OK guys. I seem to have developed an oil leak on the rear rocker cover. Can the gasket be changed without removing the engine from the frame? Sure looks to be a tight fit in there.

 

Yes. Get the piston at the bottom of its travel. Pop the pushrod covers loose, adjust the lifters so there's lots of slop, and pull the pushrods & covers out. Take the head and rocker box off together. Now you can take the rocker box off the head and whoop it up with a new gasket. Good time to check the rocker arms, and shim 'em for minimum side-play, too.

 

You do not need to remove the head.... The rocker box has six bolts holding it to the head after removing the rocker support assemblies.

Remove what you need to get to the rocker covers and remove. Remove the spark plugs and with the rear wheel off the ground and the transmission in fifth or sixth, turn the engine using the rear wheel and watch the rockers. There will be a point where the exhaust rocker is closing the exhaust valve and immediately the intake rocker is opening the intake valve. That is the 'rocked' position. Now using a soda straw to indicate where the piston is in the cylinder through the spark plug hole, rotate the engine forward to the next top dead center. That position is also the power stroke and both cam lobes are pointed down away from the lifters. Now remove the rocker supports, pushrods, and pushrod covers keeping track of where they were located (the longer pushrod is the intake). Remove the rocker box and replace the gasket. Use two 1/4-40 flat head bolts to locate the rocker box when reinstalling and tighten at least two of the bolts before removing the 1/4-20 flat heads. Put her back together....Consult the service manual to retighten the rocker supports or ask.... they are easily broken if not tightened correctly. Easy job!

 

Outstanding! Thanks!

 

Drop the pushrod covers and look at the pushrods to see the rocked position....I forgot in the explanation that this wasn't a TC...Also the rocker assemblies (shovels) may be on studs and not bolts - that will be the factor for easy removal because of the space limitation in the frame for rocker box removal. HD was pretty good about that in those days though. Today with the TC you can get a ratchet wrench stuck under something if you are not aware of the limited space - that's a real screw-up 'cause those wrenches don't reverse....

 

on a shovel, you MUST pull the head with the rocker box. and there are NINE nuts on studs holding the rocker to the head, and 5 head bolts that thread upwards from the cyl to the head.

 

I agree with jmetro and others, you have to take the head & rocker box together. Don't forget the oil lines either. Whats worse is not putting them back on. (Don't ask how I know.) I think 08CVORK is working on his twinkie.

Bob

 

I think you are probably correct.... I'm ashambed of myself..... I started out thinking about the shovel head and went on to describe the TC - dammit![sm=bangbang.gif]