Guest unbeleve Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Hello fellow Riv owners...I'm trying to get my Riv back on the road but can't figure out how to put on my new rockers. I need to remove the two pieces highlighted in the picture. Can anyone help out a rookie? 1964 Riv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rsmalling Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Sherman,I used a press on mine and made short work of it. the towers are a tight fit on the shaft. Before I pressed mine off, I put the assemblies in carb dip over night to clean em up a little before disassembly. Im sure there are other ways to do it and someone will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Pressing is best as Rob indicated. If thats not available, you can support the stands (part you need to remove) on the edges of the jaws on a decent sized vise and use a rubber mallet (or block of wood and hammer) to tap the shaft through. They will be snug but shouldn't be super tight.A word of caution you have to be careful because the stands are aluminum and will break if care isn't taken. It helps some if you warm them up with a propane torch just prior to removing.Pay close attention to the configuration of the rockers before taking apart as well as lining up the oil feed holes with the hole in stand when going back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unbeleve Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Thanks for the help. My next step is to find a chassis manual in order to find out the proper torque when installing the repaired rocker and heads. I'm going to remove the heads to see what caused my rockers to break and pushrods to bend. Anybody know what could have caused it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 We'll need some more details Sherman. Is the engine original or has it been rebuilt? What were the circumstances/details when the engine failed?Have you pulled the timing cover yet?Definitely get a service manual ASAP. Theres usually a bunch on ebay reasonably priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Our friends over at Team Buick have you covered. Their reference section is truly worthy of a shortcut icon on your desktop.Here's a link to their '66 Chassis manual.1966 Buick Chassis Manual, All SeriesAnother site worth a shortcut icon is www.v8buick.com Their forum on the nailhead is very good. Just information on the engine in the "Da' Nailhead" sub-link. They also have sub forums for other engines, transmissions, rear ends, paint, chassis, you name it. Both forums also have a rather large classified sectioin.Yahoo Groups also has a forum dedicated to the engine only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unbeleve Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) We'll need some more details Sherman. Is the engine original or has it been rebuilt? What were the circumstances/details when the engine failed?Have you pulled the timing cover yet?Definitely get a service manual ASAP. Theres usually a bunch on ebay reasonably priced.The engine is original and hasn't been rebuilt. When the engine failed I was on the highway and heard a rocker knocking and that was it I had to pull over and get her towed. So I had my Riv towed home and pulled the valve covers. That's when I discovered the two broken rockers. I pulled the valley cover and found a couple bent pushrods and one broken pushrod. I also found a broken lifter. After speaking to Larry from Rancho Riviera I ordered a new set of pushrods two rockers, and a replacement lifter.Since then my Riv has been sitting a few months and I'm finally ready to get her running again. I'm going to attempt removing the heads tomorrow morning (if necessary). I haven't pulled the timing cover. Edited April 18, 2012 by unbeleve (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Hi Sherman Check for the valves frozen in the guides. If you were running old gas this could have caused the valves to seize in the guides. If you have the rockers off tap the top of the valve stem (use a good sized hammer with a small block of wood so as not to mar the valve stem tip). The valves should depress slightly and snap back to full valve stem height with no hesitation. If you find a stuck valve you can use penetrant/heat and then engine oil to free it up. This inspection and repair can be performed without or before removing the heads. I have done this on a handful of nailheads after prolonged storage and/or after running fouled fuel with good results. If you are concerned about damage to a valve why not do a leakdown test before dissassembly? Hope this helps, Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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