Crane ( Ductile Iron ) rocker arms

-
SS Lancer

SS Lancer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
4,528
Reaction score
3,687
Location
North Carolina
Just recieved my rocker arms in the mail and was pleasantly surprised to see Made in USA on the box so I emailed guy on fleabay where I bought um and just being curious I asked when he purchased these and he said 2009 interesting I wonder if Crane still makes these in the US mine are 1.5 for the LA Chrysler if anyone has a new set or like new set I want um thanks Chris from GA .

20180625_164021.jpg


20180625_164047.jpg


20180625_164225.jpg
 
1Badcolt said:
Just recieved my rocker arms in the mail and was pleasantly surprised to see Made in USA on the box so I emailed guy on fleabay where I bought um and just being curious I asked when he purchased these and he said 2009 interesting I wonder if Crane still makes these in the US mine are 1.5 for the LA Chrysler if anyone has a new set or like new set I want um thanks Chris from GA .

View attachment 1715191568

View attachment 1715191569

View attachment 1715191571
Click to expand...


Just FYI, Crane had a problem with their adjusters breaking for a stretch. I don't remember the exact manufacturing run, but the adjusters were improperly hardened, making them brittle and prone to fracture. I had an adjuster break, contacted Crane, and discovered my rockers were from the run with hardening issues. I don't remember the exact year, but my situation was similar, I bought a brand new set of rockers on Ebay that was purchased and then not used.

It would be worthwhile to call Crane with the serial numbers to find out if the set you have was effected.
 
72bluNblu said:
Just FYI, Crane had a problem with their adjusters breaking for a stretch. I don't remember the exact manufacturing run, but the adjusters were improperly hardened, making them brittle and prone to fracture. I had an adjuster break, contacted Crane, and discovered my rockers were from the run with hardening issues. I don't remember the exact year, but my situation was similar, I bought a brand new set of rockers on Ebay that was purchased and then not used.

It would be worthwhile to call Crane with the serial numbers to find out if the set you have was effected.
Click to expand...
Thank you I will check .
 
1Badcolt said:
Thank you I will check .
Click to expand...

Yeah just a heads up. You probably want to specifically mention the hardening issue when you call them, it was more than a few years ago so it's totally possible the tech you talk to first might not even have been there or heard about it before. I found out about it after mine broke when I was looking for threads on people having problems with the adjusters. I just happened to find a post about the bad manufacturing run. The tech I spoke to had to talk to someone else and reference it back.
 
Best way to check is run the balls over a file. If you get metal shavings they are no good. If you get no shavings they are hardened.
 
don't over torque the jam nut...that causes a lot of the adjuster to snap....20 ft lbs..
 
dart4forte said:
Best way to check is run the balls over a file. If you get metal shavings they are no good. If you get no shavings they are hardened.
Click to expand...

The problem wasn’t underhardening, it was overhardening. The adjusters were brittle.
 
70aarcuda said:
don't over torque the jam nut...that causes a lot of the adjuster to snap....20 ft lbs..
Click to expand...

Not in this case. Wouldn't matter how you torqued them, they were made incorrectly.

1Badcolt said:
Thanks I will check that .
Are their and new ones that will fit these rockers if I need them ?
Thanks Chris.
Click to expand...

Yes. I just ordered a new set of adjusters.
 
72bluNblu said:
The problem wasn’t underhardening, it was overhardening. The adjusters were brittle.
Click to expand...

Maybe so but overhardening would cause the balls to snap. Underhardening (soft metal) which I've experienced causes premature wear thus metal shavings. Both were problems. Most all the problems stemmed from product produced offshore. Just because it says "Made In America" doesn't mean the individual components were. Best solution for the op, buy adjusters from Smith Brothers for piece of mind.
 
pack of 16 are 42 dollars from Jegs......Smith Bros?
 
dart4forte said:
Maybe so but overhardening would cause the balls to snap. Underhardening (soft metal) which I've experienced causes premature wear thus metal shavings. Both were problems. Most all the problems stemmed from product produced offshore. Just because it says "Made In America" doesn't mean the individual components were. Best solution for the op, buy adjusters from Smith Brothers for piece of mind.
Click to expand...
I assure u I will buy 2 sets of replacements when I get the correct part numbers thanks for all yalls help and by possibly preventing me from ruining my engine .
 
Those are good rockers. Get the adjusters sorted out if you need to and they will be good to go. Nice find!
 
dart4forte said:
Maybe so but overhardening would cause the balls to snap. Underhardening (soft metal) which I've experienced causes premature wear thus metal shavings. Both were problems. Most all the problems stemmed from product produced offshore. Just because it says "Made In America" doesn't mean the individual components were. Best solution for the op, buy adjusters from Smith Brothers for piece of mind.
Click to expand...

Yeah, exactly right. Overhardening causes the ball to fracture. Just like this. This is one of the Crane adusters that was part of the effected manufacturing run. The torque wasn't the problem, and this is not premature wear from soft metal.

IMG_1689.jpg

IMG_1701.jpg



1Badcolt said:
If u dont mind give me the part number and I will do the same order 2 sets thanks Chris .
Click to expand...

Just call Smith Bros. I don't have the part number handy, that was a few years ago. You may not need the same adjusters for your application anyway. I didn't have the part number when I called, the folks at Smith Bros will get you what you need if you tell them what you've got.

Smith Brothers Pushrods

And, you may not need new adjusters. The Crane rockers that were effected were made years ago, I just happened to get a set that was from the time that had issues. I don't recall if it was 2009 or not, but Crane should be able to tell you the effected serial numbers.
 
the problem I encountered with Crane "computer designed" adjusters, this was like 30 years ago, was that the thread size was wrong. My friend bought these adjusters and wanted me to install them on his HemiCuda rocker arms. The problem was they were ridiculously loose, so I measured them with a mic and 3-wires and they were, IIRC, something like 0.015" too small. Which for that diameter, and that thread pitch is like a mile off.
 
72bluNblu said:
Yeah, exactly right. Overhardening causes the ball to fracture. Just like this. This is one of the Crane adusters that was part of the effected manufacturing run. The torque wasn't the problem, and this is not premature wear from soft metal.

View attachment 1715191619
View attachment 1715191618




Just call Smith Bros. I don't have the part number handy, that was a few years ago. You may not need the same adjusters for your application anyway. I didn't have the part number when I called, the folks at Smith Bros will get you what you need if you tell them what you've got.

Smith Brothers Pushrods

And, you may not need new adjusters. The Crane rockers that were effected were made years ago, I just happened to get a set that was from the time that had issues. I don't recall if it was 2009 or not, but Crane should be able to tell you the effected serial numbers.
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top