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Engine pushrod length


Iain T

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Adjusting my valve clearances today and noticed the rocker arm movement goes from the same height as the centre of the rocker shaft when closed to obviously lower when open. I have had the head skimmed around 1mm and had fitted a completely new rocker assembly. I had to fit shims under the pedestals to enable flitting possibly caused by the slightly higher lift cam with perhaps a larger effective diameter. It also causes the adjuster screws to touch the rocker cover 😡. The valve lift is as near as damn it 10mm. The pushrods measured inaccurately with a piece of welding wire are 8 inches or 203mm long. It seems the best way to solve the incorrect rocker arc and rocker tapping is to fit shorter pushrods and possibly remove the shims?

Iain

Edited by Iain T
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Thinking of how shorter the pushrods need to be if the rocker ratio is 1:1.5 and I need to lower by 6mm (5mm for half the valve stroke and 1mm shim) if the pushrod is shortened by 4mm it would be around about right. I could easily shorten another 3mm as the adjuster has a lot of travel.

Iain

 

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Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, JohnD said:

See the Revington's Information Sheet:

John, I've read that and I do indeed need shorter pushrods.

I'll speak to Revingtons tomorrow.

Edited by Iain T
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Ideally to get the correct geometry I need to lower the pedestal by about 5mm by taking the shim out and machining 4mm off the pedestals. That seems a bit extreme and I don't know what that would do to the rocker to valve stem top  contact swipe. More thinking and geometry calcs are required.

Iain

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Posted (edited)
17 minutes ago, JohnD said:

Lower the rocker shaft by 9mm? 

No 5mm, 4mm machined off the pedestal and removed the 1mm shim. I'm going to check it properly tomorrow as today I've been refitting the bonnet hinges links and adjusting. A combination of valve stem length, cam, followers and 1mm head skim has resulted in the odd arm geometry.

Edited by Iain T
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I can't find a custom pushrod supplier in the UK so I've emailed by Manton and Trend in the USA, a country where they actually make parts and love the combustion engine!

Iain

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Posted (edited)

John, I spoke to Mr Revington and he said he didn't offer a custom length supply. Perhaps it's too much hassle? When did they supply your push rods?

Iain

Edited by Iain T
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We did have a long conversation about various sizes and I mentioned I really need around 195mm but he never offered the RTR1194. However at £40 each that's two to three times the price of custom made in the USA which I bet is where Revingtons buy from!

I'll let you know if I get a response from over the pond.

Iain

 

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15 hours ago, JohnD said:

Beg to differ!  Neil was away at the time, and I negotiated with Karl, who made them in a very short time.

Just spoken to Neil and he said he can no longer supply the cut to size and doesn't know where to buy them from. You must have bought the last of his stock.

The hunt goes on!

Iain

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Thank you, Iain!    Neil is busy 'rationalising' his business in anticipation of retirement, so maybe that is a part of the service he has cut out.    Can't be that many customers, so, lucky me!

John

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Posted (edited)

A result Racetorations can get them and at a reasonable price. I haven't had email responses from the three US manufacturers, Manton, Trend and BFE

Edited by Iain T
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22 hours ago, JohnD said:

Karl, who made them in a very short time.

John what length rods do you have? I have calculated I need 8mm shorter rods ie 195mm. I measured the heights of the shaft centre and valve stem and they are within 1mm so with 10mm of valve stroke I do infact need to lower the pedestals by 5mm

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More research and I'm leaning towards getting a narrow but centred rocker tip to valve stem swipe as more important than getting the shaft centre at the valve mid lift. It really all depends on the rocker design. There is no point getting the geometry 'correct' if the tip swipe is off centre or not swiping symmetrically about the centre as the valve moved up and down as this promotes valve guide wear.

I'm going to do another swipe test.

Iain

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Update, I did a swipe test and it's in the valve stem centre so on Monday I'm going to cut 2-3mm off the top of the adjuster screws and cut another slot for the screwdriver. Hopefully no more rocker cover tapping!

Iain

Edited by Iain T
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A result! 

I took 3mm off the length of the screw adjuster and recut the screwdriver slot. Out for a test drive tonight and zips up to 5000rpm without the accompanying rocker cover tambourine rattle😁

While the rockers where off I also backed off and retorqued each head nut.

It's much quieter!

Iain

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