# of needle bearings in rocker arm? PICS

[NYC86ZC]

I had to work today and it was nice out so I took the gvr4 to Manhattan. I recalled last night one of the lifters was making a slight tapping sound. I figured it needed an oil change which i'd do later today or tomorrow. So, i hop in the gvr4 this morning and it was still making a slight tapping sound. Halfway into the trip this morning on the LIE in Queens i was getting some serious knock. Once i hit any boost it'd immediately get 43 counts. Any changes on my afc didnt make a difference. I get to work no boosting at all. Get out of work. Go the garage and start it up and sure enough it was clacking away. Now i'm thinking it's definitely a bad lifter and i'll swap it out when i get home. Five minutes into my ride home the noise went away and i'm not seeing any signs of knock. Now i'm scared. I get it home without issue and once it cools down i pull the valve cover and see a rocker laying on its side with 2 halves of the roller laying next to it. Next thing i see are the needle bearings laying around the head.

I pulled the oil pan and all together I found 15 needle bearings. Does anyone have a clue as to how many there are total? I'm curious if i'm missing any.

 

[curtis]

Hey I'll look tomorrow just send me a PM to remind me cause you need to know that you got them all out. Also I think I have a set or 6 out there.


I took one apart for Chris and Reichen. Chris wanted me to cut him a set of ultra light ones and maybe source out ceramic bearings and after smoking about 300 dollars worth of ball end mills and finding out bearings were going to be 4 digits.... project was aborted but I have the rocker and needle bearings etc out in the shop in a zip lock bag but can't seem to find it right now.


Oh and the cam looks damaged as well hope they weren't aftermarket. I do have a set of BC280's I'm getting ready to sell off just haven't made it there yet. OK Back to my movie.

 

[NYC86ZC]

Weird. A year later I lost the another rocker on the same lobe. Same thing, it was clacking away for a day or two. I'm thinking I have to change the oil, but no such luck after I change the oil. I pulled the VC tonight and I lost all the needle bearings again. 2 were found in the head. Looks like I'm pulling the pan tomorrow to find the 13 others.

This is strange. I'm going to swap out the lifter this time. I don't know what else could be causing this on the one rocker. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[Barnes]

Can you tell if there is any discoloration due to high heat on either the tip of the lifter, the lifter cup on the rocker, or the rocker roller/bearings?

It's possible that if the lifter is plugged enough it might not pass enough oil up and out of the top. This would mean you would not get the stream of oil that shoots out of the tiny hole on the top of the rocker cup and lubricates (and therefore cools) the contact area between the cam lobe and the roller, and the roller bearing itself.

It's also possible that the oil passage in the cylinder head leading into the lifter is clogged and not providing the lifter and therefore everything else with enough oil.

Only other thing I could think of is some type of mechanical damage that would cause the pressure of the lobe on the rocker to be very high. Like a bad cam lobe, bent valve that is binding in the valve guide maybe?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[NYC86ZC]

Thanks for the reply.

I was thinking the same thing about heat, but everything looks fine. I can't see any discoloration on the rocker or lifter.

I pulled the lifter and it's a not a 2nd or 3rd revision. It's an original with the small hole on top. I blew through the side hole and air/oil streamed out the top hole so it doesn't seem clogged. The lifter I have in my spare head is a 2nd revision and that top hole is HUGE. I'm not using it because it's also shorter than the one I have in there now.

The cam lobe got a little chewed up when the first rocker went bad. I think this second rocker went bad because of the bad lobe. But i think you have it right with the lack of oiling on the lifter. I'll pick up a set of 3rd revision lifters.

This time around I'm throwing in another rocker, but it's only a temporary solution until I find another set of cams and I redo everything; timing belt, tensioner, etc.

 

[mitsuturbo]

That cam lobe looks like it's shot. I'd replace the camshaft, even if it IS an aftermarket one.