*****UPDATE*****
16/04/2014
Pats manufacturer /suppliers Bearmach sent a e-mailed and assured me that their new rockers are up to the correct OEM specifications.
I see no reason not to purchase the Bearmach rockers and I would like to thank them for letting us know so we could let you know, they have kindly offered us a full set for testing and will contact them ASAP so we can do a test to determine this issue, just in time as four rebuilds are in progress, one needs a full set of new rockers due to extreme high mileage
A big thumbs up to Bearmach for the feedback, rare in todays world of parts manufacturers/suppliers.
As a rule I hate mentioning a part brand but in this case for obvious reasons I’m going to for the simple fact to try save many owners the misery of asking why their motors are burning engine oil or wearing out internal parts sooner than they should due to loss of oil pressure
You would think a simple part like a rocker would be of no concern, well that’s not the case.
Pictures taken whilst engine was running
Note in the pictures the high flow of oil with Bearmach rockers (first and above pic) vs the originals (middle pic), this excessive oil is flooding the valve stem seals, great for lubricating but there’s another sinister knock off effect to be had when this happens.
Please note that we did pick up the same issue with Britpart rockers but to date we have not been contacted regarding their issue.
Jeremy Clarkson is a motor journalist, and a good one at that too, we're a repair shop and our job is to source high quality parts for your vehicle......so whats this all about you ask...... you see Mr Clarkson gets a car to test and his job is to evaluate it in every way possible within a certain category, lets be honest a Rolls Royce is the best car out there vs a Kia something or another with a few quick noddles attached to its tail pipe, whereas a Roller......well it's simply just the ultimate in motoring pleasure.
Let's get back to the issue at hand...
So while the issue now seems to be resolved with Bearmach this info won't be deleted and is ideal as a case study for future reference.
So...
I may have mentioned the brand's and the cause was simple to see why, the machined groove across (there's two) is too deep which allowed for excessive oil to flow.
When the engine is up to operating temperature those valve stems get very hot, the oil that passes the valve stem seal is now a bit too much and so a carbon build up is going to occur on the stem, although not right away because you may have just had the heads off and all the valve stem seals were replaced
As pictured below note the oil flow is a lot less as these are original rockers
We carried out this investigation because we were not too happy with the oil pressure results and as they say a picture says it all, in this case there is no question where the oil pressure drop was going.
Always remember to get pressure you have to have a restriction to flow otherwise there is no pressure, when you have pressure you have lubrication.
On the Rover V8 the camshaft is the first to suffer when there is a pressure drop due to the hydraulic lifters positioning.
Timing chain update:
Rover V8 timing chain - affects ALL Rover V8s.
This latest update is not all model Land rovers but for all the classic, Defenders, P38's, Disco 1 & 2 fitted with the V8 motors.
After market timing chain as detailed in the pics below are a cause for concern, these chains are stretching so fast and so much more than the original it kind of defies belief, why, well for starters in today's manufacturing world I see no reason why a chain of this importance is being made to such low standards and hence why on every rebuild or repair job we do relating to anything near a chain we only go original.
One would have thought a chain of this low crap quality would have come out of a low level third world country, sadly it comes from the USA.
Now the weird part is the original chain which does look and is manufactured differently is still made in the USA.....but by whom.
See for yourself...
I have never seen a chain as bad as this before
Lets go real floppy shall we, will it jump a tooth, you bet it will.
Top chain is Original Land Rover
Bottom chain is aftermarket
Yellow oval circle - Solid chain links.
Red oval circle - Plate links, 2 by side and thinner.
Left red lines - Pins lined up.....ok so.
Right yellow lines - Pins no longer line up = stretched chain
This aftermarket chain was removed at around 10 000ks of installation
having recently rebuilt my very own V8 motor for my P38 the original chain was strecthed but quarter of what you see in the first picture and that was with 230 000 + km's
The replacement chain was so badly stretched you could feel when turning the front crank pulley.
On average the timing chain should be replaced at around 150 000k's, sometimes sooner depending on driving climate...ie more open road driving, chain will last longer vs town stop go all the time
I hope this persuades all the Rover V8 owners out there to demand or to use Genuine land Rover timing chains, if you cannot afford the original chain then why are you driving a V8 anyway ?
A tank of fuel costs more than the part, ironically "some" people seem to not know any better...(bangs head on wall) that includes part suppliers too, wake up we dont want to buy your sub standard parts
.jpg)
