LS Engine Tech: Straub Rocker Trunnion Upgrade
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Every LS engine needs a trunnion upgrade. The factory needle bearings are prone to working themselves loose and wrecking havoc in the oil system.
The Straub Technologies trunnion kit replaced the factory needle bearings with solid bushings. No more needle bearing mayhem.
Here's a link to the Straub trunnion kit...
www.straubtechn...
Here's the Harbor Freight arbor press I used...
www.harborfrei...
I appreciate your thorough explanation of every detail and the visual representation to accompany them. Anyone could do this, with zero prior knowledge, based on your videos. Keep up the good work.
Sorry I'm so late to the party! Was surfing UA-cam and came across your rocker/trunnion upgrade and WOW! Very informative, very detailed and no nonsense, to the point! Thank You and keep up the great work!
Glad the video was helpful! Thanks for watching and good luck on your project.
FYI: for cleaning internal engine parts of many miles of varnish, SIMPLE GREEN works excellent and melts the varnish away and returns the parts to new bare metal finish. I use it for cleaning my internal engine parts, just let them soak in undiluted (straight) SIMPLE GREEN, only takes a couple minutes, unless the varnish is really bad, some slight brushing might be needed, just rinse the parts with fresh water, and then spray with WD 40 to keep from corroding/rusting!!
Thanks for the awesome video about our product, hope you're satisfied with the upgrade sir!
Very satisfied. Thanks for making a great product.
Excellent video! I just returned my needle bearing BTR kit back last night and ordered the Straub kit. Thank you for being so detailed!
Happy to share my experience. Thanks for watching! And good luck with your trunnion bushings!
Make sure Rockers rotate on trunion as well, always have the ring clip opening facing down on the rocker too to prevent a drop of it in engine.
Better yet, never ever use these bronze bushing kits, they are trash and shed a lot of metal into your oil/engine. Capturing bearing kits ONLY
Great Video! Had a brocken bearing, installed the kit now it runs perfekt!
Awesome, glad the video was helpful. Hearing about a broken rocker bearing helps confirm that installing one of these kits is worth while. Thanks for sharing.
Great video , I updated with captured needle bearings . Keep in mind the Rocker cover(s) may need slight modifications to the internal baffling to fit between wider trunnions .
seeing us general in the background. I bought that $80 ultra sonic cleaners from HF. Got it for gun parts, after trying it out on my valvetrain I couldn't believe it. With it full of about 70/30 simple green/water, it cleaned all of it so well my rockers even went back to new color and look like they were bead blasted. I cant tell you how impressed I am with it for small engine parts. give 1 a try if you get a chance. cleaned my needle bearings so clean I can see slop in them that wasn't there with 150k burn oil.
Right on ! Thank you for the specific instruction.👍
Glad to hear the video was helpful. Thanks for watching!
Great video sir. Very appreciated 👍
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
thank you so much for this video, i find my problem now,
Good video, been debating on paying them to do it or do it myself. Think I'll do it myself after seeing this.
Definitely something you can do yourself! Thanks for watching!
Just canceled my comp trunnion order, thanks!
I think you'll really like the Straub kit. I've been very pleased with mine!
I think it might be a good idea to use a right sized reamer on the rocker holes to get any deformities out before you put the bushing in. However, I would use needle bearings that are sealed for longer life.
As stated in the other comments, the trunion upgrade kits with the needle bearings from Comp Cams are also showing some failures... Being that this rocker lives in oil and its a bronze bushing you wont see any wear on this setup for a very very long time. 60+ thousand miles on this kit in my Cts-V and just as a month ago removed a rocker arm to inspect the bushing and given I didn't use a micrometer or anything the trunion, it didnt have any play inside the bushings what so ever, looked like i had just taken them out of the box! SHOULD NOT be installing needle bearings back into the motor if your going to all this work....
Great vid. . . . super detailed but not long-winded thank you!!
Really glad the video was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Thanks bro
Happy to share. Thanks for watching.
I installed these on my 6.0 and now I have lifter noise. Proper Preloading was done to the rockers. What do you think is goin on? I have had LS7 springs and BTR stage 3 cam well before the trunnion upgrade. Cam and lifters looked great upon inspection.
Excellent. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
Not an upgrade if you’re going from a needle bearing to a bushing, should upgrade to a retaining method for the bearings or a better bearing but not going to a bushing especially if you have aftermarket cam or something using more range of movement and higher spring pressures. Keep bearing for reduced friction in the system. You did a good job I just don’t think stepping down from a bearing to a bushing is really an upgrade.
Since this kit has c-clips on the trunnions, the assembly lube is a great idea to press them in easier! However, on kits without c-clips, would you still use assembly lube? Some other videos I saw, they did not use lube, since the press-fit needs to remain tight and not come loose. What do you think?
I'm not sure which kit doesn't use c-clips so I can't comment specifically. But the assembly lube just helps press the bushing in smoothly, but it doesn't change the clearance to the rocker arm. The fit should be just as snug either way.
Thanks for the help!!! I probably posted 10 questions to your videos last night, lol. ^_^
Wonder if my drill press will work to press them out?
How about using a G-clamp and gently wind the bushings into the rocker... mmm.. I think that mite work... what do you think mate ?
A C-clamp could probably work. I know a lot of guys use a bench vise to do this, so the same principle. Give it a try and let us know how it works!
My LS jesel rockers stil have bearings inside
Crazy question what happens when it comes apart in the motor can you drain the oil out to get the bearing out
you need to take the oil sump out, and while oil sump out, you need to good flush the engine with engine flash, a few times, than put everyting back together should be fine, of course dont forget to change the oil filter ...
