I broke it again !!
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Atlanta
I broke it again !!
Jeeezz!!! Now what ?
I was hot-doggin' it the other day and immediatly afterwards I got that 'ratter-tatter-clinkity-clatter' noise under the valvecover area. That dreaded sound of busted up valvetrain components. I pulled into a Chevy dealer where several tech's confered with this audible theory.
Since I cant pay the big dollars for the dealer or a shop to repair it, and in the spirit of C4 ownership, I will be attempting this repair myself. I wont be able to tell completely what is broke until I dig in there further, but I started the process last night. I had to stop when I realized I didn't have a torx head large enough for the valvecover bolts. But I will pick one up tonight.
Assuming thats its one or two rocker arms, springs, or a pushrod, how hard will this job be ? And, will it be possible to replace one or all of these items without removing the head ?
:(
I was hot-doggin' it the other day and immediatly afterwards I got that 'ratter-tatter-clinkity-clatter' noise under the valvecover area. That dreaded sound of busted up valvetrain components. I pulled into a Chevy dealer where several tech's confered with this audible theory.
Since I cant pay the big dollars for the dealer or a shop to repair it, and in the spirit of C4 ownership, I will be attempting this repair myself. I wont be able to tell completely what is broke until I dig in there further, but I started the process last night. I had to stop when I realized I didn't have a torx head large enough for the valvecover bolts. But I will pick one up tonight.
Assuming thats its one or two rocker arms, springs, or a pushrod, how hard will this job be ? And, will it be possible to replace one or all of these items without removing the head ?
:(
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Joined: May 2001
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Re: I broke it again !! (BlackBeast2)
You can replace the rockers, springs, & pushrods without removing the heads. It could be a simple as a loose rocker, but you won't know until you tear into it.
I see you have crane rockers on there. It's not uncommon for a set of roller rockers to loosen up over time. A simple re-adjustment may be all you need.
[Modified by Nathan Plemons, 9:39 AM 9/29/2003]
I see you have crane rockers on there. It's not uncommon for a set of roller rockers to loosen up over time. A simple re-adjustment may be all you need.
[Modified by Nathan Plemons, 9:39 AM 9/29/2003]
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From: Atlanta
Re: I broke it again !! (BlackBeast2)
Well I got the valve cover off last night, after paying too much for an xl size torx bit socket set. BTW, the torx bolt on these is a size 50.
It was a PITA getting the valve cover off due to the alternator being very much in the way. Had to loosen a couple of its mounts and pry it out of the way. So, it looks like what happened is that under high rpm, a pushrod came free of the rocker and beat it up a little, made a lot of noise , and caused the car to run poorly since the valve was not opening properly. This was caused by a the retaining bolt becoming loose from the rocker stud. As you can see from my sig, I am running Crane Gold 1.6 RR's. These are great, and have played a key roll in my additional rwhp. However I will probably now be removing them, offering them for sale, and trying a different set up.
Luckily, all my springs and retainers seem to be in great shape. They appear to be heavy duty models that were probably upgraded when the previous owner had the RR's installed. I'll keep you posted on the continuation of this repair.
It was a PITA getting the valve cover off due to the alternator being very much in the way. Had to loosen a couple of its mounts and pry it out of the way. So, it looks like what happened is that under high rpm, a pushrod came free of the rocker and beat it up a little, made a lot of noise , and caused the car to run poorly since the valve was not opening properly. This was caused by a the retaining bolt becoming loose from the rocker stud. As you can see from my sig, I am running Crane Gold 1.6 RR's. These are great, and have played a key roll in my additional rwhp. However I will probably now be removing them, offering them for sale, and trying a different set up.
Luckily, all my springs and retainers seem to be in great shape. They appear to be heavy duty models that were probably upgraded when the previous owner had the RR's installed. I'll keep you posted on the continuation of this repair.
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Re: I broke it again !! (Nathan Plemons)
Hmm, well if the price is right I know a person who might be interested. Just let us know.
What I may end up doing is moving to a more pricey, heavy duty set-up from TPIS.
The one RR mentioned above, will need to have the slight scarring smoothed out with a file or Dremel tool for optimum performance. All the other rockers appear to be in excellent condition. They look new. I will probably ask for half the retail price for the set.
I may also offer the pushrods, rocker studs, and valvecovers as well.
