in use.

Paul

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Re: Rocker shaft

#6 Post by Mike Stevens » Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:29 am

And don't forget to fit new small 'core' plugs in each end of the shaft - after cleaning that is!

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GSouthee
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Re: Rocker shaft

#7 Post by GSouthee » Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:58 am

Cheers Guys, I an considering the Rimmer one that comes with end caps or the Triumphix-uk (on Ebay) with allen keyed end caps, both hardened. Will decide later today so I can get running by the weekend.

Cheers Gary
1949 Ac saloon with 2.6 Triumph engine/gearbox.
1997 Chevy Astro tin top van
1955 AC saloon pickup project also to be Triumph powered.

A car is not an investment it is for driving and playing with :P

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johnconradlee
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Re: Rocker shaft

#8 Post by johnconradlee » Mon Nov 27, 2017 2:18 pm

"Triumphix-uk" is our Dave Harvey so would suggest that's the superior product.
John Lee

1966 Triumph 2000 Mk1 "LuLU" (the Lee family Triumph) - various shades of Green and rust - The engine runs, she's alive!!!!

GSouthee
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Re: Rocker shaft

#9 Post by GSouthee » Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:08 pm

Cheers for that, good to get a recommendation.

What do you guys think of the alloy spacers instead of the springs on the rocker shaft, seen them on Rimmers site?

Cheers Gary
1949 Ac saloon with 2.6 Triumph engine/gearbox.
1997 Chevy Astro tin top van
1955 AC saloon pickup project also to be Triumph powered.

A car is not an investment it is for driving and playing with :P

GSouthee
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Re: Rocker shaft

#10 Post by GSouthee » Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:09 pm

Oh and does he do other stuff other than that on Ebay? how do I get hold of him direct?
1949 Ac saloon with 2.6 Triumph engine/gearbox.
1997 Chevy Astro tin top van
1955 AC saloon pickup project also to be Triumph powered.

A car is not an investment it is for driving and playing with :P

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