CHE kit has a spiral groove on the bushing and trunnion to introduce oil to the bushing. This kit doesn't appear to have that. Wonder if that matters at all?
The Straub kit has an oil groove machined into the trunnion piece rather than the bushing. Honestly I have heard of a failure from either kit and believe you can't go wrong with either one. I've been very happy with the Straub, but I believe if I had bought the CHE I would say that same thing.
2nd thought just now. As far as that arbor press. I have a small need for a press now and then and wondered about one of those. do you find many uses for it. I guess im wondering if it would be worth the money to have a bench top fixture to use. Im building a turbo LS I figure will get treated like a rental at the track, so I have spent $100s on engine building tools I know im going to use again and again. just wonder between one of these and a full floor model press what would be my best choice
Is it possible to gently tap the bushing in to place if someone didn't have a press?
I would not recommend trying to tap the bushing in. A press allows you apply a smooth controlled amount of pressure to the bushing. Trying to hammer the bushings in, you could crack the rocker arm or damage the bushing. I used an arbor press from Harbor Freight, which go for about $60. Worst case, just sell it on CL when you're done, and recoup some of your money if you don't think you'll use the press again in the future.
Maybe use a c clamp
This video was very enlightening! What brand do you recommend for adjustable snap ring pliers?
So the ones I have that you see in the video are from Channel Lock. I've had them for quite a while and they've served me well. They have changeable tips which is important, and they also switch between internal and external opening snap rings, which is kinda of a 2 in 1 deal.
amzn.to/2FQ3Og1
My moma said put a couple booger welds on them tronions and send them to boogie town while singing sweet home Alabama
How do you get them out tho?
Would it be or a good idea to heat up the rocker some so it would just slide in
You probably could but honestly it doesn't take a lot of pressure to press these in.
Is it important to keep the rocker organized when removing them from the motor, like you would if you were just taking them out, and putting them back in? IE, Cylinder 1 Intake rocker needs to go back to cylinder 1 intake. Cylinder 3 exhaust, back to cylinder 3 exhaust, ect. Thanks
I cant give you the scientific top fuel mechanic answer myself, but I wondered about that. in my personal opinion on my build the rocker body and stand are the only thing that wasn't replaced. with new valves, push rods and trunnion I figured it wouldn't matter much. using more used parts as in valve stems and push rods id say every ASE UA-cam master tech would tell you to keep them together. I subscriber to the sloppymechanics/ matt happel school of thought maybe lol. other than the month I spent prepping every single inch of my stock bottom end
matt
Thanks man I kinda figured that you can't go wrong putting them back where there came from. I'll be replacing the pushrods during my cam swap, as well as the trunnion upgrade.
Awesome!!!
I don't see a brass bushing lasting long, at all, even with oil. I'd bet after 100k they're VERY egg shaped. I could be wrong
I would think the same. Steve Morris puts them in his endurance LS motors though. I wonder what a gm powertrain guy would say.
Thanks for this video, about to do this but I went with the captive bearing kit from BTR since I bought the rest of the valve train components from them. Is it worth the $40 to return it and go for the brass kit from Straub in your opinion?
I would discuss it with BTR. The captive bearing kit would probably be ok, but in my opinion, I think the Straub kit is better. There are simply no needle bearings to fail. Do it once, do it right. Good luck on your project! Let me know how it turns out.
i went ahead and ordered the BTR trunnion kit since I placed my order for everything else from them. I wish I had listened to you. I installed the kit on my stock rockers and on half of them I get a rough notchy feeling when I rotate them, almost like the bearings are binding up. Do you have any input on this? I'm removing and returning and already bought the Straub kit. Live and learn.
AT Balakay sorry to hear that. I suggest using an assembly lube when you install the straub bushings. I felt just a bit of roughness when I used plain motor oil.
Scruf's Garage I installed the Straub kit today. Much better fit and finish, zero problems with the bushings hanging up. Now I can finally hear this cam. Thanks again.
That's great to hear!. Glad it worked out. I was really impressed with how much this kit quieted down my valvetrain noise.
What kind of t bit you need to tighten it down
Did the trunnion have any side to side movement with this kit?
That's funny shit we used to spend $200 to get roller rockers no we take out the bearings funny how things change
It's not working what about oil inside aroker
Update on longevity? Thanks.
No issues thus far. Have about 2500 miles on the engine. Recently did an oil change and sent a sample off to Blackstone for analysis. Nothing elevated in the results to suggest rocker bushings eating themselves, etc.
Thanks mate. Just ordered some. Good opportunity to install since I'm literally in the middle of an engine tear down for lifters.
👍👏👏👏
Not 100% sure of the brand. But unlike 99% of them,mine came in a bag with all 16 together. I have literally a day in trying to get the snap rings off and get them apart. Anyone else having trouble with them? Go on slick but I cant get the rings off to assemble them to save my life.
That's very odd. I haven't heard of anyone running into that before. Sounds like a hassle though. You've probably got it all sorted out by now, but for anyone else, you can always call Straub directly with any questions. Chris Straub himself answered the phone when I called and was extremely helpful.
I got them figured out. I got fed up and grabbed a pair of pliers. Thought those pins on my snap ring pliers will bend of break off. Bent right out and locked in solid as a rock. I guess using them on way oversized rings had bent them in so slightly you couldn't tell. After bending them I could bang them on the bench and snap ring wouldnt come off