[TR] TR3A Rocker arm "spacers"

[Brian Jones]

 >Instead of springs?
 >
 >Hoping to reduce some fairly bad valve gear clatter this winter so
when I saw
 >the following ebay item I was intrigued.
 >Whats the conventional wisdom, are they better/easier/quieter then
the OEM
 >type
 >springs?

AMCEWEN2:
Rocker spacers are claimed to reduce friction in the rocker assembly.
Actually they only measurably reduce friction on your wallet going
into your back pocket, it being slimmer and all, now that you have the
spacers...

Check your compression - are the valves closing and sealing as they
should? Is oil reaching the rockers? At idle, take the valve cover off
and look for oil flow through the rocker shaft holes. Are the nuts on
the rocker pedestals torqued to spec?
After noise returns from running 5 mins, have the valve clearances
changed when the engine is cold again? Are the adjusting screws and
nuts knackered? Did you tighten the lock nuts enough when setting the
adjustment?
I didn't once and lost a pushrod in the ensuing debacle.  Can you feel
play in the rocker shaft? Is your timing OK?

Is it one rocker, going clak.....clak.......clak, or more than that
going clak.clak.clak.clak.clak?

I don't know what your problem is, but am sure that spacers won't fix
it.

If you press down on the screw head as you adjust the valve clearance,
and then lock it at 10 thou, cold, I don't see how the gap could open
up over 5 minutes. Investgation is needed.

BTW, I reset my valve clearances much more frequently than every 3,000
miles. It takes me 10 minutes, and is 'enjoyable', I find. Likewise,
timing. Don't even get me started on the SUs.....LOL. ;^)

I have found the directions for both clearances and timing found on
Macy's Garage to be more convenient than the manuals. Valve
clearances, going by cylinder to cylinder rather than the rule-of-
nine: http://www.macysgarage.com/myweb6/valve_adjustment.htm

Timing: http://www.macysgarage.com/myweb6/ign-timing.htm

Good luck ,