Okay to drive with different rockers, springs, rods on front 4 and stocks on back 4?
04-16-2009, 06:48 PM
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Okay to drive with different rockers, springs, rods on front 4 and stocks on back 4? The cliff notes:
-Friend has an Impala SS
-Took it to a place to have 1.8 rockers, 918 springs, and rods installed
-The place installed the front 4 but could not do the back 4 because he does not have his wheel lock key (ordered and will get to him on Monday)
-The place told him it would be okay to drive it with the new equip on the front and the stock rockers, springs and rods on the back 4
I did not know forsure what if any damage this would do, so I told him I would ask the experts. So is that okay to do or should he wait until Monday when the lock comes in and he can have the rest done? Thanks in advance.
-Friend has an Impala SS
-Took it to a place to have 1.8 rockers, 918 springs, and rods installed
-The place installed the front 4 but could not do the back 4 because he does not have his wheel lock key (ordered and will get to him on Monday)
-The place told him it would be okay to drive it with the new equip on the front and the stock rockers, springs and rods on the back 4
I did not know forsure what if any damage this would do, so I told him I would ask the experts. So is that okay to do or should he wait until Monday when the lock comes in and he can have the rest done? Thanks in advance.
04-16-2009, 07:33 PM
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Apparently to get to the belt tensioner behind the right front wheel...
Last edited by GXPolice; 04-16-2009 at 08:07 PM. Reason: blackberry is F'ing up...
04-16-2009, 09:35 PM
#4
um.... wtf?
You don't need the wheel lock key....
You don't even need to get to the belt tensioner, which can be done WITHOUT taking the wheel off, but it's a PITA.. but it isn't necessary!
What are they trying to pull?
I'd personally take it to a different shop.
You don't need the wheel lock key....
You don't even need to get to the belt tensioner, which can be done WITHOUT taking the wheel off, but it's a PITA.. but it isn't necessary!
What are they trying to pull?
I'd personally take it to a different shop.
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04-17-2009, 05:46 AM
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Thanks for the responses, I dont know what shop it is but for any of you Michigan guys i can ask him for the name and let you know to steer clear. It's funny because I havent heard anyone mention they've needed to access the belt tensioner when doing this swap on this or any other forum...there was a write-up in another thread a while back and it didnt mention it either so i'm not sure why this place is insisting that the wheel be removed to reach the tensioner pulley. Anyway, if it's not okay to drive like this he's gonna be stuck leaving his car with them over the weekend until his key comes in so they can finish the job. I'm gonna recommend he call them and tell them they don't need to access the tensioner in order to complete the swap, etc. Thanks again guys.
04-17-2009, 12:13 PM
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pull the plugs, get a wrench on the alternator nut and you can rotate the engine via the belt (plugs MUST be out). Sounds like the shop is either not the most competent wrench turners on the block, looking for extra billable hours, and/or completely unfamiliar with a basic trick on the LS4.
04-17-2009, 07:25 PM
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I seriously don't even know why they need to get to the tensioner unless they think they need to remove the alternator to get the rear valve cover off.... plus good luck trying to do anything with the tensioner without the snaggle tooth tool.
I'm just trying to think of a reason(aside from charging more labor...) they need to get to the tensioner and I can't except to remove the belt and the alternator. Tell em remove coil pack on cly 2, then have easy access to remove the coil pack bracket, then can remove valve cover. It's a PITA but lot less hassle than dealing with our serp belt.
I only think they can't figure out the valve cover because if they didn't even lash the rockers correctly good god.
I'm just trying to think of a reason(aside from charging more labor...) they need to get to the tensioner and I can't except to remove the belt and the alternator. Tell em remove coil pack on cly 2, then have easy access to remove the coil pack bracket, then can remove valve cover. It's a PITA but lot less hassle than dealing with our serp belt.
I only think they can't figure out the valve cover because if they didn't even lash the rockers correctly good god.
04-17-2009, 09:54 PM
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I did rockers on mine, and I didn't even THINK about removing anything belt or alternator related.. Just remove coil pack brackets, remove valve covers, and start turning bolts.
04-18-2009, 07:17 AM
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Update:
The place put the stock rockers, etc back on the front at no charge with the agreement that he will bring it back to them after he gets his wheel lock key. I talked to him briefly last night and he said when he picked it up the guy claimed that he worked on Ford NASCAR Winston Cup engine packages back in the day and also worked on GM's performance valve and drivetrain division before starting his own company...and mentioned how on many Vette's they would run different rocker and spring combinations (im assuming thats why he said it would be okay to drive it). As far as why they need to get to the tensioner, I guess he said that they do everything by the GM manual and it states to access the tensioner by removing the right front wheel...not sure if it does or not, but that's what the guy told my friend.
When I changed mine i did the front myself and had a weekend mechanic who is neighbor of someone I work with help me change the back...we dropped a valve because it was pretty much blind (got it back up thankfully) but we did not have to remove the wheel until we needed to turn the crank to get that darn valve back.
Thanks for all of your imput and feeback guys, hopefully this mess will be resolved after he gets his wheel key. He got his Impala alittle after I got my GXP and isnt really into performance mods, but ive been slowly working on him and I hope this experience doesnt discourage him.
The place put the stock rockers, etc back on the front at no charge with the agreement that he will bring it back to them after he gets his wheel lock key. I talked to him briefly last night and he said when he picked it up the guy claimed that he worked on Ford NASCAR Winston Cup engine packages back in the day and also worked on GM's performance valve and drivetrain division before starting his own company...and mentioned how on many Vette's they would run different rocker and spring combinations (im assuming thats why he said it would be okay to drive it). As far as why they need to get to the tensioner, I guess he said that they do everything by the GM manual and it states to access the tensioner by removing the right front wheel...not sure if it does or not, but that's what the guy told my friend.
When I changed mine i did the front myself and had a weekend mechanic who is neighbor of someone I work with help me change the back...we dropped a valve because it was pretty much blind (got it back up thankfully) but we did not have to remove the wheel until we needed to turn the crank to get that darn valve back.
Thanks for all of your imput and feeback guys, hopefully this mess will be resolved after he gets his wheel key. He got his Impala alittle after I got my GXP and isnt really into performance mods, but ive been slowly working on him and I hope this experience doesnt discourage him.