Which failed first, the lifter or the rocker?
#1
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Which failed first, the lifter or the rocker?
Ok guys,
SO just purchased and A&A supercharged with blower cam. Car had the stock rocker arms on it and one of the broke losing the pins. Was going to go ahead and upgrade to the trunion or a roller rocker. Also found out one of my lifters is bad. Did the broken rocker losing the pins cause the lifter to go bad since it is the lifter under that rocker, or did the lifter cause the rocker to go bad, or is there a 100% answer. I know I could just go ahead and replace the bad lifter and do the rocker arms and may never have any issue again, but Id rather be safe than sorry. I was at a minimum gonna do the whole side that had the bad lifter. Do you recommend just replacing the whole side of lifters since that head will be off, or is it better to just pull of both heads and do all the lifters period. The bad one is on the drivers side, so it's easier than the passenger since all of the V3 blower stuff is there.
Mods are as follows:
Vortech blower
Crane Cam 226/240 @ .624 lift on 114
Lunati valve springs
on demand delivery external fuel system
FAST 80lb injectors
aftermarket oil cooler
Ported intake
Ported throttle body
ATI Super balancer
1 7/8" headers & Z06 exhaust
Going to do the underdrive pulley and a tune once I finish upgrading valvetrain
SO just purchased and A&A supercharged with blower cam. Car had the stock rocker arms on it and one of the broke losing the pins. Was going to go ahead and upgrade to the trunion or a roller rocker. Also found out one of my lifters is bad. Did the broken rocker losing the pins cause the lifter to go bad since it is the lifter under that rocker, or did the lifter cause the rocker to go bad, or is there a 100% answer. I know I could just go ahead and replace the bad lifter and do the rocker arms and may never have any issue again, but Id rather be safe than sorry. I was at a minimum gonna do the whole side that had the bad lifter. Do you recommend just replacing the whole side of lifters since that head will be off, or is it better to just pull of both heads and do all the lifters period. The bad one is on the drivers side, so it's easier than the passenger since all of the V3 blower stuff is there.
Mods are as follows:
Vortech blower
Crane Cam 226/240 @ .624 lift on 114
Lunati valve springs
on demand delivery external fuel system
FAST 80lb injectors
aftermarket oil cooler
Ported intake
Ported throttle body
ATI Super balancer
1 7/8" headers & Z06 exhaust
Going to do the underdrive pulley and a tune once I finish upgrading valvetrain
#2
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2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
I am not an "expert" ... but from the LS cam installs I have done in the past, and reading posts on LS1 Tech since 1999, I have seen and heard of many rocker arm failures on these engines, but really very very few hyd lifter failures.
EDIT: These rocker arm failures started way back in 1997 on the 1st LS1 engines in the Corvette.
Personally, I would replace the damaged rocker arm and not worry about your lifters.
But, in the end, it's all up to you.
.
EDIT: These rocker arm failures started way back in 1997 on the 1st LS1 engines in the Corvette.
Personally, I would replace the damaged rocker arm and not worry about your lifters.
But, in the end, it's all up to you.
.
Last edited by Turbo6TA; 08-31-2014 at 01:12 PM.
#3
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I appreciate it bro. I'm really just leaning towards replacing the lifters on that side and leaving the other ones be. It's a ton more labor to go ahead and pull all of that stuff off verses just the one side. We still need to inspect the cam just yo make sure no damage was done, but it wasn't driven far so I'm hoping I'm good to go.
#4
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There have been so many rocker arms on these engine where the needles have fallen out. And everyone just replaced the failed rocker arm assembly.
Soon you will find those needles on the drain plug .... Don't worry about that ... They will all find there way down there sooner or later. And I have never heard of damage caused by those needles finding there way down to the oil pan.
Again, I would not waste my time replacing any lifters or taking anything else apart that you don't need to.
Your cam will be fine ...
BTW ... I edited my post above
.
Soon you will find those needles on the drain plug .... Don't worry about that ... They will all find there way down there sooner or later. And I have never heard of damage caused by those needles finding there way down to the oil pan.
Again, I would not waste my time replacing any lifters or taking anything else apart that you don't need to.
Your cam will be fine ...
BTW ... I edited my post above
.
Last edited by Turbo6TA; 08-31-2014 at 01:16 PM.
#5
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That's reassuring. I've been stressing out about it lol. I had only had the car for a week before the rocker arm failed. Only has 17000 miles on it. It wasn't making any noise when I got it, just luck of the draw I guess. My wife was pissed cause I traded my stock 2012 grand sport for it. She is like I liked the other car better lol.
#6
Le Mans Master
Would need to see pics of the lifter.
You already have the intake etc removed (not to mention the pia power steering pump) to pull the head and access the L side lifters. Pulling the rt (passenger) side head is a breeze...why would you not replace those lifters?
Take it from someone that has had a failed lifter on an LS2 and has seen it happen often...replace all 16. Also, check out the lifter bore and cam lobe very carefully for scoring.
You already have the intake etc removed (not to mention the pia power steering pump) to pull the head and access the L side lifters. Pulling the rt (passenger) side head is a breeze...why would you not replace those lifters?
Take it from someone that has had a failed lifter on an LS2 and has seen it happen often...replace all 16. Also, check out the lifter bore and cam lobe very carefully for scoring.
#7
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Right now my guy just had the valve cover pulled off. we replaced the broken rocker and could tell the lifter was jacked. Next step is to pull the head and inspect the cam to make sure none of the lobes and stuff were jacked up. If they were I have no choice but to do everything anyways..... Wish I would have just checked the rocker arms when I purchased it!!!!
