1967 Family Patrol Project

[faux40]

Howdy all --

The head came off this morning. At least one push rod is bent -- as in 10-degrees bent! Ouch! All the lifters slid out smoothly so I have high hopes for those being in good shape. Anyway, I'm heading to the machine shop now to find out the total extent of the damage...

Quick question -- The rocker shaft is full of holes to provide lubrication to the rockers and valves. Which way should the holes be oriented? I can't find any specific reference to it aside from a drawing on page 47 of the older P engine service manual showing them sideways toward the push rods. In our engine, they are pointing down. I have not pulled the rocker assembly apart, so I cannot tell if the orientation can be changed anyway, but this inquiring mind wants to know!

Here's a shot of one of the pistons, covered with sooty carbon -- indicating a really, really rich mixture and crappy fuel? It was clean when it went in... I saw it with my own eyes even!



On another note, has anyone noticed this in later Patrol Service Manual? It states that there is one hollow head bolt... Mine are all solid (I'm sure of this as I just pulled the head two hours ago and was looking! ).

hollow_bolt.jpg

John

[Coyote Patrol]

There is a set screw on one of the end rocker towers. There is an oiling slot inside the rocker towers and the corresponding holes in the shaft should line up with them. Im not sure about the head bolt. Of course get some other opinions here this is what i just seen on the rockershafts that i have. I was not able to take the set screws out to double check but there may be a recess there for the set screw to go into? It may only go on one way?

[Flaggoni]

I'm gettin' curious, too. I've got a crusty complete rocker shaft assy that I'm going to investigate.

"Everthing I needed to know about life I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains"

[Esteban]

Howdy all --

On another note, has anyone noticed this in later Patrol Service Manual? It states that there is one hollow head bolt... Mine are all solid (I'm sure of this as I just pulled the head two hours ago and was looking! ).
John

I just read this yesterday morning, when trying to find something about the correct position of the rocker shaft. I have never seen this, and every time that I've pulled the heads off these Patrols, never found that. I don't recall that in my P40 engine of the 1983 MQ I used to have. Big typo...

[Coyote Patrol]

I'm gettin' curious, too. I've got a crusty complete rocker shaft assy that I'm going to investigate.

"Everthing I needed to know about life I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains"

WHEW! Im safe.

[faux40]

My machinist thinks that it's likely that only the push rods suffered and that the valves will be okay. He's going to pull it apart; de-gumify and inspect it and then get back to me with a shopping list.

As for the top end oiling, I didn't pull the valve train apart, but I did slide a rocker out of the way and snap a picture of the rack that is for engine #2 -- Notice the grime trail extending each way around the shaft? Looks like the bushing should be grooved and have two holes so the oil can make it out the front and rear of the rocker. Can someone confirm? Just for giggles, I called the Nissan dealer and asked if they could get any rocker arm bushings (13260-58000) -- Nope.


Here are the oil weep holes on the rocker arms. (sorry about the quality -- I had to crop way, way in to see them)


Now, I have a new worry... Bad gas! Remember, our engine has maybe 90-minutes of run time total. Dave (the machinist) told me to feel the side of the intake port. It's sticky! Like really, really, crazy-glue sticky! If you look closely in this picture, you can see my skin stuck to the side of the port!


I think my next step will be to drain and pull the tank... 'cause that gas is never, ever touching that engine again!

John

[Flaggoni]

Just took apart a crusty assembly. This did not use any bushings on the rockers. The orientation of the oil holes on the shaft is down. The only shaft support with any oil connection is the end one with the slot-head screw. This screw is also tapered on the end to pin the shaft in place and ensures oil passage alignment.
Each rocker has an annular machined groove in its center as you suspected. The tiny hole which lubes the pushrod originates in that groove. The larger hole toward the valve originates about 1/8" away from the groove.

[faux40]

I just got THE CALL... It seems that we dodged a bit of a bullet. Only four push rods and two valve keepers suffered. Whew! I was worried that it could have done a number on guides or something more expensive!

2869ral has some push rods (I'll PM you in a moment to work out a deal! -- Thanks so much!) -- Does anyone have a couple of valve keeper that they'd be willing to part with? Or, can anyone confirm that P40 keepers are the same (or same enough?).

On a related note -- I've learned my lesson regarding old fuel. Em and I made a trip to Harbor Freight (love that place!) and picked up a fuel siphon set up for a whopping $6.

image_13763.jpg

The plan is to start draining the tank tonight and finish tomorrow night... Why, I hear you asking, does it take two days to drain a 13-gallon tank? Well, I only have one 5-gallon gas can and don't want to have another laying around until I can find a vintage Jerrycan for the Patrol. The gauge says 1/2 tank and I added in about three gallons while futzing with the fuel pump so there could be 9-ish gallons. The county dump around these parts will take household hazardous waste for free... and they're pretty close. The plan is to share the tar-varnish... uh, I mean dump the bad gas from our can with them, and repeat until it's empty. Then that ol' tank will be liberated from the truck and put in the trustworthy hands of my local radiator shop for some rejuvination

Thanks all for your help and advice! We really appreciate it!

John & Family

[miksum56]

Don't forget carb and lines. Berrymans chemtool works good. I don't believe that bad gas bent pushrods and broke keepers. No hollow head bolt would match torque of solid ones. That must be a Japanese to English translation mistake!

[Flaggoni]

Am I the only one to fear that this "Oklahoma Credit Card" from Harbor Freight is now in the wrong hands?
Mild Bill

" A clean workshop is the sign of a sick mind"