Looked up NSK specs for J-146 bearings (the type listed as being used) and the tolerances are +0.000/-0.0005 on shaft diameter. My theory on the cage failures are both due to small shafts and lack of hardness. Undersized lets the needles in the 4-8 o'clock position concentrate the load on the shaft. And with the shaft being softer the needles begin to develop a groove and any side to side movement causes the needle to catch the edge. The drawn cups are no match for that type of force and then you get confetti.

If 440S rockers used shafts from Harland Sharp (or made to bearing specs), they may live well into the sunset. However, that is a science experiment that I will never make.

The shift from needle/roller bearings to bushings on aftermarket rocker arms has been going on for a while.

The way I see it, to the average car guy a ball bearing is better than a journal bearing (bushing). Rolling, not sliding, right? When I give tours in our hydro plant that's one of the first areas of discussion because most assume rolling element bearings are better.

SO, when aftermarket rockers moved from Isky and Crane cast rockers, the tendency was to go straight to the rolling element bearing. It has taken decades for aftermarket designers and manufacturers to be convinced that the bushing is better for this application, and to dare to put it on the market where they had to convince the consumer that the bushing was a better way.

So !surprise! now the consumer is starting to ask, "Why are the manufacturers using those crappy needle bearings when everyone knows bushings are better?" 15 years ago they couldn't have sold them.

R.

If you look at the pics posted above you can see why the needle bearing are junk. They have no bearing area. They are not even the width of the rocker.

And then there is the pesky problem of unit loading. Even if the needle bearings were the same width as the body of the rocker, you only have a very small area of contact between the bearing and the shaft. The fact that we HOPE the bearing rotates is of little consequence. Once you flat spot a bearing or the shaft, you are done, over.

And then there is the issue of of valve lash. On a HFT or HR there is no real lash in the system. With SFT or SR lifters there is a running lash. Think about a .020 run the pushrod has at the rocker! Most cams lash a bit looser than that. Now take that beating of the pushrod on the rocker (and then it is transferred to the bearing) and mutiply it by whatever RPM you want, and consider the destruction. At a 2500RPM cruise, you are just hammering the bearing to death. What about 5000 RPM? Or 7500 RPM? Or, if you have the good sense not to but do it any way, 8500 RPM? Failure is the only option.

Here is Jesel's roller bearing for reference.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/jes-brg-20610?seid=srese1&gclid=CN2W87-jvsoCFQmOaQod9gYI7Q

Here is T&D's roller bearing for reference.
http://autoplicity.com/1448371-td-machin...CFQaraQodj7ED1Q

The original idea to roller bearings was so you could restrict oil to the top end of your race motor and keep more oil in the bottom end where it's needed. It was a race only thing that has migrated to the street.

I have 2 sets of rollers, both are bushed.

I bought the Source Rockers....similar to the CATs...I think I paid 300 for them. I was ready to install them and one too many people had issues on here and many were giving me warnings on the installation of them. I decided to sell them to the tune of 150 bucks and invest in Harlands. Guys over at Competition Wedge hooked me up with a good price, specifically set up for my Edelbrocks. Didn't have to do anything, they were ready to install with rockers and shafts right out of the shrink wrap. Took me an afternoon, got them adjusted...Selling point for me (I think it was Mr. Peabody but I could be mistaken) has had his one Harland set one all of his motors since 1992. Mine have been on since 2011 and I have not had one issue with them. I think I have a collapsed lifter on my #7 but thats a CompCams issue not a Harland.

If anyone knows where to get the internal roller bearings, I could use two pairs of roller bearings for mine asap....I pressed the bad ones out, and need some replacements...Rockers are fine...Probably my bad as I pinched a shim and everything shifted slightly.

I don't know if Mancini still sells them or not but they offered a Harlan Sharp rocker with a bushing instead of rollers. If they had them when I was building my 493 I would have bought them. I have about $550 in my Iskys with shafts and new hardware from RAS
I would not run rollers on a street engine(although I know guys that do and have for years) Just my personal preference Less things in movement less things to go wrong.

Gus

The guys at RAS (or RAU as they now call it) are AWESOME. It might be expensive but I will NEVER EVER run a rocker with bearings on the shaft. Especially since RAS does what it does.

I like this as well. I run what most would call cheap rockers, but I bought them because they were bronze bushed with roller tips. I just don't like the idea of needle bearings up there, seems unnecessary. Maybe on a race motor that's gonna be torn down and looked at regularly. But for a street motor, stick with as few potential hazards as possible. Also, I see a lot of aluminum rocker failure stories, even high dollar ones. Very seldom have I seen a steel rocker fail (just my personal experience).

I would not use needle bearing rockers ever again, I have had one fail and dump needles though my engine and even sucked one through the pick up and into the pump. That snaps the oil pump drive but the dissy keeps on spinning.
I use Hughes roller rockers.

has anyone taken a roller bearing rocker and had it bushed?you guys are makin me nervous.

I had the same thought.

Then I thought, if the bearings press in, they can press out. Then bushing pressed in and reamed to size. You could probably do it in your shop if you had the tooling.

R.

that's what I was thinkin.but ya never know.i,d like to here from someone whos done it.it seems like it would have to be a pretty thick bushing.

Harland Sharp rockers are of good quality, but they're a little pricey. If you decide to go with the Harland Sharps, be sure to check the rockers and the shafts for metal shavings before you install them.

The pwr stainless are around that price (400ish) and are bushed, come with shafts, shims, spacers, hold down hardware and are available in 1.5,1.6 & 1.7 ratio's

Search on here for rocker geometry if you want a headache

6 builds all with Harland Sharpes, no issues EVER! One has over 2500 passes on it, no issues. Love them, buy them once and your done.

Ok here is my take, we all use china parts like it or not in every day use and building but we just need to weed out what works and what dont like the snout breaking eagle cast crank.

Sooooo...... This is just info, you decide.

PRW started to phase out there al roller rockers in favor of there bushed SS units a while back so sooner or later these will be a thing of the past.

Now for the bearing a BA146..... look at the specs, not really all that bad. And thats what these are based on. And look at the packaging they can come in.

http://wxabsbearing.en.alibaba.com/product/1804738882-220268319/BAM146_BAM148_inch_size_iko_needle_roller_bearing_BA146_BA148.html#!

IIRC I would have to goto the shop for the maker but the HS bearing is a direct interchange with the BA146 with I think 2 needles less then the HS based number that will interchange.

You can buy HS needle bearing and use in these.

So since the close out of this type ending soon I got a few sets for less then $150 a pop sealed in the package. So that means putting on the QC hat and burning up like 4 hours a set because the china man does zero in that area.

It also means test running these on a bench motor.

The shafts in the kit is .844.

Since the needle bearings and al both have a service life its not the best setup for the street, or if so limited use.

So where do they fit in? The geometry of these suck on alot of heads but put import rockers on an import head casting and you might be surprised at the fit when compared to others.

With a small spring like I use a K-800 at under #600 open on a .700 lift solid up to 7k Ive had zero issues. And thats my street (cough) car that cant risk being stuck on the road.

I do have HS on my bracket car simply because I had them, but its mild.

All this really doesnt mean dick, just info on how some things can work and as well not work in many cases.

BR3 IIRC had posted these are all the same and they are clearly not from a out of the box quality standpoint, doing the QC work 4 sets became 3 sets and some spares mainly do to issues found in the machining of the bodies themselves (chinamans second shift must be blind guy) so vs like a HS system from the box that all checks out one can narrow the failures down to the actual body itself. But here again who wants to buy a couple sets to make one ok one?