OK, I know its kind of a shot in the dark, but I was hoping someone might know.

Heres the story. I have a new head thats been sittin around for a while, and I am finally getting around to buttoning it all up and getting the new motor together. Thing is, the previous owner dropped a valve, and ended up having to fix/replace a lot of things. The head looks great, no damage or anything, but apparently it was not re-assembled correctly and some things were left out.

Cylinder one, intake side. The center (VTEC) rocker arm syncronizer pin was completely out. I put it back in, but it fits rather loosely. Is this normal or should it be pretty snug in there. Also, on the outermost rocker arm, also cyl.1, closest to the dizzy, the syncronizer pin (which i believe also has a spring) is missing. Nowhere to be found. Can I replace this, or should I just replace all of the rockers on the intake side of cyl.1? All of the others look practically brand new and intact.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

V-tec rocker arms are supposed to be replaced as a set (per cylinder) because the bore for the synchronizing pin is align honed as a set. However, since you only need to replace the pins, and not the arms themselves, I see no problem with simply adding in the missing pins. As long as they slide smoothly in the bore, it should be fine. Worst case scenario is that vtec won't engage on that cylinder, but if you're paranoid, you can always test that with the head off the car by hooking up an air compressor to the head to simulate vtec. The compressed air will lock the arms together, and you can manually turn the cam with a ratchet to make sure vtec is functioning on all cylinders.

But that's a pain. I say just throw in some new pins and be done. And I don't know what you consider "loose", but the pins will normally fall out of the rockers if you tilt the rocker sideways. They don't have a tight fit or anything. The friction from the motor oil that surrounds the pins is all that holds them in place when you assemble the head.

 

great thats the answer i was hoping for... Now I just have to find the pin...

2 more ?'s

does that pin also use some type of spring mechanism?

and can i buy the pin(s) alone from a dealer??

 

anyone?

 

how often do the Vtec rockerarms on a B series go bad??

 

Rocker life depends on the cam(s) being used. A high lift cam with steep ramp-rates is going to kill the rocker pads pretty quickly. Some cams kill the rockers in less than 10,000 miles.

 

wat do u recommend doin if im using skunk2 pro2??

 

Unfortunately, destroying rockers over time is inevitable. In order to prevent valve float with aftermarket cams, you need to run stiffer valve springs. This extra spring pressure combined with the higher lift cams means the rocker pads will wear out.

However, there are a few important things you can do that will greatly increase the longevity of the pads:

1. Don't use stiffer springs than the cam manufacturer calls for
2. Use motor oil that has anti-wear additives (i.e. zinc phosphates). Royal Purple and Redline come to mind.

The oil you buy at Pep Boys/Autozone/Kragen, such as Mobil1, Pennzoil, Valvoline, etc. is bad for your engine. Tightening EPA regulations have mandated the removal of important anti-wear additives that are essential for engines that use flat-tappet camshafts (including all 90's Honda motors). Most newer cars use roller-rocker valvetrains, so the additives aren't that important.

 

i appreciate the help homie! Well yea i have Skunk2 Stage 2 pro series cams, Inline pro high compression flat valves, inline pro valve springs, retainers n seats just waitin to be put it so i wanted to know all the info there is on the wear n tear of the motor b4 installing em! thanks again

 

sorry i should have specified. Its an OBD2 ITR head. It was purchased new from acura and has less than 2000 miles on it.

 

The BVTEC heads dont use a spring mechanism.

No you cannott buy pins from the dealer. Give me your address.

 

Correction. I looked at it again and it is actually the middle pin that is missing. Apparently someone had moved the one from the far side into the middle, which was apparent once i saw the size difference.

These pics should help a bit.