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broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:55 pm
by Johns
Went to gap valves and found a spacer in two pieces. It is a spring (tension) spacer because it is not flat. Can not find one on-line anywhere. If any one knows where I can find these please let me know. If you have Tom Wilsons VW book it looks exactly like the one on page 112 at the top of the page with the clips on the ends.

Thanks, John

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:27 am
by AlexZ

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:23 am
by rizzz
Johns wrote:Went to gap valves and found a spacer in two pieces. It is a spring (tension) spacer because it is not flat. Can not find one on-line anywhere. If any one knows where I can find these please let me know. If you have Tom Wilsons VW book it looks exactly like the one on page 112 at the top of the page with the clips on the ends.

Thanks, John

They’re called “wavy washers” and they’re only found on the stock VW rocker assembly.
These have been known to break when used on anything else than the low power original 1300-1400cc engines, which is why the solid rocker shafts are commonly used now.

What engine do you have? If indeed you have the stock rocker assembly, I strongly suggest upgrading to solid rocker shafts. They don’t cost very much at all.
If those wavy washers were installed on a solid rocker shaft, you will need to replace them with the proper shims.

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:48 am
by Johns
Thanks guys,. I did not build this motor but according to the log book they are porsche 914 heads on a 2300cc motor. I will check to see if they are the solid shafts and go from there. Will replace all with the proper shims.

John

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:43 pm
by rizzz
Johns wrote:Thanks guys,. I did not build this motor but according to the log book they are porsche 914 heads on a 2300cc motor. I will check to see if they are the solid shafts and go from there. Will replace all with the proper shims.

John


That implies you have a type 4 VW conversion which is different from the type 1 VW's that are commonly used as the basis for engines like the AeroVee, RevMaster, GP & Hummel.
Type 4's are quite a different animal from the type 1's and also very rare.

I don't know much about the rocker assembly on the Type 4 and I doubt many people on this forum will.
Do you have a picture of the engine?
If it is a type 4, forget what I said in my previous post as it might not be valid in this case.

I suggest you consult the people on one of the VW forums like thesamba.com.

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:36 pm
by Johns
Rizzz, thanks for your input. All items were purchased at great plains aircraft so I'm pretty sure it's just a built up type1.

John

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:27 pm
by kmacht
Porsche 914 heads are almost exclusive to a type 4 motor. I don’t think they will even fit on a type 1 but could be wrong. Great Plains sold both type 1 and type 4 conversions for many years. You may want to give them a call to figure out exactly what you have so you get the correct parts.

Keith
#554

Re: broken rocker arm spacer

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:55 pm
by Area 51%
Type 1 heads have intake ports that almost touch one another. The Type 4 heads have somewhere around a 2 inch gap between them.