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Rocker Shaft : RSR seals ?


declang

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After getting my engine running, and seeing the oil leaks... I recall chasing oil leaks and could never get the lower cam covers dry, no matter what I did.

Lots of reading has made me realise I never "checked" or "re-torqued" the rocker shafts.  I spotted it reading through some old threads on that big-mouthed-bird forum. I was in there so many times trying to fix oil leaks but didn't realise that if the rocker shafts are not actually sealing, then the oil will leak out.

Yes, sounds simple, but its one of those "Porsche things".

I have a full set of the RSR seals, (bought years ago to seal everything), but I also read, somewhere, the RSR had the seals because for the racing engines they didn't have adjustable rockers like a normal engine, and needed to have a quick rocker size change, so they used (smaller sized?) rocker shafts but also used the "RSR seals" to prevent oil leaks.  It seems the DIY 911 gang took this to mean we should all use the RSR rocker shaft seals since they used them in racing so they must be better.

From my (limited) knowledge, I should tighten/torque the rocker shafts as they will seal themselves, unless there is something wrong.

I have never touched them yet, but it would explain my chasing oil leaks !

Anyone got any advice ?

 

 

 

 

 

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When I rebuilt mine I wanted to minimise any oil leaks (there were signs of minor previous leaks) so I considered RSR seals. However, after reading a post here I used two sizes of easily available rubber O rings. I cannot remember who posted the thread, but they had gone to the trouble of identifying the exact sizes required. Better still, as they bought in bulk, they were kind enough to send me a full set. I wish I could remember who it was as I'd like to again thank them for their research and kindness. Perhaps search for the same thread?

Chris.

P.S. No trace of an oil leak now, so they do work. 👍

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Try remembering harder Chris 🙂 - my rockers will be going back on soon (well, within the next millennium)

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Peter, my remembering is getting less and less good! It was a thread here though, try searching..... I have and didn't find it, but it was quite a few years ago now I suspect! I do remember though it was somebody clever like Max Diesel or PorscheApostle..... More clever than me anyway! 

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Yes but..... I don't know how much the Autofarm versions are but Nick F's version comes with through bolts etc and is hundreds of pounds. O rings are pennies and do the job perfectly.

 

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On 06/11/2020 at 22:54, declang said:

From my (limited) knowledge, I should tighten/torque the rocker shafts as they will seal themselves, unless there is something wrong.

 

 

 

Yes that should be the case, but assumes that the bore the shaft sits in is in perfect condition with no scoring, not often the case if the engine has been apart a few times before...

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I have a couple of oil drips from the lower cam covers that I could never get rid of totally, but I've always blamed the gaskets and me not having the knack of tightening the covers correctly. I never checked or tightened the those rocker arm bolts, so maybe that is the source.

I have the RSR seals but it looks like a very fiddly/awkward job with the engine in the car.

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My 10p. Follow MaxDiesel's advice rather than pee money up the wall on fancy o ring "kits". Overtightening the shafts will make the problem worse as the shaft expands when tightened and this in turn ruin's the bore in the cam carrier so be careful. 

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  • 2 months later...

Had a look at my rocker shafts (while showing my son how adjust the valves) and there are a couple of inlet rocker arms which don't seem to be in the right place. One end is slightly protruding past the edge of the housing. About 2 or 3mm I guess.

On #2 I fully loosened the 5mm end of the through-bolt and its fully loose.. the 8mm end will turn now if I dont hold it. The shaft will not move either direction. Its tight as a tight thing. I tried levering it a little using a socket against the protruding end of the shaft, but am hesitant to push too hard on it.  I thought they would move easily enough once the bolt was loosened ?

Any tips on how to get it moving ?  

Do I need to fully remove the bolt from the centre ? I didn't remove the bolt in case something would fall out and go somewhere it shouldn't.  Bolt is loose, so isn't "swelling" the ends of the arm 

There doesn't seem to be any oil wetness in the "dry" areas, so maybe best to leave well enough alone until the engine is out sometime in the future ?

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The shafts can stick - when you tighten the bolts it squeezes the outside of the shaft against the bore.  Just tap harder (within reason)

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