T/D shaft rocker life span
03-28-2012, 05:26 PM
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T/D shaft rocker life span
Was talking to a friend today that I consider a valve train expert (RMBUILDER) and we were discussing the life cycle of various motor parts used in high performance motors. I am running T/D Aluminum shaft rockers, running 180-190 psi seat and 490 open pressure. RMbuilder is of the opinion after a lengthy conversation with T/D that they consider the life span of the rockers to be about 17,000,000 cycles which is only about 80-100 hours, I currently have 120 hours on my 540 (including dyno time when I put it together last time) and am getting ready to freshen it.
I am looking for input from other engine builders/members as to how long they typically run these rockers before having failure or replacing them as good measure. I obviously don't want to have a valve train failure but on the other hand I don't want to spend 1500$ on another set IF the chance of them failing in the next 100 hours is very slim. I would run them another 100-120 hours IF I re-installed them most likely as I typically never have motor apart in the boat, once it comes off dyno I make sure its sealed up and I run it. These have seen 6200 rpm's if that makes much difference and I run up to 14 psi of boost but like most boats the majority of there life has been at 3500 rpms or so, thanks in advance for your input, Smitty
I am looking for input from other engine builders/members as to how long they typically run these rockers before having failure or replacing them as good measure. I obviously don't want to have a valve train failure but on the other hand I don't want to spend 1500$ on another set IF the chance of them failing in the next 100 hours is very slim. I would run them another 100-120 hours IF I re-installed them most likely as I typically never have motor apart in the boat, once it comes off dyno I make sure its sealed up and I run it. These have seen 6200 rpm's if that makes much difference and I run up to 14 psi of boost but like most boats the majority of there life has been at 3500 rpms or so, thanks in advance for your input, Smitty
03-28-2012, 07:20 PM
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I was just talking to someone about this on Monday. He pulled 2or3 broken T&D aluminum rockers out of his tool box that he had accumulated over the years. He said that he just talked with Bob Teague about this issue. Teague said that he uses the stainless now. He ended up buying a new set of stainless shaft mounts from him for his Dart heads. And the pricing was the lowest he has seen.
Last edited by Rookie; 03-28-2012 at 07:23 PM.
03-28-2012, 07:27 PM
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I was just talking to someone about this on Monday. He pulled 2or3 broken T&D aluminum rockers out of his tool box that he had accumulated over the years. He said that he just talked with Bob Teague about this issue and ended up buying a new set of Stainless shaft mounts from him for his Dart heads. And the pricing was the lowest I have seen.
03-29-2012, 12:04 AM
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I can't comment on the T&D rockers since I typically use Jesel. No particular reason other than I use their belt drives it made it easy to order rockers from them to. With that being said, I have run the Jesel Sportsman Series rockers for well over 300 hours without issue. I just freshened up a pr of my 1350's in that 399 Skater Vee. They have a total of about 230 hours on them. SPring pressure is 175 on the seat and 550 open. We turn it to 6500 rpm occasionally. They have had a pretty rough life as I have run it at the Shootout the last 2 years, plus the owner is pretty hard on it.
I have another set that have well over 300 hours. It's a pair of 598 with 3.3 Whipple. Springs are 165 on the seat and 430 open. They spin about 5700 rpm. I just freshened them up and all the rockers checked out fine. I put them all back on for another 300 hours hopefully.
I can't imagine that there is that much difference between Jesel and T&D. I would think you should be fine. Might be worth having a look at them though. Give them all a spin to be sure the trunion and tip roll smoothly.
Eddie
I have another set that have well over 300 hours. It's a pair of 598 with 3.3 Whipple. Springs are 165 on the seat and 430 open. They spin about 5700 rpm. I just freshened them up and all the rockers checked out fine. I put them all back on for another 300 hours hopefully.
I can't imagine that there is that much difference between Jesel and T&D. I would think you should be fine. Might be worth having a look at them though. Give them all a spin to be sure the trunion and tip roll smoothly.
Eddie
Last edited by Young Performance; 03-29-2012 at 12:06 AM.
03-29-2012, 03:51 PM
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Smitty, Send them to T&D and have them inspected. I had one break last year at the end of the season so I sent both sets back and had them checked. They found one more that was out of spec (junk) and replaced a few bearings. Not much time on these so not sure why two of them were bad so we will see what happens this year with the rest of them. T&D assured me that I would have no problems but we will see what happens. Good luck, Rob
03-29-2012, 09:19 PM
#8
Are the "steel" shaft mount rocker arms from T&D actually "stainless steel"???
If the T&D aluminum roller rocker arms are only good to roughly 17,000,000 cycles, then how many cycles are the steel or stainless steel ones good for?
I think I have either heard or read that these steel (or stainless steel) rocker arms from T&D are actually lighter than their best/lightest aluminum rocker...???
Actually, I am interested in purchasing T&D's shaft mount system with their integrated spring oiling system---perhaps it might be getter to purchase their steel/stainless steel shaft mount rockers vs their aluminum ones---yeah?
Can anyone please shed more light on this. Thanx in advance
If the T&D aluminum roller rocker arms are only good to roughly 17,000,000 cycles, then how many cycles are the steel or stainless steel ones good for?
I think I have either heard or read that these steel (or stainless steel) rocker arms from T&D are actually lighter than their best/lightest aluminum rocker...???
Actually, I am interested in purchasing T&D's shaft mount system with their integrated spring oiling system---perhaps it might be getter to purchase their steel/stainless steel shaft mount rockers vs their aluminum ones---yeah?
Can anyone please shed more light on this. Thanx in advance
03-30-2012, 05:36 AM
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Kaama,
I went with the aluminum ones because I'm not running real high lift or high rpm and was looking for ways to trim the budget. I cant remember how much more the stainless was than the aluminum but it wasnt double or anything that bad. Rmbuider said that the stainless other than being stronger also stabilized the pushrod motion or something to that effect. The spring oiler option is a great value at several dollars per lifter. I just figured in my engines that I wouldnt need them. Rm is definitely a fan of them.
I went with the aluminum ones because I'm not running real high lift or high rpm and was looking for ways to trim the budget. I cant remember how much more the stainless was than the aluminum but it wasnt double or anything that bad. Rmbuider said that the stainless other than being stronger also stabilized the pushrod motion or something to that effect. The spring oiler option is a great value at several dollars per lifter. I just figured in my engines that I wouldnt need them. Rm is definitely a fan of them.
