Hello,
Should I replace the rocker arms during rebuild?
The engine had 285,000 on it. There is a visible wear pattern on the bottom of the arms where they ride on the shaft. I can feel some "wiggle" side to side. The shaft showed little wear.
I wonder if the $100 or so I spend would be of any benefit.

225 CDI, .040 over.
.100 off head with some bowl work and minor port & gasket area work.
Comp cams 252. Double roller set.
High quality rebuild. With balance.

I did search the site, but remained unclear if this is needed.
Thanks for your help.

_________________
Ross Rither
1964 Dart, 170
225, super six.

A tiny bit of sideplay is normal. The critical areas to check are

• The coined end where the rocker arm contacts the valve stem—check for a wear divot
• The fit of the lash adjustor in the arm—these tend to loosen up over the years, which prevents a lasting valve adjustment. If they're not too loose, you can add tension to this screw thread by lightly munging the adjustor's threads.

Thanks Dan.
There is no divot on the valve end, nice and polished. I am going to run them.

_________________
Ross Rither
1964 Dart, 170
225, super six.

Also make sure to get everything in the top end good and clean. Dig the endplugs out of the rocker shaft, string all the spacers and rocker arms (minus adjustors) on a steel wire, and have the whole shemozzle hot tanked.

Make sure that the oil holes in the rocker arms are not stopped up. Don't install them backwards like I did either.

_________________
82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Thanks all.
I did have the shaft and arms hot tanked as suggested. Got them back today. Taking care to assemble properly, the manual is a big help.
Should have it in next weekend, and running the following weekend. I will try my hand at posting pictures in the gallery when installed.
Ross.

_________________
Ross Rither
1964 Dart, 170
225, super six.