Broken rocker arm stud! HELP!

[kleer15]

So.. yesterday i made a post about the noise problem i was having in my car.
its a 1993 mustang LX.

2 days ago, i was driving down the highway when i gave the throttle a shot, i heard a loud popping noise, sounded like a backfire, but it came from just above the transmission area. The car still ran fine after this and i parked it. Later that night i took the car out for a drive, when this noise started to really become obvious. From inside the car it sounded like it was infront of the transmission, and because the car wasnt pulling right, i immediately thought it was a pressure plate spring that had popped for something..

but once i popped the hood yesterday you could hear the sound coming from under the valve cover on the drivers side... The noise sounded like a metallic ringing or knocking..almost like a socket was gettin thrown around in the engine. i got pretty worried... when the noise started occuring, the car was barely pulling at all.. it ran and idled perfectly fine, but once you put it in gear and started to drive away, it became very obvious that something was very wrong..

So on that note, myself and my buddy mike took off the intake and pulled open the drivers side valve cover. As we pulled the cover off a rocker arm fell into my hands!

This obviously was not good.. after examination it became clear that the rocker arm stud had sheered completely off, with the remainder of the stud still threaded into the rocker arm nut..

I uploaded some pictures as well...

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad288/kleer15/DSC01895.jpg

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad288/kleer15/DSC01894.jpg

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad288/kleer15/DSC01892.jpg


Now that ive identified the problem.. im wondering what the next step is? is it possible to find replacement studs? im goin to get the stud that is stuck in the nut tapped and get it taken out, so that the nut can still be used.. but still, what can i do now? the rocker arm and pushrod are still in good shape but where i can get a replacement stud im not too sure..

any suggestions?

any help would be appreciated greatly

 

[strtrcr50]

Rocker Arm Studs - SummitRacing.com stud

 

[TenorPlayinGuy]

You can also buy the locks for the rockers as well. Always good to have some back up parts. I have a second set of shims/bolts for my pedestal mounts. Good Luck on the fix.

 

[TenorPlayinGuy]

Man it kinda looks likeyour rockers are walking to the side a bit. How is the wear on the valve look?

 

[kleer15]

Man it kinda looks likeyour rockers are walking to the side a bit. How is the wear on the valve look?

Hey, the wear on the valves look fine... but ive come across something kinda interesting.

The heads on the engine are TFS R High ports.. now I was looking around on the mustang shop.ca and i found my rocker arms -

Energizer Rocker Arms 1.6 for 3/8 Stud

notice in the article that it clearly says "Will not work with trick flow heads"

Is this the reason the rocker arm stud broke? And if thats the case, am i likely to break more?

I talked to the previous owner and he said that i could find replacement studs here in town, but i would need the longer ones, not the standard length. Something sounds kinda fishy to me, but im not too sure.

As well, he says they are Trick flow heads, but im looking online to find my exact head and its not reallly that easy to narrow it down... I'm not too sure, because im going to need to tell the store what the exact heads are on that car to get the proper thread size.

Any suggestions?

Dan

 

[strtrcr50]

Head Specific Small Block Ford
Harland Sharp S4202 - Harland Sharp Roller Rockers – SummitRacing.com
I believe that they use a standard size thread. Trick Flow's tech support has been very helpful when I called, and summit helped me find the right studs when I upgraded my heads from 3/8 studs to 7/16.(Hint, trick flow studs are supposedly made by arp, but yet much cheaper)
Oh, and these should be the studs you need..
Trick Flow Specialties - Rocker Arm Studs - SummitRacing.com
Although maybe not. These are 7/16 studs and you say you have 3/8 rockers. Why not put the right rockers and studs on?

 

[kleer15]

Head Specific Small Block Ford
Harland Sharp S4202 - Harland Sharp Roller Rockers – SummitRacing.com
I believe that they use a standard size thread. Trick Flow's tech support has been very helpful when I called, and summit helped me find the right studs when I upgraded my heads from 3/8 studs to 7/16.(Hint, trick flow studs are supposedly made by arp, but yet much cheaper)
Oh, and these should be the studs you need..
Trick Flow Specialties - Rocker Arm Studs - SummitRacing.com
Although maybe not. These are 7/16 studs and you say you have 3/8 rockers. Why not put the right rockers and studs on?

Hey, thanks for the input.. I'm starting to decide that those rockers are the complete wrong set up for those high port heads.. the valve springs are too big for the rockers to reach, and thats why the stud was barely threaded into the the nut.. and thats why it sheered off... I'm looking at possibly getting some trick flow rockers for those specific heads.. im hoping that will solve the problem.. will i need bigger valve covers than the stock ones to clear the rockers? As well if im getting bigger valve covers, is there a spacer that you can put imbetween the lower and upper intake to provide that clearance?

 

[strtrcr50]

Believe it or not, trick flow does not make trick flow specific rockers. To the best of my knowledge, only harland sharp does. Harland sharps have a lifetime warranty as well. Don't know what valve covers you currently have, but you should be ok. Have someone spin the motor over with a breaker bar while you hold the valve cover down my hand. If it moves, they won't clear.

 

[Cobra912]

I have the Harland Sharp rockers............have never had a problem

 

[JadeGT]

The problem is the Crane energizer rockers you have. The slot on the bottom isn't long enough and causes them to bind with higher lifts. I did a search on several sites because I also have a set of these POS rocker and this is like the 10th thread I have seen with these rockers and the exact same problem.

I am not a trick flow head expert but as noted above something isn't right with the alignment. Have you tried adjusting your guide plates to center the rockers on the valve tip?

 

[kleer15]

hey guys, thanks for all the input, and ya, im thinking i should do something about the alignment, the valve springs look like they have taken a beating...

By the way its been a while since ive replied to this thread, i replaced the stud, and the cars back up and running now.. but im worried it will only be a matter of time before another one of those studs breaks off...

Im guessing the fix would be to go to new rocker arms eh? What would be the best set-up? Im pretty sure trick flow makes specific high port rockers...

 

[kleer15]

hey guys, thanks for all the input, and ya, im thinking i should do something about the alignment, the valve springs look like they have taken a beating...

By the way its been a while since ive replied to this thread, i replaced the stud, and the cars back up and running now.. but im worried it will only be a matter of time before another one of those studs breaks off...

Im guessing the fix would be to go to new rocker arms eh? What would be the best set-up? Im pretty sure trick flow makes specific high port rockers...

as well.. i bought a 3/8" heat spacer to put between the upper and lower intake, im goin to try to squeeze bigger valve covers in there to clear the rockers that i would be putting in there..