Hitchcocks Forum

I have just been giving my electra X the once over and fitted a new chain. So I thought I would check the valve clearances. I removed the tappet cover and there in the bottom of the tappet case was 2 shim type washers with a small tang on the outside edge. Now last year the engine had a total strip for a crank rebuild and there was nothing left in the cases before rebuilding. I have checked the clearances twice previously and found nothing wrong . So anyone have any ideas where they may have come from.

That sounds like tab washers. (Which is a bit of a worry.)

They are not tab washers, they are far too thin for that. They are maybe 5 thou thickness. At first I thought they may be thrust end float type washers but not sure because they would be mounted on a shaft to take up free play

Hi Davie, by your description, I would say they are the thrust washers from the rocker spindles - the little tab is for holding them in place as you push the rocker spindles through them. Horrible little things. Cheers, Paul.

Hi whisper, I agree with you, thats what they will be. Well the engine runs fine and no noisier than when I rebuilt it, so I won't be in hurry to replace them, and there's no filings in the oil so not about to worry about them.

On the other hand Davie, those thrust washers are there for a reason. The clue is in the name. Not such a big job to put them back where they belong. You now have the steel rocker rubbing directly on the alloy head. Not a good idea even with plenty of oil flow.

They can be a bit of a sod to fit, so have a bit of round bar the same diameter as the rocker spindle (or maybe very slightly smaller - I think it's about 14mm diameter) but with a rounded or tapered end end to use as a mandrel to line the washer up with the hole in the rocker, it makes fitting the rocker spindles much easier. A.