Would need to see pics of the lifter.
You already have the intake etc removed (not to mention the pia power steering pump) to pull the head and access the L side lifters. Pulling the rt (passenger) side head is a breeze...why would you not replace those lifters?
Take it from someone that has had a failed lifter on an LS2 and has seen it happen often...replace all 16. Also, check out the lifter bore and cam lobe very carefully for scoring.
You already have the intake etc removed (not to mention the pia power steering pump) to pull the head and access the L side lifters. Pulling the rt (passenger) side head is a breeze...why would you not replace those lifters?
Take it from someone that has had a failed lifter on an LS2 and has seen it happen often...replace all 16. Also, check out the lifter bore and cam lobe very carefully for scoring.
#10
Race Director
just plan on changing the cam.. i would also be concerned if when you pull the cam and see anything you don't like, sometimes pulling it all out and going through it BEFORE the doom is the most cost effective vs crossing fingers.. If it ends up being OK then you made out. Prepare for the worst and anything "less" is a positive!!
That's the motto when modding (at least how i learned not to jump off a bridge lol)
That's the motto when modding (at least how i learned not to jump off a bridge lol)
#11
Pro
I would look at everything in the valve train both sides to make sure there is no problems. More info would be helpful but you bought this already modified so who knows what's going on. I would look closely at the valve springs and spring height, make sure they are not binding which will cause a rocker failure. A bent or stuck valve will cause overloading of the valve train. I am not sure what a jacked lifter means but a pic would help. Something is not right, maybe it was a single failure but there maybe others that are starting to fail. Make sure the valve train geometry and timing is correct. Time it out with a degree wheel if in doubt. We always say upon a catastropic failure, you will always take the time to get it right the second time. Take your time and check everything twice. Good luck ...🇺🇸
#12
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Needle bearings came out of 1 rocker. Going to do the trunion upgraded rockers. We replaced the rocker real quick just to see if that was it and it's still making noise and my tech says the lifter is bad. At a minimum we have to pull that head and do the lifters and inspect the cam. My friend owned the car and never had any issues with the car and I checked with the local shop that maintained it and they said it was solid. Gonna continue to have them take care of it there. If cam is bad I guess the whole thing gets stripped down and replaced with all new ****. If it's just the lifter and it didn't jack up the cam I'll replace all lifters on that side at minimum. It kinda sucks to replace lifters with the same lifter if it's the rocker arm that triggered the failure. I would never do a cam without upgrading rockers. It's a must
I would look at everything in the valve train both sides to make sure there is no problems. More info would be helpful but you bought this already modified so who knows what's going on. I would look closely at the valve springs and spring height, make sure they are not binding which will cause a rocker failure. A bent or stuck valve will cause overloading of the valve train. I am not sure what a jacked lifter means but a pic would help. Something is not right, maybe it was a single failure but there maybe others that are starting to fail. Make sure the valve train geometry and timing is correct. Time it out with a degree wheel if in doubt. We always say upon a catastropic failure, you will always take the time to get it right the second time. Take your time and check everything twice. Good luck ...🇺🇸
#13
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Well, The verdict is in. The rocker I already knew was broke, the lifter is jacked and pretty much welded it to the block. Cam and block are shot as well. Looks like I'll be hunting a short block and doing a whole new cam kit and new build....... That hurts the bank. only a week old.
#14
Well, The verdict is in. The rocker I already knew was broke, the lifter is jacked and pretty much welded it to the block. Cam and block are shot as well. Looks like I'll be hunting a short block and doing a whole new cam kit and new build....... That hurts the bank. only a week old.
#15
This is just a guess because there are no pictures of the damage. A steel lifter will not "weld" it's self to a aluminum block. That said, the lifters roller could have failed and a chunk of it jammed in the lifter bore. That would leave a nasty score on the lifter bore but it does not mean the block is junk. If the score does not go high enough in the bore to effect oil pressure it might be salvagable.
#16
Melting Slicks
sorry i do not mean to thread jack but i have a similar problem i bought my 05 coupe with procharger, cam, headers, xpipe, corsa sport exhaust, fully adjustable coil over shocks, an a few other mods. it had 40k miles when i bought it i have sense put 7k an now its has little to no oil pressure. so after searching for a shop that could rebuild it most the shops around here wanted 3k just to pull the motor so with the help of my brother we decided to pull it our selfs .
start
striped down
drop the front end
took it to the car wash an power washed it to look like new
an shes free
now off to the machine shop to find out the damage
start
striped down
drop the front end
took it to the car wash an power washed it to look like new
an shes free
now off to the machine shop to find out the damage
#17
Melting Slicks
also found a busted motor mount when we droped the k frame easy fix with the car apart.
may as well do steel braided brake lines while its out.
may as well do steel braided brake lines while its out.
#18
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Pictures
You really should post pictures of this. I am mostly interested in a shot of the lifter bore. I am almost 60 and in my days have seen many worn cam lobes and bad lifters and even a block (my own) cracked in half in the lifter valley but never a lifter bore that was worn past re-use in something well cared for and under 100K miles. This I have to see.
#19
Pictures???? Damn skippy. If I didn't know better, I'd almost say you are looking for a excuse to build a new motor.
That said, you do know a lifter bore can be sleeved if needed. I would not jump the gun here as you do have options. I would explore those options before I dump a pile-o-money into a new engine................unless of course that's all part of the plan