454: #1 intake rocker not oiling properly. What to check?

kookykrispy

New Member
I am working on a mark IV 454 in a 71 Chevelle. It has a retrofit roller cam & lifters. We recently replaced the cam & lifters because of a failure on the #1 lifter that also damaged the cam. After putting everything back together, I discovered that the rocker at the #1 intake is not getting much oil. It is getting some, but very little flow, and is clicking from lack of oil. All other rockers are oiling well.

What can I check? What do you recommend I do?

I hope I can remedy this without pulling the engine back out of the car.
 
WELCOME to the web site!
Id suggest pulling that, suspected, #1 rocker and push rod, and removing the push rod and blowing pressurized carb cleaner through the push rod to remove sludge that may be inside it, then soak it in gas and swish it repeatedly, then blow it out with high pressure air ,to be sure its clean internally, coat both ends of the push rod in moly assembly grease mixed 50%/50% with marvel mystery oil to be sure the contact points are lubed and won't start dry, its mandatory they get greased before they are installed to prevent galling, and its clean inside and verify the oil hole in the rockers oil feed hole is clear, of debris and lines up with the push rod at some point during the cams rotation , once your 100% sure its clean internally & clearly free of debris,crud, etc. swap it (both #1 rocker and push rod) with the #3 rocker and push rod to see if the issue STAYS at the #1 location or moves to the #3 location, once thats tested let me know the results, obviously if it moves to the #3 location the push rod or rocker or valve train geometry is at fault and you can test to determine the source.
while you might have a defective or clogged lifter the chances are a bit better its a clogged push rod or rocker oil feed hole alignment issue

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http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/adjusting-valves.196/

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Hey Grump!

thanks for the suggestions. I guess it just had some crud stuck in the pushrod. I took it out and blew the pushrod & the rocker feed hole out with brake parts cleaner and put it back together, but swapped the pushrod to the #3 location. Now all rockers are oiling normally, so it seems there was just some kind of blockage in there, but now its gone. Thanks again!

Joe
 
glad to help!
when you run into anything else of interest please post
 
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