Sorry for the off-topic question but I need a mechanic's advice. I pulled the valve cover of my Bronco's 351M to change the gasket and found half of an oil deflector from one of the rockers laying loose inside. Should I replace them all? More important; what could have caused this? The motor has roughly 126,000 miles on it.
Thanks, Gary
Sorry for the delay in replying, Gary...... I can recall seeing this several times in the past. When one is broken, I automatically regard the rest as the next victim and opt for changing them all. Vibration appears to be the killer - the tang of the deflector acts like a little tuning fork and when valve train harmonics are just right, the deflectors start to self-destruct. Without the deflector, expect the rocker arm and pivot to wear prematurely and could even get bad enough to mimic a collapsed lifter in sound.
HTH.
-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net
Thanks, Jim. I was hoping to leave at least ONE bolt on the ol' heap unturned. Just glad I found it now.
Gary
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