just coming back to this one.. I did as Kev said - machined up brass plugs and pressed them in
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rocker-plug-new-vs-old.jpg
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new-plug-installed.jpg
here's the old plug, I don't see how anyone could ever think it was a good idea to press a splined plug like this into a hardened shaft and expect it to seal. It's obviously very soft metal as well, the two marks on the thinner part were done by me with a stanley knife blade
Attachment:
rocker-plug-old1.jpg
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rocker-plug-old2.jpg
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rocker-plug-old3.jpg
For reference, it's a thick walled rocker shaft on a set of minispares 1.5:1 roller rockers. They're unused, but I don't know how old they are - I bought them at a clearing sale from a workshop that closed down in Melb.
I spoke to Lindsday today and he said "no-one ever checks that" - I probably do a few weird things that no-one else does. In this case, before I start a new engine, I use a pressurised tank to put oil through the engine through the oil pressure gauge outlet hole. It basically means I have oil pressure in the engine before even fitting a starter motor, I keep putting oil into it until it comes out through the rockers - it's just a little ritual I have. This time around, oil came out the end of the shaft before it came out through the rocker bearings. Not sure why, but I didn't think much of it, until I took the rocker cover off while the engine was running (to put my stethoscope against each of the rocker posts; one was making too much noise - it was #4 exhaust). Anyway - as I said in my first post, a lot (shitloads) of oil was coming out of the ends of the shaft - I didn't take a picture because it was pumping so much out, and obviously keeping it running was making a huge mess!
If you want to see if you have the same issue, but you're scared of running your engine without the rocker cover on, don't be - ordinarily it doesn't make much of a mess so long as you just let it idle, revving is messy - and it looks really cool if point a timing light at the rockers and valves while they're doing their thing
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did I tell you that I won a
trophy?