Oil from rocker shaft

[ian.mcdougall]

Hi all
Have been doing some work to recently aquired Traveller and noticed when engine running with rocker cover off, there is not much evidence of oil from and around rockers. When engine is switched off oil dribbles from rear rockers but not enough to even coat inside of cover. has anyone got a quick cure for this problem
Ian

[bmcecosse]

Well - there should be a good flow all over the rockers - so the first question is - what is the engine oil pressure? Without the cover on - it should be splashing about making quite a mess! If you think the oil pressure is generally ok (a gauge would be best!) - then you can strip off the rockers and the rocker shaft WITHOUT disturbing the rocker pillars - and therefore not disturbing the cylinder head nuts. This will let you assess the conditiuon of shaft and rockers - and with the spark plugs out - you can spin the engine over on the starter and see how much oil comes up through the pillar - to feed the rockers.

[mike.perry]

Check that the oil feed from the cylinder head is lined up with the hole in no. 1 pillar, the one with the locking screw on, and this is correctly lined up with the hole in the rocker shaft and that the oilways are clear.

[Tweedy]

What do you do if the holes are not lined up

[bmcecosse]

Strip the rockers and pillars off to find out why not! But it's very unlikely - since you are getting some oil - they MUST be lined up. However - the shaft is hollow and acts as a feeder to all the rockers - so you should strip it out and clean it. If badly worn - get a new one ! The rockers too have feed holes to collect the oil from the shaft - again these may be clogged with years of gunge.
Only the very early rockers had the grub screw on the first pillar - it was changed to the second pillar a long long time ago! All my stock of rockers are 'second pillar'. New shafts will have the locking hole set for use with second pillar grub screw.

[Tweedy]

Thanks Roy