What would crack into pieces the rocker arm shafts?

I gave the head that came off my father's 2.2l truck to my son for a back up head since I have a Ford engine in the truck now.

Anyway, he took it apart to clean it, and asked if the shafts were supposed to be in pieces. I told him no!

When I was driving the truck daily it leaked oil like crazy which is why I went ahead a built it back new. I bought a new head since the factory the has them is just down the road.

The engine ran fine outside the oil leaks. I called my father to ask him what he thought. He said it might have happened when he got hit in the side trying to change lanes {I know now that the B's have a BAD blind spot on the drivers side looking back, compared to my wife's Tacoma.

I do know that the accident didn't do anything to the frame as he put it on a machine to check it, but it did knock both motor mounts out.

What do you guys think could cause this, and how did the truck keep running? Sorry, but I don't have pics just yet.

Did he disassemble the rocker shafts?

To clean them?

And those are the pieces you are talking about?

p.s., nice job on the truck.

He disassembled the rocker assembly to get to the shafts, they {the shafts} were all broke.

The head ran dry of oil.

The rockers ran hot on the shafts.

And fractured them.

I would opine.

No, I had the engine before building it for JR, and it ran fine, just oil leaks everywhere. That is what is most baffling, the fact that it DID run fine.

I wonder if, when, my father wrecked it when trying to pass a truck {there was another vehicle in his blind side of which he collided with, from the drivers door, and front side of the bed} that might have done it.

when he wrecked the truck did it damage anything on the engine to where it lost its oil?

It broke both motor mounts. I had to put replace them with new units before I ran it.

The only thing I did with it before driving was new belts and hoses, new timing belt, new motor mounts, new brake pads, plugs, wires, dizzy cap, and rotor.

Finally, here are the pics.... Every single one broke at the hold down bolt. Think it could have been that they were too hard as in brittle, so what when Pop's had the accident while the engine was running the side impact was enough to do this?

The shafts got hot, and fractured.

Do you see the discoloration on the shafts? That comes from heat.

I agree with tweaker. The reason it still ran fine is because those shafts do not move and the end caps would keep them from coming out. The bolts in the hold downs kept them from spinning or moving.









-Justin