Crane Gold Roller Rocker Failure

[jensen32000]

Being the last long weekend of the year here in Canada, I thought I'd head down to the local Saturday night cruise in my 440 Six Pack 70 Dart Swinger. Don't get more than a mile or 2 from home and the car starts making a real rude metalic knocking sound. I shut it down right away and have it towed home. I'm pretty nervous because the motor is totally fresh with only 737 miles. I get the valve covers off and find the adjusting stud sheared off at the top with the locking nut on #8 exhaust and the push rod had fallen out of place. This is a relief as the problem is rather minor. The part that is stranger than fiction, is that 2 years to the day in 1999, the previous motor with a hydraulic cam and stamped steel rockers, punched a pushrod through the #7 exhaust rocker arm. Anyone else ever experience any problems with Crane Gold rockers. I don't beleive I had any torque spec in the instructions and I didn't think I went "ape" tightening the lock nuts. Sorry for being long

[Billydelrio]

Several weeks ago, someone posted a similar problem with the gold rockers. I remember a reply saying that crane had "hardened" a batch of the adjuster screws too hard or something. You might search for that post.
Billy

[Magnum440]

I had a simular problem about a year or so ago. Only had about 6 or 7 hundred miles on fresh built 440 with Koffel heads and valve train. I called Koffel and told him what had happened. He said over tightening causes that kind of failure. But the first thing I suspected was a bad batch of adjusters. Koffel had no comment. He DID say cure was a "in house" heat treated(very costly) set of adjusters. Anyway, I ended up buying a new set of Crane adjusters from Mancini. Torque specs i finally found out are, 20 to 30 ft lbs for nut. 12 pt nuts are better I guess but i'm still using regular 6 pt. Hope this is of some help to you. Good Luck!~Dave

[jensen32000]

Thanks for your input so far. I just checked the instructions for the rocker and it only give a torque of 15-17 ft lbs for the shafts to the heads. The sheared bolt has a kind of cast iron look to it. It would be "nice" if Crane would supply a new set free. Anyone have any customer service dealing with Crane?

[Dave Hench]

[ Anyone have any customer service dealing with Crane? [/B][/QUOTE]
The only experience I had was positive. %yr aago I ordered Crane ductile iron adjustable from PAW All sixteen were the right offset. I called Crane in Florida, they shipped me 8 left offset rockers
And sent a pickup tag for the return of the incorrect rockers. I wasa pleased, cause they did everything Next Day Air.
I wish you well
Dave

[jensen32000]

Thanks for the encouragement Dave! I think 16 new adjusters would be a good gesture. I hope the bottom of the rocker isn't damaged, it feels smooth but I did't get a mirror under it yet.

[Magnum440]

If you go to search above and enter MoParCutie you will find more posts on the crane adjusters and moparcutie's brother's problems with them. I guess crane agreed to replace them. On your rocker-its probably OK if you dont feel anything. On mine, it was nicked some from the push rod hittin it but I just buffed it off and am still using it. Be sure there are'nt any pieces or chips of the rocker laying around. I had to clean mine up some. Then flushed the head with kerosine.

[beeman]

I have a 360 with the gold crane 1.6 gold roller rocker and i have been poping these adjusting screws off right and left just like you discribed. I took them off for the time being thinking maybe i don't have enough piston to valve clearence. I ordered a new box of adjusting nuts from crane and they did the same thing. My motor is Mopar 360 10.1 crate short block, with edelbrock heads and 508 292 cam. any ideas.

[cudacarl]

I had same problem with the gold rockers except i have a 340. The first time i adjusted them a couple of them loosened Up. Like you said i didn't see any torque spec sheet. I readjusted them and tightened them a little more than the last time. The next weekend i pulled the covers and found that two of them had the heads cut off. I called summit and they didn't have a torque spec but said that you don't have to tighten them too much. I ordered replacment adjusters (they only sell them by package of 16). I figured i would just change them all. The Same thing happened. Then i wiped a cam lobe (unrelated ) which bent one of the pushrods being they're hollow and it had to fight the compression since the exhaust valve wasn't opening. Thats where i'm at now not sure what i'm gonna do.

[Mopar_Mudder]

I have also been having problems with them. The first and bigest problem is lack of oil to the push rod cup and wearing out the push rod and adjusting ball.

Well I just replaced all the push rods and adjusters. While first setting up the adjusters one broke off right away, not a good sign. Well now I went out for the week end to use it (off-road truck) after about 1 hour of running I hear a push rod come out on me. So I figure it wore out the ball again and got loose, pull of the cover and find that the adjuster lock nut came loose and backed the adjuster out, this broke the push rod in half. So I through another rod and adjuster in and recheck every adjuster nut to be shure they are tight and go again. After about another 45 minutes of running at the most another one let loose. Pull the cover off to find that 2 lock nuts and ajuster backed off and drop 2 more push rods.

