Glen,

       Had that thought too until I read the part about using the old set also. So two sets of rockers opened up. Doug's probably nailed it. Check the oil for metal particles before you start it again. 

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

I had forgotten about the push rod business. Unless the ball goes all the way into the cup, the cup will either spread or break. This is why I visit this site. It brings things back memories from the back fuzzy side of my brain. Hopefully your problem is something simple as this.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

Here's the thread about the "Broken pushrod"

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic26796-3-1.aspx?Highlight=broken+pushrod

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Another thought. You say the oil supply up top is weak. Possibly the Rocker Shafts are installed incorrectly, so the feed holes aren't aligned?

Paul

If you bought new rockers off ebay and they have black oxide coated adjusters that look like the self locking ones but require a lock nut, THEY ARE JUNK!!!!!

A local engine builder bought some rebuilt rockers a few weeks ago and they came with the same black adjusters. They were junk in 100 miles.

So are the Chinese VL-21 lifters that are sold cheap on ebay.

There were some pushrods around about 1-1/2 years ago that had the cup end made too small. We got some from Melling but I'm sure other companies had them. Melling took them back and replaced them.

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

How can one tell which is the Chinese VL21 lifters and which ones are not.



Where are the other VL21 lifters made.

marv

There are only 2 part numbers for Y-Block lifters. Common numbers are VL-21 and 892. You will some times see 892 preceeded by some prefix. Not all VL-21's are the same. Sources include China, Brazil, Argentina and some are claimed to be USA made but I can't confirm this. Some of the 892's are the same lifters as the Brazilian Vl-21's.

My experience is that the Chinese lifters are made of poor material. The are heat treated to the correct hardness 60-62c but the base material is soft. They begin to fail immediately but it takes a while to determine there is a problem. Higher spring pressure makes them fail sooner. We knew we had a problem after 15 minutes with 115# seat and 265# open. Some people have run them for up to 2000 miles in stockers before they knew something was wrong.

The Argentine lifters have very thick heads, so thick that some times the cam won't clear the lifters when trying to install it. I don't know about the life expendancy. I've never used a set.

We use the Brazilian lifters and have not had a single failure with them. They cost more than the others but it only takes 1 to fail to ruin your day. 1 failure costs more than you will ever save.

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

Thanks John for the quick response.



The reason I asked is I have a broken set of lifters.

Eleven by Sealed Power Muskegon Mi. AT-892 in reddish brown boxes marked "Made in USA",

Three Sealed Power by Federal Mogul in black boxes marked AT-892

One by TRW VL-21 made in USA and

One by Sealed Power Muskegon Mi. with AT-892 and B6C-6500A in a blue box marked Made in USA. this particular lifter has a very shallow base compared to the rest.



I also have set of the other ones from Ebay which are loose in a bag that frightens me as to quality.



The other sets I have used I got from yourself and a local machine shop over the years. Many of these engines have over 25k miles without problems.



marv.

Hey John,

I bought a set of those 3 1/2 yrs. ago. After you recommended the black adjusters being best, I assumed they were the same rockers YOU were selling (?). I DID notice the design/producer had changed a couple years back (replacement for lost jamb nut obtained from another seller came with an adjuster I didn't use, which had different thread). Anyway, after nearly 20K miles, lash still stable. Did YOU have trouble with the earlier versions? Can you be more specific re: failure symptoms with the "JUNK" examples?

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Still not sure what the problem is, but I don't like the noises I'm hearing, so the motor's coming out this weekend. The rockers, cam, & pushrods were all new, purchased from John M. a few years back. I'm not sure of exactly when, I'd have to dig up the receipts. I recall when I bought the cam there was talk of some cams not having a deep enough groove. I checked mine when it arrived and it looked ok. Who knows, maybe it's not. Once I tear the thing down I'll have a better idea of what's going on.