TrickFlow Issues

-

charger426

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 5, 2014
Messages
1,102
Reaction score
330
Location
MoparLand
So my trick flow heads have shown up at long last and I'm running into problems with the rocker shaft hold downs and getting the rocker arms to line up correctly. So the rocker arms not lining up might be fixed by ordering a spacer shim kit from 440Source. I'm using CAT 1.6 roller rockers and when I use the included .125 spacers and .650 spacers I ordered from 440Source I actually can't get the shafts to lower onto the head. Once I take the .125 spacers out they will lower onto the heads but the rockers have a lot of side to side play and are not centered over the valve tips.

Now the rocker hold downs are a different problem that might be related to TF heads being different than other heads. I ordered 440Source rocker shaft hold down set and the long bolts proved in the set are too long. I don't know if this is a result of TF not drilling and tapping the two wide rocker perches as deep as others (the TF's are all the same depth) or I'm missing something. I've attached a pic for reference.

So as with this motor build one step forward 2 steps back....so frustrating.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4410.jpg
    34.3 KB · Views: 593
So my trick flow heads have shown up at long last and I'm running into problems with the rocker shaft hold downs and getting the rocker arms to line up correctly. So the rocker arms not lining up might be fixed by ordering a spacer shim kit from 440Source. I'm using CAT 1.6 roller rockers and when I use the included .125 spacers and .650 spacers I ordered from 440Source I actually can't get the shafts to lower onto the head. Once I take the .125 spacers out they will lower onto the heads but the rockers have a lot of side to side play and are not centered over the valve tips.

Now the rocker hold downs are a different problem that might be related to TF heads being different than other heads. I ordered 440Source rocker shaft hold down set and the long bolts proved in the set are too long. I don't know if this is a result of TF not drilling and tapping the two wide rocker perches as deep as others (the TF's are all the same depth) or I'm missing something. I've attached a pic for reference.

So as with this motor build one step forward 2 steps back....so frustrating.



Good over to mopars.com Andy did a great writer up on rockers that work and don't and why..look up in the race section and trick flow heads thread...there's a ton of information there on them ...also I believe that Mike mrl has info here...not sure if the rockers info is in there ..
 
Yes they use 5 short bolts/studs instead of the 3 short/2 long like the others. No big deal, they have their own stud kit, TFS-61600613. Plus you can not blame the Heads because your CAT rockers don't fit, those are the bottom of the barrel and don't fit anything well. Im sorry, but that's the truth and Im not bashing YOU for that, its not your fault. I found that the Hughes rockers fit just about perfect and I sourced my own hold downs and bolts. Everything fits well. Plus side shimming is just part of the build. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING ever fits a Mopar perfect right out of the box without some sort of finesse.
 

Attachments

  • P1110711.jpg
    47.3 KB · Views: 552
  • P1110713.jpg
    40.4 KB · Views: 546
Yeah I know the rocker alignment isn't the heads the odd using 3 short bolts is. I didn't know they had a rocker shaft hold down kit or I would have gone that route. I ordered thier head bolt kit just incase their was some odd thickness issues with thier heads. I got an email into 440Source to try and get things straightened out with their hold down kits. I'm sure they didn't know the differences either as only a few of these heads are out in the wild. With it being Christmas it won't be until Monday if I had to guess. As far as using CAT rockers well my dad bought them YEARS ago so rather than just have them sit on the shelf I figured I'd run them.
 
So something else I noticed was it looks like the rocker arm actually over hangs where the valve covers would go. Hoping this is just something I can fix vs having to buy new rockers....seems like every time I turn around it seems like its another few hundred here few hundred there...again frustrating.
 
You'll probably need to take it to a machine shop so they can modify the hold downs. Looks like they need to shave a bit off the sides. Not really a surprise, the cheaper parts often don't fit out of the box.

I used an RAS rocker arm setup on my TF heads and it bolted right on. Pretty much a perfect fit.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_9124 (Large).jpg
    30.8 KB · Views: 496
Yes they use 5 short bolts/studs instead of the 3 short/2 long like the others. No big deal, they have their own stud kit, TFS-61600613. Plus you can not blame the Heads because your CAT rockers don't fit, those are the bottom of the barrel and don't fit anything well. Im sorry, but that's the truth and Im not bashing YOU for that, its not your fault. I found that the Hughes rockers fit just about perfect and I sourced my own hold downs and bolts. Everything fits well. Plus side shimming is just part of the build. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING ever fits a Mopar perfect right out of the box without some sort of finesse.

Really? I wonder why my T&D rockers fit my RPM's ootb, no finesse needed at all...
 
So something else I noticed was it looks like the rocker arm actually over hangs where the valve covers would go. Hoping this is just something I can fix vs having to buy new rockers....seems like every time I turn around it seems like its another few hundred here few hundred there...again frustrating.

That is just the way it is going to be with a new combo. I had one of the first set of TF heads so I had to figure out that they needed different head bolts, different rocker arm studs, didn't work out of the box with Cometic gaskets, etc. Now I'm trying to figure out what the best intake gasket is for them since they seem to be ported to something other than the common FelPro gasket. I also discovered that the TF heads don't like Moroso valve cover gaskets when using MP valve covers.

It is just a learning process so you have to roll with it.
 
That is just the way it is going to be with a new combo. I had one of the first set of TF heads so I had to figure out that they needed different head bolts, different rocker arm studs, didn't work out of the box with Cometic gaskets, etc. Now I'm trying to figure out what the best intake gasket is for them since they seem to be ported to something other than the common FelPro gasket. I also discovered that the TF heads don't like Moroso valve cover gaskets when using MP valve covers.

It is just a learning process so you have to roll with it.

take your time on the valve train set up. the mess I`ve got was the worst I`ve ever got into. took 3 times to get pushrod clearance, on a supposedly cnc`d head. don`t ever buy from rob mac out of Nebraska, he won`t stand behind his parts. the rockers that came w/ my heads weren`t even machined at all for spring clearance. altho the cnc`d ports flow very well. getting the valves lined up and shimmed right was a ***** too, but needs to be done right .
 
That is just the way it is going to be with a new combo. I had one of the first set of TF heads so I had to figure out that they needed different head bolts, different rocker arm studs, didn't work out of the box with Cometic gaskets, etc. Now I'm trying to figure out what the best intake gasket is for them since they seem to be ported to something other than the common FelPro gasket. I also discovered that the TF heads don't like Moroso valve cover gaskets when using MP valve covers.

It is just a learning process so you have to roll with it.

Thats interesting that your having problems with the Fel-Pro intake gasket as TF recommends them.
 
Those CAT rocker have about a 50/50% chance of making it past 500 miles. At the very least change out the adjusters to something decent. Then you MIGHT have a fighting chance
 
-
Back
Top