I have been fighting with these rockers for over a year with no succes and at the end of my rope with them

[Hammer 74]

When did you guys purchase these rockers? Me and everyone else want to know if they are newer or old sets. Just want to narrow down the problem a little more.

[Mopar_Mudder]

My original rockers were bought in Jan of 2000, and the new adjusters just a couple of weeks ago.

[beeman]

I just called Crane about the rocker arms. They told me they would send me a new set of adjusting studs and nuts and two pushrods which got hammered on the socket end. Said it would take a week due to the fact that they throw out a large batch of adjusters due to manufacturing problems. They were very nice and said the problems i was having was due to faulty studs,and not nothing we were doing. He also told me not to run them until i replace all the adjusting studs. Thanks to all of you mopar guys i found out my problem.

[Mopar_Mudder]

Well it is better then nothing, but I still think it is an inferior product and mine are going to have to hit the trash bin. I have been fighting with them for over a year and I still can't rely on them to go any where.

[jensen32000]

I phoned the Speed Shop that sold the rockers to me in Jan 2000. He was familiar with the problem and told me to phone Crane. I phoned Crane this morning and explained my problem to the tech rep. He first tried to say the problem wasn't from that far back. Then he offered to replace the one adjuster, I said I wouldn't be comfortable unless I changed all 16, so he agreed to replace all. Then I mention the damaged rocker, so he will replace it also. I guess you have to glad you can do your own wrenching as otherwise the parts are the cheaper cost of this failure as towing and labour would add another $300-$500. If this problem is as big as it is starting to sound like some sort of a discount off your next Crane purchase would a "good faith offering"

[cudacarl]

I'm calling crane tomorrow and see what they'll do for me. Originally i thought i did something wrong and bought replacement adjusters at my expense (i think $45 with shipping & tax). Those adjusters snapped too so i guess they were from the same bad batch. This was all in the last 2 months.

[JariV]

Well,
my Goldies date back to 1996 and all original hardware is still there. They have covered SEVERAL thousand miles without a problem. I have this specific adjusting tool that you can buy from Summit. I check the lash and "ape" the nuts. Did that once and after that only checkings, no need to adjust.
BUT,
I have a tight lash Ultradyne mech. cam in a seriously hopped up 340 with Manley ProFlow SS valves.
Sorry but cannot remember the tools name but it's this funny two-piece thing with hexadjuster in the middle and the nutlocker on on the side.
No problems whatsoever. When using Goldies what kind of lashes do you have? I have 0.016" hot in both Int. and Exh.

[Mopar_Mudder]

My Comp Cams roller calls for a .026 lash, have it at .024 now.

[cudacarl]

Just got off the line with crane and my new adjusters (all 16) plus 2 pushrods will be coming next week free of charge. Glad i read this thread i put the rockers on the shelf thinking i would never use them again although it will be a long time before i trust them.

[beeman]

I wonder if they will reimburst us for the box of adjusters i bought to replace the broken ones. And those as you said wern't any better. Well least there desent about replacing the defective and damaged pieces.

[Kilrbee1]

I bought my 69 R/t with the 440 motor already built (supposedly by a machine shop). Went to replace valve covers and saw the Gold rockers. Was told the cam,carb, and intake-all eldebrock was a matched set. Don't know what else has been done. Problem I saw was that the screws are adjusted so far down that the lock nuts are held by a few threads. Im thinking that it has 383 pushrods in it if this is possible. Havent had any breakage like described before but I have a couple of questions. Do I benifit from using the rollers that much or should I just go back to oem style. Mostly street usage and no track but the motor does seem to put out good power. I had thought about ordering the 440 rods or do I need something else? After reading the posts I'm not sure what to do. Its not being driven currently but I want to correct before running again. As always, thanks for the informative advice found here.

[Magnum440]

There should only be 2 or 3 threads showing 'under' the rocker. Other wise the side load on the adjuster will cause it to snap. It definitely sounds like your push rods are too short. Dont think 383 rods would work at all. It may be the rockers require a slightly longer pushrod. I would call Crane for a recmmendation. Good luck!

[Kilrbee1]

Went and checked. Looks like maybe 2-3 thds on top of the rocker. Almost looks like the rod cup edges would be hitting at full open. Reckon I've been lucky the few times its been run hard. I'll ck with CC. Thanks

#'s on top are: 1.5 -64
-10
I got the ratio but whats the others?

[Hammer 74]

Has anyone tried to search the Crane Cams website for B/RB Gold Rockers. They do not list them. I wonder if this problem is bad enough that they do not want to advertise them. Just an idea.

[Kilrbee1]

jegs has them in their catolog.
1.5 w/shafts part#270-64790-1 $349.99
1.6 w/shafts 270-64791-1 $349.99

didnt see them in Summit