The only warning sign Homer gave was he was cruising up the interstate at 70 with a good bit of pedal left . . . a few seconds later he was doing 30 with the pedal glued to the floor. I think one of the nuts had backed off several miles back down the road, but the rocker shaft stayed put until the second nut started backing off . . . then it popped out of place and I went from 4 cylinders to 2 in the blink of an eye.
We didn't have a feeler guage with us and the engine was hot anyway, so we just bolted it back on and finished the trip. We were about 30 miles away from Effingham when it happend. After we got there and the engine had a few hours to cool off, we borrowed a feeler gauge and adjusted the valves. One exhaust valve and one intake valve were a little tight, a couple more were a little loose, and the rest were about right. Sunday morning, I picked up a set of the aluminum push rod tubes and replace the 4 on the left side . . . they were gushing . . . one actually had a hole in it. I'll put the other 4 one as soon as I get a chance. They are leaking a little around the seals, but nothing like the left side was. After I replace the tubes, I borrowed another feeler gauge and rechecked the valves (I'd had the rocker off and the push rods out). Two valves were way off again . . . I think I must have swapped two push rods around. Anyway, it didn't seem to have done any serious damage. Homer ran like a champ all the way home.
I bought this engine used. I had adjusted the valves a couple of times, but I've never checked the rocker nuts. Before you adjust the valves, I guess it would be a good idea to make sure the rocker nuts are tight. :wink:
Oh, and by the way, those spring loaded aluminum push rod tubes don't leak!!!!
