03 Rocker Arms in 01 FXe470

Check Joe USA's gallery. There may be some info in there. There are pictures and a copy of a service bulletin on the 03 rockers.

hello eric

well you'll be getting oil pressure to the head but the oil pressure relief valve will be permanently open because the oil has nowhere to go? having said that there will be enough wear in the ends of the shafts to let it out around the rocker cover screws.

why not drill them? seems a good idea to me?

you could try ripping the cap on the end of the exhaust shaft off/out and the oil will just flood the camchain tunnel and run away....

the drilling is about an inch over and poits directly at the end of the valve stem i think?

regards

Taffy

All the 03's should have the holes already shouldn't they???
Mines an 03 and has them.
I thought they changed later in the 04+.
When you had the rocker cover off you should have seen a small o-ring towards the left rear side - thats the oil gallery.
Then it goes in thru the rocker shafts and fills the centre of the arms and squirts out towards the rocker bearings.

husabutt said:

I can't recall if they had the holes already drilled or not but I think they did not. If only the 01 and 02 models were pressure fed then the 03's would not really need the oil relief holes.

Perhaps later made 03 rockers were pre-drilled to facilitate usage back to 01 (and earlier) ?

Click to expand...

The 03 is pressure fed to.It´s plug´n play.

husabutt said:

Fourstrokeforce said:

husabutt said:

I can't recall if they had the holes already drilled or not but I think they did not. If only the 01 and 02 models were pressure fed then the 03's would not really need the oil relief holes.

Perhaps later made 03 rockers were pre-drilled to facilitate usage back to 01 (and earlier) ?

Click to expand...

The 03 is pressure fed to.It´s plug´n play.

Click to expand...

Well thats a relief. If the 01-03 models were pressure fed there should be no need to worry. I am going to dig up my old 01 rockers this evening and see if they were drilled
from the factory. I'll post my findings.

Click to expand...

Sorry my Friend, the 03 arms have very small spray holes to allow the 03 (Only the 03 engine has pressurized oil to the rocker arms) engine to spray oil onto the cam lobes and cam follower needle bearings. The 03 pressurized arms were an experiment that did not improve the live of the cam lobes or the the follower needle bearings. The larger diameter needles used in the 03 arm bearings did lengthen the live of the bearings.

To use the 03 arms in a different year engine you need to drill a hole in the top each rocker arm assembly so oil splashed up by the cam chain can get in to lubricate the rocker arm/rocker shaft interface. Its also very important to properly set the axial play in the arm when tightening the head cover screws that go through rocker shaft.

Measure your old arms for the location and diameter of the hole. See the 00 year arm holes in my Gallery, page 1.

Joe

edit:02/18/09

I apologize, you gents are correct. The 01 through 03 arms had the pressurized oil lubricated arms.

My bad.....I'm under the Bus and have been there so long I now have a Bus repair certificate!

Joe

Sorry my Friend, the 03 arms have very small spray holes to allow the 03 (Only the 03 engine has pressurized oil to the rocker arms)

Click to expand...

The 01 and 02 models has exactly the same lubrication system as 03.From 04 and on the rocker arms are splash fed again.

i just didn't want to correct joe! he's never had to be corrected once ever before! they had oil pressure feed to the head from the get go with the 2001 engine. that engine lasted to the end of 2003. then the 2004 engine had the head literally sit on the oil feed.....! so i take it the rocker arms needn't have the squirt holes.

regards

Taffy

Taffy said:

i just didn't want to correct joe! he's never had to be corrected once ever before! they had oil pressure feed to the head from the get go with the 2001 engine. that engine lasted to the end of 2003. then the 2004 engine had the head literally sit on the oil feed.....! so i take it the rocker arms needn't have the squirt holes.

regards

Taffy

Click to expand...

I apologize, you gents are correct. The 01 through 03 arms had the pressurized oil lubricated arms.

My bad.....I'm under the Bus and have been there so long I now have a Bus repair certificate!

Joe

buddy

you're are still umber 1 and i always come to you for the best and most solid advice. DL may have got somethings wrong but working closely with you wasn't one of them sir!

regards

Taffy