LC Engineering strongly recommends replacing the rocker arms on your
Toyota engine when a new camshaft is installed. The main reason is
the rocker arm will usually wear or "burnish" before the camshaft
lobe will. When replacing a camshaft and not replacing the rocker
arms, the new camshaft will contact the used rocker arms in a
different spot and create an un-even surface for the camshaft lobe.
In most cases the two burnish marks will overlap and cause scoring
and eventually camshaft failure. It is possible to resurface the
rocker wear pads but not recommended. Often times the "burnish" mark
is too uneven or deep and cannot be saved. If the "burnish" mark is
all the way across the wear pad, the rocker arms need replacement.
There are some sample photos below that will show some examples of
normal wear and abnormal wear. Please contact our Technical
Department for further information.
Brand new rocker arm
wear pad & new camshaft lobe.
How a normal wear
pattern looks on a camshaft lobe.
How an abnormal wear
pattern looks on a camshaft lobe.
How an abnormal wear
pattern looks on a rocker arm wear pad.