Need a rocker arm shaft

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boisesr5
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My tercel:: 1984

Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by boisesr5 »

I need a rocker arm shaft for a 3A engine. Anybody have one?
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by Petros »

I might, I will look and see. I had some misc engine parts including a bunch of rockers, supports. there was one that was all worn out, deep grooves where the rockers are located, so I may not have a good one. But I will look and double check.

where are you located?
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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irowiki
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Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by irowiki »

Rocker arm is what the cylinder head has to run the valves right? I have an old head that has the rocker arms that might work might not it's been stored outside a while so you have to clean it up.
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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Petros
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Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by Petros »

Irowiki,

you need to pull several of the rocker arms off the shaft to see if it is any good. running with dirty, gritty oil wears the shaft out and you can not see the condition of the shaft unless you pull it apart. it is easy to pull apart once you have the rocker arm shaft assembly off the head, slip the bolts out and slide off the supports and some of the rockers, wipe the shaft off clean and inspect it for wear.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
boisesr5
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Posts: 27
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 9:33 pm
My tercel:: 1984

Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by boisesr5 »

Petros, I am in Boise Idaho. I also need the second support.

Iowiki, thanks I'd take the whole set including supports.

My bigger problem is that I have to figure out why mine broke in half.
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Petros
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Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by Petros »

boisesr5 wrote: Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:57 am My bigger problem is that I have to figure out why mine broke in half.
???? can not imagine what would cause that. where did it break, and how did you learn about it?

is the head warped? if it was badly overheated and you had the head resurfaced, both the top and bottom of the head has to be resurfaced, and the cam bore redone. thou it seems the cam would give you trouble before the rocker shaft. Was the rocker shaft ever removed? perhaps it is installed improperly.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
boisesr5
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Posts: 27
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 9:33 pm
My tercel:: 1984

Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by boisesr5 »

It broke at the second support. The head isn't warped as far as I know. I had a decent shop do a valve job and check the general condition of the head. All good. Could this happen if rocker arm clearances were too low?

I learned about the break on my maiden voyage after replacing the head gasket. About a mile in the drive it started severely hesitating, then eventually stopped. When trying to restart it would crank away then there would be a momentary catch that definitely sounded physical. Metal on metal. I thought it was a piston. I pulled plugs and was able to get it started with just 3 and 4 connected. Drove home at about 10 mph. I then took off the valve cover and saw the damage.
Last edited by boisesr5 on Wed Jun 14, 2017 1:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
boisesr5
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My tercel:: 1984

Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by boisesr5 »

I don't know if the shaft was ever removed. Improper installation could very well be my fault. I followed the manual instructions, but I'm an amateur.
This is a new to me car. My son bought it sight unseen, I inherited it after he months of starting problems in the cold Bozeman winter.

After the failure I found the two bolts that hold down the first support out and sitting in a pool of oil in the head. So, it could be that I didn't torque them properly and they simply came loose. The lack of that support could then cause the shaft to break at the second support.

With the bolts in the pool of oil there was a part that looks like a .22 bullet. I have no idea what that came from, nor can I find it in the manual.
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Petros
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Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by Petros »

Sorry to hear about that kind of bad luck.

if the mounting bolts backed out than that would could it to fail. you could have over tightened them too, I think they only take like 6 ft lbs, they are only 10mm going into aluminum, it does not take much to strip out the threads. I did that once by accident (overtightend it and had the threads strip), had to take it apart and put in a coil insert into the head. delayed me getting it back together. Many years ago I did that on another vehicle, and just tried to "ignor" the fact the bolt would not get tight, and drove off with it just "snug" because the threads were stripped out. I will not do that again, I nearly wrecked the engine. if the threading needs to get repaired, better do it before you put it back together.

If that is the case, you will need both a new rocker arm assembly and to fix the suspect holes in the head. putting in tread inserts can be tricky, might be best to take the head to a shop and have them fix the threads in the head. A knowledgeable friend who knows what they are doing can also do it for you without having to remove the head. It is not difficult, but it is easy to make a mistake and have a mess that is much harder to fix. There are some Youtube clips showing how to do it, but there is a certain "feel" you need to be wary of. Once the insert is installed properly it will be stronger than new, and very low risk of damaging it again.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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irowiki
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Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by irowiki »

I do have the entire head the rocker arms are on but I imagine it would not be cheap to ship.

With that said, you could have it for the cost of shipping and handling!
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
boisesr5
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Posts: 27
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 9:33 pm
My tercel:: 1984

Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by boisesr5 »

Thanks Petros, great info.

Irowiki, I'll take it. Can't find one anywhere else. I need the 2nd support too. Do you have that? I can send a check or patpal.
boisesr5
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Posts: 27
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 9:33 pm
My tercel:: 1984

Re: Need a rocker arm shaft

Post by boisesr5 »

bump
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