Rocker arm shaft

Dan_93SER · 10-29-2006, 09:35 PM

I'm changing the valve springs and retainers and it looks like the rocker arms will need to be removed first. Is it as easy as unbolting the assembly containing the cam activation solenoids and sliding out the rocker arm pivot bar out the driver's side of the engine?

Anyone have any tips?

punkoutnz · 10-29-2006, 09:54 PM

I'm pretty sure from memory that those rocker arms will fold riiiight back giving you just enough room to remove the valve springs with the head on. In order to remove those arms the head would need to come off or the engine dropped.
Your best bet is to remove the cams and just fold those rockers right back, just make sure that when you put them back in place that the guides line up and the rockers can't move from side to side.

Dan_93SER · 10-29-2006, 10:34 PM

Hmmm...I did try flipping them back, but I met resistance so I didn't force them. They do rotate up out of the way a little, but not enough to get a spring compressor onto them.

Why do you say the head would need to be removed to get the shaft out? As far as I can tell, they go into the head from back to front (driver's side to passenger side), so what would having the head on the block have to do with it?

punkoutnz · 10-29-2006, 11:26 PM

I was reffering to the amount of room available to remove the rod which you would need to remove in order to remove the rockers. They're about the same length as the engine so are quite long (a little over a foot from memory). Of course I'm talking about the amount of room in my P10, depending on what car you have you may have enough room. I replaced my valve springs with the head out of the car so this stuff wasn't really an issue for me (did all that after that damned screw was sucked under my intake valve). I'm afraid that's as much use as I can see myself being, someone who has replaced their valve springs in the car without moving those rods could give you a little more input.

SR20Turbofreak · 10-30-2006, 01:39 AM

Dan, this is how to remove the rocker shafts.

( with the cams removed)
-Remove the VVL solenoids.
-Remove the 10mm allen plug just below the dist mount.
-Remove both 5mm bolts by the timing chain end of the head. these hold in the shafts.

Now is the fun part. use something to grab onto the inner edge of the rocker shafts on the drivers side. I usually use the shaft bolts that lock the shafts into place, put the bolt into the end and tilt it till it grabs it and pull the shaft out slowly. the rockers will drop down a little but wil be ok.

Make sure to mark the rockers and shafts of how they all go into the head. they should go back the same way they came out. and watch the rocker shafts. they should only go in one way.

Dan_93SER · 10-30-2006, 04:58 PM

Perfect! Thanks!

Luckily, I'm just replacing the stuff on the intake side of cylinder #1, so I won't need to pull the shaft out very far.