Rocker arm issues

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I purchased Speedmaster aluminum heads 3 years ago and the rocker arms recommended for them. I will list the part numbers Heads: PCE281.2140 rocker arms PCE261.1186. The issue is the rocker arms do not fit. The outside diameter of the springs are 1.55 inches. Here is the picture of the problem: The one on the left does not fit. If you look at the bottom side of the rocker arms, the cut out for the spring is different from the one on the left compared to the one on the right. I am looking for a solution to this problem. Thanks ahead of time.

rocker arms picture.jpg
 
I purchased Speedmaster aluminum heads 3 years ago and the rocker arms recommended for them. I will list the part numbers Heads: PCE281.2140 rocker arms PCE261.1186. The issue is the rocker arms do not fit. The outside diameter of the springs are 1.55 inches. Here is the picture of the problem: The one on the left does not fit. If you look at the bottom side of the rocker arms, the cut out for the spring is different from the one on the left compared to the one on the right. I am looking for a solution to this problem. Thanks ahead of time.

View attachment 711696
I failed to mention it is a 383 big block.
 
A few things come to mind.

- Can you call speedmaster - is that a thing?
- Certainly looks like a rocker issue. Is this a fairly mild build? If so, can you mill relief pockets in the rockers?
- Is valve height correct?
- Are all 8 of the incorrect ones the same?
- How much is it missing by?

I think milling a relief is going to be your solution. Make sure if you do a generous radiused end mill is used to do the relief - you don't want to add stress risers.
 
And can you post pics of the reliefs on the one that clears and the one that does not?
 
Thanks for replying, I can't post pictures of the relief because I am 100 miles from the engine right know. All 8 of the incorrect ones are the same. Speedmaster said this is the recommended rocker arms, but suggested milling the ones that don't fit right. It is a fairly mild build, I am pretty sure the valve height is correct, not 100% but very sure.
 
there's a good chance they were packaged wrong. Do you have any way of getting pictures of the "correct" arms and comparing?
 
Yes I do, I showed Speedmaster the pictures and they said that is a problem they are trying to correct, but they still are recommending rocker arms that don't fit the heads on their and Jegs website
 
there's a good chance they were packaged wrong. Do you have any way of getting pictures of the "correct" arms and comparing?

Yes I do, I showed Speedmaster the pictures and they said that is a problem they are trying to correct, but they still are recommending rocker arms that don't fit the heads on their and Jegs website
They are still trying to train CNC ( chin and chan) how to use the mill properly
 
On a new product? Send them back and have Speedmaster mill them.
I concur with the "return" part, but is Speedmaster a producer or seller of the arms? If they are a producer, they can send them back to the shop and get them fixed. If they are just a seller, all they could probably do is issue credit for the return.

Kind of sounds like "somebody" didn't to their homework on those arms and what they are used with! As if "somebody" was more worried about a price point than if the parts really could work together, to me.

How do the prices of the Speedmaster arms compare to the prices of competitors, for the same part?

Please keep us advised of how this all plays out,
CBODY67
 
This "somebody" followed the information in the heads description that these were the recommended rocker arms for these heads, go to Jegs website and look for yourself dipshit
 
I bought these 3 years ago, I've already inquired about returning and they won't take them back since it has been 3 years, I have someone that can mill them for me, that is the solution I am following, this is what Speedmaster said I should do. 3 years later Jegs still recommends these rocker arms for these heads
 
I bought these 3 years ago, I've already inquired about returning and they won't take them back since it has been 3 years, I have someone that can mill them for me, that is the solution I am following, this is what Speedmaster said I should do. 3 years later Jegs still recommends these rocker arms for these heads
Good luck with the machining. Let us know how this pans out.
 
This "somebody" followed the information in the heads description that these were the recommended rocker arms for these heads, go to Jegs website and look for yourself dipshit
I don't think... or let me say it better, I KNOW that @CBODY67 didn't mean that you didn't do the homework. He's referring to the people that are marketing the product.

Jeg's doesn't do any more research past doing a "copy and paste" of what Speedmaster has told them. Speedmaster, on the other hand, has all the responsibility of making sure it all bolts together. The place that's making them (probably offshore) is building to someone's design.

IMHO, most likely, Speedmaster isn't doing much R&D on old Mopars, and if they are saying "we are working on that" 3 years later, they have no intention of fixing the problem.

So, I understand your frustration, just please understand that he was commenting on their screw up, not you.
 
This "somebody" followed the information in the heads description that these were the recommended rocker arms for these heads, go to Jegs website and look for yourself dipshit
To clarify, I fully understand that YOU were the victim of somebody else's actions. Plain and simple. Speedmaster built the heads, recommended the rocker arms, and Jeg's sells it all. So the main "somebody" in this scenario is Speedmaster, who was probably more concerned about hitting a certain price point for the package. Making it all attractive so that it would be attractive to customers, so everybody made money (for them). YET they did not prototype the combination before they went public with it. In this case, "prototyping" would mean the parts were put on an engine and running it, not just bolting everything together and ending there.

Several years ago, "Jeg's" family sold the marketing rights to the name and the physical operation to a "venture capitalist firm" (which sought to "chase" Summit Racing in their expansion of the business). So it is not the family-owned enterprise it started out as, with the main store being on the old US40 between Columbus, OH and National Trails Raceway (Mopar Nats location). Call their customer service people and they'll be looking at the same electronic catalog that you can see on your computer. THAT is the extent of their knowledge, I suspect. If what you got (that did not work) matched what their catalog said you needed, that's where the conversation ends, for them.

That you purchased well in advance of the discovery of the "bad parts" is another discussion. Many of us have made advance purchases, so no problem there. Shopping the vendor sales, for example, knowing the parts would be needed in several months, which can then string into years, by observation. I've done that on carburetors and ignition components, myself.

Take care,
CBODY67
 
perhaps after 3 yrs Speedmaster has fixed the issue ? you could try to buy another set and see if they fit...if they do, return the original set in the new sets packaging pretending it's the new set that's bad
 
Honestly, I have looked at their Rocker Arms before and I have read lots of reports about the spring/retainer clearance issue. The general consensus is that they are good and cheap but need modification depending on how bad it is, otherwise use shims.. I believe its stuff made overseas so... you get what you pay for but if you clearance them right there should be no problem. I didnt buy them because I don't have a mill.

Edit: something like this could also take care of the clearance issue. You gotta shim anyway for correct geometry

Mancini Racing Rocker Shaft Shim Package
 
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