I'm working on a 55 331 Hemi. I'm having trouble getting the rocker arm assy apart. I've used a lot of pentrating oil and it is fighting me all the way. I removed the cotter pins from one end. On the other end there seems to be some pins that have to be removed. I'm not sure on that one. From what I can see the shafts aren't in bad shape. Hot Heads sells rebuilt rocker arm assy complete. I hope I can use my stuff. Thanks.
And what's your issue? If you pulled the pins out,the tower should slide right off both shafts,and all the rest... For the rears-tapered pins. Drive them out from the bottom with a drift. Catorigize everything as assembled,repeat on assembly.Any more Q's-feel free.
I just got everything off the one set of shafts except the tower with the pins. I'm glad to know they are tappered. Thanks for the info.
Be sure to pull the plugs from inside the shaft ends and clean the shafts thoroughly. Check inside the rocker pivots for scoring. Clean all the passages in the arms. I do rocker rebuilds, including trueing the rocker tips, offer chrome shafts, and have hundreds of individual arms and stands if you need any.
i know this is an old thread but I am having the same issue, have removed the pins but cannot get the end stands off. Im not sure how much force it takes to get them off. From what everyone says it sounds like they should just slide off the shafts. I have soaked and cleaned all the grease off and even given them a few taps with a soft hammer but I don't want to go wailing on it with a bfh and tear something up.
First...disassemble one side at a time so you have an example of how to put it back together. All of the pieces are a 'slip' fit, as in hand assembly, so a bfh should not be needed unless there is corrosion. If you have access to a hot tank then give them a good soaking to remove the varnish and crud and the hot bath should loosen things up. Use that brass hammer carefully. A propane torch (not Mapp) works as well and will not change the temper if used cautiously. As mentioned, pull the end plugs as first order of business. New plugs are Dorman # 555-011. You can spin a small drill in your fingers to open the various oil feed holes. Check the shafts for wear; run your finger nail along the bottom where the rocker sits. If there is any damage your nail will feel it. If the shaft is worn then the rocker is worn. .
I am trying to remove the cotter pin side stand first (not the tapered pin stand). Every machine shop here in Austin wanted several hundred to hot tank a bare block, heads and shafts, which is crazy. So I removed the plugs from the shafts soaked them in a tub of degreaser and they cleaned up nice on the outside. Once all the crap was off the outside I then tried to remove the stands. I let them soak over night so maybe I can get them off now, if not I will try the propane Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When I reconditioned mine (1972?) the rocker shafts were packed with white silica sand! I have no clue how it got inside them but there was no extraordinary wear on the shafts that would indicate the sand was doing nasty things, the oil pump looked fine, bearings showed normal wear. Really strange.
That is strange. I worked in the service department of a dealership while I was in college and that was when Obama decided to do the cash for clunkers scam. All the cars that came in we would drain the oil and fill with Sodium Silicate then start them up and rev the sh*t out of them until the motor locked up but I always wanted open a motor up and see what it actually did to the motor. On a side note I did get the end stand off of one shaft. All the rockers are loose and move freely but all the stands seem to be on there pretty good. It took about 15 min of gentle tapping with rubber type hammer just to get one stand off.
I tapped the stands & rockers off then hot tanked polished the shafts . Check the inside of the rockers oiled & all slid together nicely.
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