Maybe those that have overhauled alot of slants have experience of what worn rocker arm sleeve / worn rocker shaft will do to a slant 6. What kind of noise and when, effect to idle quality, etc.
Lets assume that the oil pressure is good at the time.
And what is the average life span of the arm / shaft ?
Thank you.

SL6 rocker arms do not typically "wear-out" in the shaft interface area.
Common problems are:
Clogged oil passage(s) to the tip.
Worn tip contact "pad" surface.
Loose adjuster screw threads.
Broken spot weld(s) holding the inner sleeve to the arm's body.
I have seen some galled shafts / rocker arm sleeve ID(s) but that is not that common of a problem. (usually caused by no oil getting to the shaft)

Most of the time, any of these problems will result in noisy operation and / or difficulty holding the lash adjustment over time.
DD

Thank you your answer and helpfull information.
I was having lots of trouble getting one valve quiet, and finally tried the adjustment method with the engine running. The results were much better that way.
Then with the engine off I tried to "twist" the rockers on the shaft and found a few that were much more clearance that the others.
Since the valve adjustment the new sympton is the same valve clack noise for about one or two seconds on a hot engine restart. My guess is when oil pressure reaches the rocker, then the excess clearance is reduced.
I noticed that some rockers have a spot weld on the sleeve to arm. and the others just have a tab that sticks up to keep it in the rocker. Maybe the sleeve will rotate in the rocker if it is not spot welded?
So I have new rockers and shaft and will make up a new assembly to put on the slant. I think it will help alot with the valve rocker clearance noises when it is cold and at normal temps. Thanks again !

Hi SCOTT EVIL, do you use an oil filter with internal standpipe so that the filter is full of oil at startup? The theme has been extensively debated in the forum, take a look at this and this link to see what I am referring to, if you are not familiar with the subject. You can make a search for '1806' to get a lot of info.

Sorry, forgot: Welcome to the forum! Most red text are clickable links, enjoy!

Olaf.

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Aspenized

Just noticed your username. "An evil petting zoo?" "Evil medical school??"

It is very unusual for these rockers to ever wear out. Doc covered the main points. I don't have an oil standpipe in any of my motors, and mainly focus on changing the oil fairly often (2000-5000 miles).

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I really liked the Austin Powers movies and liked his son, Scott Evil and his misfortunes. So I use it as my signature often. I am not really evil myself. Really !

I do remember the oil pump does have the tall stand pipe on it, but after reading the links, I will look into getting a new pipe, and give the NAPA filter a try. I am guilty of thinking that the Fram PH8A was great quality.

I thought it was odd that the rockers were loose ( just a few ) and will set up a new rocker shaft with all the rocker arms having a more consistent fit. The engine only has 80 thousand easy miles on it.

Thank you all for the feedback, I was worried that my Evil name was scaring everyone away.