Lost a couple rockers!!!

[Stanger007]

I just got finished swapping out my cam and I got interrupted when I was adjusting the #7 and #8 intake rockers - never finished setting them up. When I started the car I had a knocking noise that I thought was a torque convertor bolt lightly hitting on the separator plate (it's a tad bent up).

Still had the noise after making sure the convertor bolts were straight. After taking the car for an easy drive the noise immediately stopped and I knew what it was.

Popped the valve cover and the two rockers were off the pushrods. In the pic I had already loosed #7 and put it back on. #8 was how I found it.

I pulled both pushrods and rolled them on a plate of glass - they are both perfectly straight.

I readjusted the valves (properly this time) and took it for a drive - all is well.

My only fear is that the lifters may have somehow gotten messed up when the pushrod got pushed in offcenter.

I would say the moral of this story is to double check all your work but I actually did the valves twice when the engine was out of the car just to be sure everything was correct - I got interrupted on the last two intake rockers and never tightened them down.

What's even sadder is this isn't my first rodeo...

Yup I'm dumb.

Wes

 

[chromedog]

been there, done that... difference being it happened to me at about 6000 rpm, and the lifter jumped out of its bore. btw, i wouldnt worry about the lifter too much

 

[DJCarbine]

Did a lower intake manifold change on a newer buick and nearly did the same thing, except I had the pedestal rocker on perfect, the pushrod however was not seated in the rocker. I started it up and I thought I threw a rod

 

[krash kendall]

When I started the car I had a knocking noise that I thought was a torque convertor bolt lightly hitting on the separator plate (it's a tad bent up).

Wes

I bet that you didn't line up the drain plug on the torque convertor with the hole in the flex plate before snugging it down causing the plate to bow out. Rotate your engine untill you can see the hole in the flex plate (with the dust cover off, if you have one). If you don't see a drain plug then there's your problem.

You can unbolt the torque convertor, put a couple of longer tranny bolts in a couple of threads. Then remove the rest and slide the tranny and convertor back on the long bolts untill the convertor studs clear the flex plate. Then rotate the convertor untill the drain plug is visible through the hole and bolt it all back up.

Things should run alot smoother and you will be preventing future damage to the starter, tranny and associated parts.

 

[Stanger007]

I bet that you didn't line up the drain plug on the torque convertor with the hole in the flex plate before snugging it down causing the plate to bow out.

That part is good - excellent thinking however.

My problem was just forgetting to set the last two intake rockers. I still can't believe I did that... glad I'm not the only one to have made the same mistake.

The car is running very smoothly now - I dropped from a CompCams 280H to a XE262... MUCH smoother and much more lowend. It doesn't sound nearly as good but I'll deal with it... guess I can also loosen a couple more rockers to make it lope eh?

Wes

 

[krash kendall]

I'm not talking about that. I know the main problem was your rockers.

But you also said your torque convertor bolt might lightly come in contact with the seperation plate because it is actually is bent up. Fixing your rockers won't magically fix the flex plate.

 

[Stanger007]

I'm not talking about that. I know the main problem was your rockers.

But you also said your torque convertor bolt might lightly come in contact with the seperation plate because it is actually is bent up. Fixing your rockers won't magically fix the flex plate.

Ah 10-4 I understand what you mean - I wasn't clear in my original post - I thought that's what the noise was because it had done it on the last rebuild. I ended up bending the separator plate mostly flat this time around and that eliminated the problem completely. (I could see where the bolts were lightly making contact.)

This time around when I heard a similar noise I immediately assumed that my separator plate had gotten bent up yet again when I pulled the engine a second time.

So you are right to ask about that - I just was not clear when I was explaining the part about the separator plate - I didn't mention that I had fixed it on the first go-around.

Thanks for clearing it up for me in case I really did have a problem with the convertor being on wrong - definately a mistake I would make.

Wes

 

[68stang351]

I had the same thing happen to me in the 90, weird thing was that I had been driving it for months without a problem.
Then one time I passed someone on the highway, and heard a bad tapping, the car was running like crap.
So I pulled over and took the upper intake and the valve cover off real quick (yes, I've done it way too many times, I'm scary fast at this) and I saw that the #3 intake rocker looked EXACTLY like the one in your pic. The bolt was really loose. I just made sure the pushrod was still straight, put it all back together and haven't had a problem since. That was about 3 months ago.

 

[Stanger007]

Holy crap you did all that on the side of the road that quick? You must pull a snap-on truck behind you!

Mad props to you man!

Wes

 

[Decurion]

Actually, looks more like youre a little off your rocker...

 

[Stanger007]

That tapping noise ROCKed my world...