After my pass at Zmax, I put the Rocky on the trailer. I went into the valve covers to check/re-set the valves and saw the adjuster stud on the #4 intake sheared off a thread or 2 into the nut. Good thing I didn't make another pass but now it's got me wondering if the metallurgy of the adjusters themselves is sketchy...anybody had issues with the Comp stuff? Pushrod length/geometry is great, about 1 to 1 1/2 thread below the body showing and close but adequate cup to body sweep clearence.
All the rest look fine but I'm now a little suspect of the steel in the studs being adequate for the job.

The lash loosened up only slightly (fortunately) just to the point where I could hear a faint tick after the pass. Fotunately I was going to routinely check them all anyway.

The Cam is a Cam Motion Roller with 266/269 @.050 and .585/.570 gross lift, comparatively mild endurance (1995 IROC 358 Dodge grind). Lash is set at .016I/.018E. Rocker ratio is 1.5:1

Thoughts? I'm thinking I'm gonna go get some ARPs.

Are you saying the stud broke off above the lock nut? Could the stud have been making contact with anything in the valve cover?

No it broke about 1 thread into the bottom of the locknut. The locknut provides the stretch to the threads in the rocker body. This is why I'm questioning the tensile strength of the steel in the Comp rockers.

Can I assume the nut was laying in the bottom of the head? If so, check the spot facing on the rocker arm. You will likely find it isn't 90 deg to the adjuster so when you tighten the jam nut, it tries to bend the adjuster and being made out of stuff that don't bend, it goes snap. It doesn't have to be off by much either, a very few thou will do the deed.

I ran into this with a set of knock-off rockers on my build. Set all the valves and went home. Came back in the morning and 6 jamnuts were laying on the floor.

Kevin

I don't like to hear this. I have the Pro Magnums and have not had any problem yet. But that does not change the likely hood that you do have a problem. You know what you have to do.

Twostick,

Yeah, I found it in between the valvesprings . Never imagined the stud itself would ba an issue, I would think (unless is was bad metallurgy) it would take a tremendous amount of energy to shear a high tensile stud like that??

Wize - What did you torque them to?

I don't know the torque, I've never torqued an adjuster nut ~1/4-ish turn past snug. The comp stainless I've never seen loosen up but I have seen aluminum rocker nuts loosen. I've never had one of those fancy box wrench torque wrenches to go around the allen wrench.

All the nut does is tension the ball stud to keep it from moving out of adjustment, that's what has me vexed.

I've heard of it happening before, just confused about the cause & effect of it all.

I've run those rockers for a few years now without issue on a similar solid roller. 262 @ .050 and .648" lift.
Where it snapped is similar to what happened to the Crane golds I had on a smallblock. Those were the ones with the bad heat treat from Crane. Maybe you should look into getting some new adjusters for all 16.

Yeah, it looks like the safe play.

Got the typical Comp tech line 'GURU' that apparently thinks 'shear' is a style of panty hose