AFR 185 issues

I did a search and did not come up with much. Has any here and issues with AFR 185's? I purchased mine a while back for my 393. I posted a thread about a rocker issue I had. I have seen threads on other boards about some issues people have had with their 185's seen here:

408 Inspection Time - Page 2 - The National Lightning Owners Club, Inc.

AFR Heads being sent back Stay tuned ! - The National Lightning Owners Club, Inc.

I don't want to but I think I may have to tear mine down and do some preventative maintenance. It sucks to drop 1300 dollars on a set of heads only to have to redo the valvetrain with less than 600 miles on them.

I've never experianced it, but several machine shops I deal with have seen / Told me similar guide and wear issues with SBF AFR and SBF TFS's heads over the years.

Soft Guides? To good of Oil Control? Improper Tolerances when Built?

Unless your valve train geometry is way off, i'd look towated some harder guides and maybe a little "Softer" oil control to allow them to get a litte more oil.

Is yours giving you any indications of a problem? Oil Consumption? Valve train noise?

im going to finish my teardown tonight, it hasn't given me any indication, so far. Most guys who have the above issues have a couple of thousand miles on them. I would rather play it safe though now, instead of dropping a valve later.

I had a set of AFR 185s that had three valve guides worn out after about 2000 miles. One was so bad that the the valve could be moved sideways about 1/16".

Wow, it would be interesting to know if there is a pattern to which valves guides are going bad. Like ones on the passenger side, vs, the drivers side, ones in the front of the motor vs the rear of the motor.

My thinking is, maybe unbalanced water flow,(some valves are running hotter then others...) or oil pressure is lower in some locations, meaning the oil does not lube the rockers equally in different parts of the motor, from a weak oil pump...

Piss poor valve guides. Plain and simple.

I would wonder if any one had this problem with pedestal rockers since they will center. I have noticed the guide plates leave a lot of room for error and could take out a guide. I also needed to get 0.0150 longer push rods to get it right. Just a couple things that could cause wear.

Originally Posted by iwantmore

I would wonder if any one had this problem with pedestal rockers since they will center. I have noticed the guide plates leave a lot of room for error and could take out a guide. I also needed to get 0.0150 longer push rods to get it right. Just a couple things that could cause wear.

All great points. Improper valve train geometry can be hell on even the best parts. How many people buy heads and just "slap em on" without checking alignment and clearances? (This statement is not directly pointed at the OP, but he might want to recheck valve/spring/pushrod/guideplate alignment during reassembly.)

Each engine combination will have its own needs. I found that a set of Manley SBF guide plates does a better job of alignment than the original AFR stuff when using 1.7 ratio rockers. I also needed 8.250" pushrods, as the stock length would have been way short on my 205's.

Originally Posted by iwantmore

I would wonder if any one had this problem with pedestal rockers since they will center. I have noticed the guide plates leave a lot of room for error and could take out a guide. I also needed to get 0.0150 longer push rods to get it right. Just a couple things that could cause wear.

Mine were with FMS pedestal roller rockers.

I started using the ISKY cams adjustable guideplates. They are made for Chevy's and need some clearancing work to make them run on a Windsor small block, but you can get the rocker aligned dead on with the valve. Best $50 I spent on the top-end IMO.
-J