Cheap rockers and shafts from Wadhams - Any good?

Hey guys, has anyone bought these rockers and shafts from Wadhams and are they any good?
J R Wadhams Ltd | Rocker set: V8
£108 for a full set of rockers
J R Wadhams Ltd | Rocker shaft: V8
and £48 for a pair of shafts.
Doesn't specify if they're OEM so I assume they're aftermarket.

Rimmer bros sell complete OEM Rockers fully assembled for .....wait for it......£842 PER SIDE so obviously Im looking for a cheaper alternative, but not if they're s**t
 
I have fitted a set of rockers and shafts from Island4x4. No miles yet, will advise later. Nice and quiet now. Note that if they advise you need plugs for the shafts (come in packs of 10, cheap), ask them to check the shafts - some come already plugged, mine did. The rockers in alloy are GBP3.50, steel gbp2.99. They list the shafts at GBP10 each.
 
Last edited:
Not shafts and rockers, but related. Friend had a V8 Defender over here in the States, engine had been ‘rebuilt’ before he bought it. Within a few thousand miles he lost power. Found the valve springs had cracked. For some reason the Chinesium valve springs had been chrome plated, the plating process embrittles the steel plus the chrome peels off causing lots of fun. Be very wary of cheap parts.
 
Yeh thats why I'm wary of buying any cheap parts, I've heard a lot of bad stories
On the other hand I find it hard to believe JR Wadhams would be selling any substandard engine parts.
I think I'll give them a call and find out who the manufacturer is, as it doesn't state on the listing
 
I'm going to jump in here. Following JP's advice I've been in contact with Island 4x4 and inquired about getting quality without the exorbitant price of genuine. Their reply was that all their stock came out of China and the quality was average. They suggested, for instance, getting 10 of each rocker and pick the best fitting ones for the job. Sounds a bit odd but at the price they have them you could order twice what you need and it'll still be cheaper than some of the other suppliers.
Please let us know what Wadham's say. (Bit difficult me calling them when you lot are always asleep during the day):LOL:
 
If the Buick V6 is essentially the same block with two fewer cylinders, and the same timing cover, I wonder what rocker gear those engines used and if it would fit the Rover? There must be US made aftermarket parts for that motor too. For the price of an authentic Land Rover set from Rimmers you could pretty much get fancy anodised alloy roller rockers etc.
 
The Buick rockers might fit, but good luck finding some. For high hp/rpm the roller rockers look good. Do they fit under std covers?
 
I got a set of Harland Sharp roller rockers for a good price direct from manufacturer. They’re the orange ones you sometimes see. Engine still not built so cannot comment on how good they are but quality is very good and easy adjustability for lash with different pushrods so we’ll worth it for my build.
Jim
 
Another option according to a mechanic friend of mine is to get a set real cheap and have them bushed from new. Food for thought.
 
As a follow on, is there any experience out there of the engine rebuild packages offered by Rimmers? They seem very cheap for the amount of material supplied.
thanks
 
More on this topic. I was under the impression that soft metal parts running on hard metal usually wore well, that is, not a lot. I assumed that our rocker shafts were harder than the rockers, and the high wear seen on the shafts was caused by lack of oil. As an exercise I took one of my old shafts and tried to drill through the std oil hole through the opposite side of the shaft - very easy , not at all difficult - the shaft is not very hard at all. If this sort of wear is not apparent on SD1 and later engines (wasnt on my 2 SD1 that I took to 100k miles), was that because the oil supply was better, or was the shaft metallurgy different? Can any body report on similar wear on SD1 shafts? I understand that the alloy used for the rockers is probably different from that used in a head casting, but I have had several Mazdas with alloy twin cam heads, where the cams run directly in the head, and have seen zero wear at 150k miles - never been an issue. Still have very few miles on the Island4x4 rockers and shafts, so nothing to report there.
 
More on this topic. I was under the impression that soft metal parts running on hard metal usually wore well, that is, not a lot. I assumed that our rocker shafts were harder than the rockers, and the high wear seen on the shafts was caused by lack of oil. As an exercise I took one of my old shafts and tried to drill through the std oil hole through the opposite side of the shaft - very easy , not at all difficult - the shaft is not very hard at all. If this sort of wear is not apparent on SD1 and later engines (wasnt on my 2 SD1 that I took to 100k miles), was that because the oil supply was better, or was the shaft metallurgy different? Can any body report on similar wear on SD1 shafts? I understand that the alloy used for the rockers is probably different from that used in a head casting, but I have had several Mazdas with alloy twin cam heads, where the cams run directly in the head, and have seen zero wear at 150k miles - never been an issue. Still have very few miles on the Island4x4 rockers and shafts, so nothing to report there.

My understanding is that there were two materials used for rocker shafts, aluminium alloy and hard chrome steel. I do recall seeing rocker shafts where the underside was very heavily worn. When I removed my Rover's rocker shafts back in the late 1990s, mileage was around 150,000 (242,000km) there was no wear at all on the undersides. The shafts were hard chrome steel, so I put them back in. I always changed the engine oil every 2000 miles or so and I surmise that is why those that wear heavily were not receiving the same regular attention. In addition for some reason, the P6B engines were predisposed to spreading combustion particles throughout the rocker covers, evidenced by dry gritty dirt. Without regular oil changes, wear will certainly be accelerated.

Ron.
 
P6B engines were predisposed to spreading combustion particles throughout the rocker covers, evidenced by dry gritty dirt. Without regular oil changes, wear will certainly be accelerated. Ron.

A good reason to maintain the breathers, or install a functioning PCV system.
 
Another observation I forgot - as I drilled through the shaft it was apparent there was a LOT of oil sludge/debris inside the shaft. I might try to pull the end plugs to see just how bad it is.
Here you go:-
H8grxw9.jpg

You can see from the printing roughly how gig the paper is. This is on shaft. Drilled through the cap at one end, drove the opposite cap out, then back the other way. As the drift went through there were sausages of crud coming out the rocker oiling holes, and some out the pedestal holes. Seems to confirm basic problem is insufficient oil changing....If I had a better fitting rod to push through there would be even more, the inside is by no means clear .

What would a 'functioning PCV system' look like please? I have cleaned flame traps and replaced the breather at the rear.
 
Last edited:
For V8 engine a PCV system would entail fitting a PCV valve calibrated to the engine, usually in a grommet fitted to one of the rocker covers, a pipe leaving the PCV valve would connect to a stub on the inlet manifold serving all inlet runners, not just a single runner. To allow air to enter the engine a breather would be fitted on the opposite rocker cover. The idea being to draw in fresh air and remove blow by gasses into the inlet thereby purging the engine. This will help keep the oil cleaner and reduce sludge and harmful deposit build up.
The stock set up employing breathers connected to the carbs to evacuate gasses and a breather at the rear of the block to allow air in is a form of ventilating the crank case, however it does not have a means to properly calibrate the flow, whereas a PCV valve will alter the flow according to the engine demands.
From a fresh engine build onward I always use an engine flush when changing the oil, this coupled with sub 3000 mile intervals seems to keep on top of the Rover's dirty habits.
 
Back
Top