On Wed, 24 Jun 1998 09:29:32 +0200
"Chris Leah" <crl@intekom.co.za>
Wrote: Re: re Rocker Arm Feed Kit
Trevor,
I checked with Evan Powell who gave me the original advice and he says the
banjo bolt is a standard item usually available from people who deal in
hydraulic components. He also says that the diameter does vary as there are
different types available. I haven't looked for them as I modified the one I
had.
It would appear that Moss et al are not particularly worried about the
volume of oil going to the rockers, but on reflection it makes sense to me
to keep the flow down. After all, the idea is to ensure that oil reaches the
rockers as soon as you start your engine then the normal oil flow should
come into operation.
Evan's main concern, as I posted in my original mail, was the possible
diversion of too much oil from the main bearings , etc via the original oil
passages.
Best regards
Chris Leah
Durban, South Africa
1966 Spitfire Mk2
1960 Herald
- -----Original Message-----
From: Trevor Jordan <tjordan@pa.ausom.net.au>
To: Chris Leah <crl@intekom.co.za>; Triumphs List <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Date: 24 June 1998 01:13
Subject: Re: re Rocker Arm Feed Kit
>Chris
>
>I fitted an oil line to my TR6 at the beginning of the year. The first
>banjo bolt broke when I tightened it and Moss sent a replacement. The
>first bolt was bored about 3.18 mm while the replacement was bored 1.98 mm
>(sorry about the measurements but I used imperial drill bits to establish
>the size of the holes).
>
>This does not sound like much, but the cross sectional area of the hole
>varies by a factor of 2.6. While this might explain why the first bolt
>snapped (it could not have been my clumsiness), it might also explain the
>comments about the amount of oil that flows to the head and runs down the
>valve guides, etc.
>
>There has obviously been a significant change in the design of this part
>(or the manufacturing tolerances/quality control are woeful), so it might
>be worth checking this part with the various suppliers. In my case, both
>came from Moss US, but the original line came from their New Jersey branch
>and the replacement bolt from their Goleta branch.
>
>Can these banjo bolts be purchased from independent sources (such as brake
>line suppliers) with a range of bore sizes? This would enable the oil flow
>to be optimized.
>
>Trevor Jordan
>74 TR6 CF29281U
Guy's:- we might as well make this a quad-continent emailing !
if you hadn't noticed.
Anyhow, I once fitted one of those oil feed kits to my Herlad with 1200
engine, and at that time, I fitted a 'reducer' supplied by a Triumph-Club
member engineer pal of mine, for the very reasons that you have mentioned, ie:
to prevent a reduction of oil supply to the bearings, and to stop the
rocker/tappet cover becoming flooded with oil. (Sorry, bu they've all long
since gone and he isn't into cars any longer), but when I fitted the oil feed
kit, without any problems, the oil pressure showing on my gauge immediately
dropped by 10 psi...naturally I found this quite disturbing, and immediately
removed the kit, But it made no difference, the oil pressure did not
apparently return to it's previous level...so I put it back on again and left
it there until the engine had to come out for some other reason.
I don't know if it helped preserve the rocker shaft or not, as I didn't strip
down the shaft to check for wear and have since sold the shaft and Standard 8
'drop-forged' rocker arms to someone else. (No, you cannot get those any
longer either!)
On my Vitesse, I had a different problem with the rocker arm feed kit, and
that was fitted from a complete, and I mean complete, engine rebuild., no
problem with oil pressure this time, but It fed far too much oil to the top of
the engine, even with a restrictor in place, so much so in fact, that the
rocker arms could be seen sloshing around in the oil, which rose half way up
the inside of the cover!
Some of this oil made it's way past the new phosphor bronze valve guides and
new valves, and was burnt off by the engine, exiting the exhaust pipes, to
maximum annoyance and embarrasment.
I removed the Rocker Arm Feed kit and have had no more problems of that
nature.
The way I look at it now, is that I only drive my Vitesse in the Summer Sun
and therefore am lucky to cover more than 3000 miles/year, my rocker shaft id
tuftrid hardened and my rocker arms have oilite phosphor-bronze bushes in
them, so I feel I shouldn't have too many problems with rocker shaft wear on
that car!
A friend also had similar problems with his rocker feed kit on his Vitesse
1600, so if anyone wants to purchase a rocker feed kit from me, I have no less
than three of them hanging on the garage wall at present...
Oh yes Chris,I think you can believe what Evan has told you, I met him in
1994, and he certainly knows his Triumphs! (say hi to him for me, won't you)
Best Wishes
Leon F Guyot
67 Herald 1200 Cv (no rocker arm feed kit)
63 Vitesse 2 Litre Cv (no rocker arm feed kit)
ps.Rocker Shafts are cheaper than Crankshaft Regrinds!
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