rocker arm trunion upgrade FAILURE
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rocker arm trunion upgrade FAILURE Has anyone else ever experienced this? These have been on my 402 since back in 2006. I spin the motor to 7000 or so and never have had any issues.
The motor developed a tick noise last fall after Drag Week and I figured it was a lifter. I had the valve covers off last fall to check rockers, valve springs, etc and didn't notice any issues. I figured it was a lifter and I finally decided to pull the heads off yesterday. Well, I pulled the rockers and noticed a few of them had some not-so-smooth operation. I removed the snap rings and washers and found this. The pieces of metal missing in the picture fell out when I pulled the washer off. The oil has some glitter in it so I'm pulling the motor to pull some bearing caps and see how bad this is.
I sent these off back in 2006 to Nasty Nate (I think) and I'm pretty sure Harland Sharp did the work. I mentioned this not to blame them, only to let people know what I'm using. I guess I'm going to go with a set of the trunion upgrades from Comp Cams.
Thoughts or comments??
Thanks!
-Jeremy
*EDIT, sorry I forgot to attach the pictures the first time!
The motor developed a tick noise last fall after Drag Week and I figured it was a lifter. I had the valve covers off last fall to check rockers, valve springs, etc and didn't notice any issues. I figured it was a lifter and I finally decided to pull the heads off yesterday. Well, I pulled the rockers and noticed a few of them had some not-so-smooth operation. I removed the snap rings and washers and found this. The pieces of metal missing in the picture fell out when I pulled the washer off. The oil has some glitter in it so I'm pulling the motor to pull some bearing caps and see how bad this is.
I sent these off back in 2006 to Nasty Nate (I think) and I'm pretty sure Harland Sharp did the work. I mentioned this not to blame them, only to let people know what I'm using. I guess I'm going to go with a set of the trunion upgrades from Comp Cams.
Thoughts or comments??
Thanks!
-Jeremy
*EDIT, sorry I forgot to attach the pictures the first time!
Last edited by GTA91; Jul 14, 2014 at 02:06 PM.
The pics didn't upload in your post so we can't see what happened. I have used both the Brian Tooley Racing and Comp Cams trunion kits on quite a few cars with similar shift points and never had an issue. Now none of them have been installed more than a few years but so far so good with them.
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I believe Harland Sharp has changed a few things on their kit since then, so you might give them a call and see what they say. Their current kit looks to be a really nice setup.
There's always going to be someone, somewhere that's going to experience a failure on a basically bullet proof product. IMO, sounds like you've had you HS trunion upgrade long enough it probably wasn't a defect but a slight oiling problem that gradually shortened the rockers bearing life. I'd also say unless you find evidence that one of the following trunion upgrade kits is better than then other (HS, Comp, Lunati, or Summit) you'll likely be perfectly fine with any of their trunion upgrades. There's also CHE Precision’s , which uses a custom bronze like bushing in place of the factory GM bearings, The only down side is that they are pricy !
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...on+rocker+arms
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...on+rocker+arms
Last edited by 99Bluz28; Jul 14, 2014 at 02:45 PM.
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Thanks for the responses guys.
Like I said, I was not suggesting this being anyone's fault! I've had them quite some time and they've held up well to tons of 7000+rpm abuse. I'm just hoping the rest of the motor is ok.
I'm a manufacturing engineer and quality engineer so I'm very familiar with reliability, designs, failures, etc.
I tell people that all the time when they complain about problems with their brand new car.
My first thought was repeated abuse to them from PRC dual springs and the Texas Giant cam. Second thought was oiling "issues" and I do run Valvoline VR1 20w50 so the oil isn't exactly thin at cold startup. lol
Like I said, I was not suggesting this being anyone's fault! I've had them quite some time and they've held up well to tons of 7000+rpm abuse. I'm just hoping the rest of the motor is ok.
I'm a manufacturing engineer and quality engineer so I'm very familiar with reliability, designs, failures, etc.
I tell people that all the time when they complain about problems with their brand new car.My first thought was repeated abuse to them from PRC dual springs and the Texas Giant cam. Second thought was oiling "issues" and I do run Valvoline VR1 20w50 so the oil isn't exactly thin at cold startup. lol
HS had an issue years ago that caused this. They since updated the design and dont have issues anymore, in fact they're one of the best. If you call and they can verify you have the old design they will replace them free of charge
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Thanks redbird555! I just got off the phone with Sandy at Harland Sharp. GREAT customer service. She said to send them in and they'd check them out and replace them all if they were from the "suspect lot" from a few years ago.
She told me to check the bearing for "SCE105" and if it says that on them then they're the bad ones. I'm going to check mine tonight, but from looking at my one picture above it looks like I can see part of a C, the E, 1, and half of a 0. Uh oh...
She told me to check the bearing for "SCE105" and if it says that on them then they're the bad ones. I'm going to check mine tonight, but from looking at my one picture above it looks like I can see part of a C, the E, 1, and half of a 0. Uh oh...
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Thread Starter
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Yes, the initial iron block build was in 2006. I ran that for a few seasons and then went to tear it down for bearings/rings the winter of 2008/2009. We then changed to an aluminum LS2 block, did all the block machine work, and put my rotator, cam, heads, on that block. At that time, my engine guy checked the heads out, clean-up mill on them, valve job, and checked the springs. Everything was great so we finished the aluminum 402 and I fired it in early 2009. It had some passes and street miles on it in late 2009, some 2010, hardly any in 2011-2012, and then mainly last year in preparation for Drag Week (and participation). No issues, no valve float, nothing.
I know what you're thinking, and yes we'll be checking the springs very soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're still showing good.
I know what you're thinking, and yes we'll be checking the springs very soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're still showing good.
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I confirmed the "SCE105" last night and Harland Sharp even sent me a UPS shipping label this morning. They're headed back there now, great to see a company with outstanding customer service!
That is some awesome customer service from Harland Sharp!
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www.bmrsuspension.com
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Find a Quality alignment shop near you!
