Rocker cover interchange?

kyle1911 · Posted: December 26, 2008, 8:32 pm Post subject: Rocker cover interchange?

After a horrible mistake on my part, of putting the rocker shafts in backwards.....I am in a bind. Thinking of running the other rocker cover I have, with a non-matching head. It pops right on the dowels, and the cam bearing hole *seems* to line up as close to perfect as the original. Has anyone done this? If so, any problems? Yeah, I know they are machined as one, and if I didn't have a TON of labor into porting the head, I wouldn't try it, but I wonder how much that matters, with the cam riding on ball bearings? I just tried fiddling with the backwards rocker shafts. they are not coming out without divine intervention. Those nice little machined X's for the oil, combined with Rockwell one-billion hardness, makes them a no-drill proposition. Ugh, I just wanna cry. No, I'm gonna go get drunk. That's better for me. Thanks, Kyle

xsjohn · Posted: December 26, 2008, 8:42 pm Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Might get away with that.......easy enough to measure to see if the cam bearing circle is correct......having a beer myself.....only to prevent me from going out there and dicking mine.....never has run better but even after the 40 years of dicking with these the brain tells you to go dick some more..........if you know what I mean.........think you will be all right.....have a happy New Year and not to worry.......

Hey ....if you had taken it to a shop they would have put 2 in backwards and said.....that's the way it was........happy ...happy to do it yourself.....even if it's wrong you know it...... Very Happy

xsjohn

kyle1911 · Posted: December 26, 2008, 10:47 pm Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

I have that problem after 2 years with the same girl...Oh, wait, your were talking about dicking with the XS. Sorry, jumped tracks there. Very true about the shops, and their practice. I was one of those guys years ago. Got tired of being a parts changer, on the flate-rate clock. I'll break out the snap-gauges, and have a look at the cam bore. I need to mock the top end up to clay the pistons anyway, so I can even torque it down without the cam, and measure that way, while I am doing that... If it looks good, then I will get on with removing the rockers and shafts from the cover. Good God, there is no pretty way to do that. I'm gonna have to throw it on the mill, and butcher away. Henry's blonde lager seems to be killing the pain. Film at 11. Thanks, Kyle

xsjohn · Posted: December 26, 2008, 10:55 pm Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

If the bearing holes line up decent I don't know of any other problems it could cause....nothing is perfect anyway on these things.....thought about getting those shafts out.....the only thing my pea brain could think of after looking at one a while ago was.....clean the hole and super glue a snug bit in there and hope....heat the bit (rod..shaft) upa bitso thesuper glue dries rock hard.....???????....really didn't want to offer that dumb solution......the kid is taking me to the store for some more beer so good luck......

xsjohn

650skull · Support Staff Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 1186

You would have to be lucky to get them to match up. The cam seals are a bitch to get to seal on a numbered head, if the races are not a perfect fit then oil leaks will be a problem...........Lining up the cam could also be a problem.........I will be replacing some rockers in the not to distant future so i will try to remember to learn from your mistake...... Good luck

xsjohn · Posted: December 27, 2008, 12:10 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Have to love it when they sell them seperately on ebay.........line bored and all.....as if we don't already have enough problems to keep us busy........smack.. Evil or Very Mad

xsjohn

Jake68 · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Mar 23, 2007 Posts: 841

yeah...cretins..

As said...as I discovered its hard enough to get it all oil tight when they are matched!

xsjohn · Posted: December 27, 2008, 12:27 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Yea but.......the titty pink o-ring and the bit larger spring on the inside of the seal like I mentioned earlier....bet I could make a hit out of a miss...if I had too...if it wasn't out too far out like Ellen Degeneras and all of them that want to marry (lined up properly as they are)... Barffff ........if that really doesn't work at all then Barney Frank will give you a big hug and kiss like he did for the mortgage executives.........double Barfffffff......... Laughing

Still got my broom in case any of them get stuck together wrong in my yard......can you imagine all the line boring there..... Question

xsjohn

kyle1911 · Posted: December 27, 2008, 1:30 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Smellen Degenerate aside.... (Did you hear they found her body last week?....Yeah, it was face down in Ricky Lake...) I will do some careful measuring...I have high hopes after an inital test fit. As for fitment on these...I tend to agree with John. The "matched" head and rocker cover have about (By eye) .005 overlap on the faces of the valve cover holes. That tells me they bored the dowel pin holes, after milling the faces for the valve covers... I wonder if they did that after boring the cam hole? Judging by the port work, I'd say it was free Saki week. That said, they are a Rolex compared to a Continental or Lycoming aircraft engine. Boy, if you wanna talk about leaky turds...HA! At least I can try this rocker cover, and report back to you guys with the results, without 300 pages of drawings, and a field approval. Smile

I'll keep ya posted. If my liver holds up, it should run in a couple of weeks. (It's 10 degrees here, and I still need to paint the frame!) This is a big test. Funny, after building hundreds of engines, the test is not building the machine. It's the soft gray matter between the human ears, that desperately wants to believe it will be OK, after a screw up like this, without hard evidence. I think that is the ultimate challenge. Beat the snot out of the inner child, and find the truth, before the cold light of result bites you in the glutes. Kyle

xsjohn · Posted: December 27, 2008, 1:36 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Better than belly up in Barney Frank.........Bet it will run till the hard evidence needs Viagra.... go for it till it drops out.......other things may need all that invigoration........as I have found.........which will bring you back to that......someone just shot me.......

xsjohn

kyle1911 · Posted: December 27, 2008, 2:08 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

I bet it will run harder than Barney Frank on a boyscout sleepover. Time will tell. G'nite all

xsjohn · Posted: December 27, 2008, 2:12 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Cheers.....and have had fun......For me I would run it till it crapped....oh god hope Barney didn't hear that.........would be a mating call for sure......

xsjohbn

xsleo · Posted: December 27, 2008, 4:24 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

do you have a welder? if so get a rod or wire, depending on the welder, to stick to the end of rocker shaft. and we all know how hard that is, then pull the shaft, grind off the rod/wire. put a bolt in the threaded hole then reinstall. it may be a good idea when any one pulls these shafts to put a bolt in each shaft and leave it there until the shaft gets reinstalled. you will have a hard time putting one in wrong with a bolt sticking out one end.

kyle1911 · Posted: December 28, 2008, 1:28 am Post subject: Re: Rocker cover interchange?

Xsleo, good point. Ill dig out the stick lead for my TIG, and give it a shot. Might as well, before I destroy the cover to retrieve the shafts and arms. Excellent idea, leaving bolts in these damn things. Such a simple thing, would have saved me untold headaches. I actually can't think of much worse mistake to make on one of these old dogs. Ha! I pick the winners! Kyle

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