Broken rocker arm. Seize the day to build the head?

[mleonardo]

Did you remove the plate at the front of the head that locks the shafts in position? If all rockers slide side to side easily, then the only thing holding the rocker shaft in is varnish/sludge that builds up on exposed areas. You might have to try to clean that stuff off. Can you rotate the shaft?

I cannot. I'm trying my hardest, but it just seems stuck. The head seems pretty straight - I checked the top with a level, which I know is not the best method.

[mleonardo]

The rocker shafts may also have been mangled by a previous owner, so they no longer fit through the bores in the head.

PO was an ME. I doubt that happened.

[redlightpete]

So you've taken out the locking plate? And all the rockers are loose on the shaft you're trying to remove?
I just removed the rocker shafts from a head this afternoon and on that stock head, none of the rockers would move over far enough to fully clear the cam lobes, so it would not have been possible to get 'all the rockers off the cam' as you describe. It was only possible to move both rockers over a lobe that was pointed down at the time.

[mleonardo]

So you've taken out the locking plate? And all the rockers are loose on the shaft you're trying to remove?
I just removed the rocker shafts from a head this afternoon and on that stock head, none of the rockers would move over far enough to fully clear the cam lobes, so it would not have been possible to get 'all the rockers off the cam' as you describe. It was only possible to move both rockers over a lobe that was pointed down at the time.

Right, what I mean is that all of the exhaust rockers but for cylinder #6 were disengaged. And yes, I've removed the locking plate and have it in my egg crate of parts.

I'm thinking driving 100~ miles or so with the broken rocker arm won't do any more damage than the 1,000 I did before I realized it was broken. It'll give me time to get some cash together and do the job right, replacing all 12 rockers with new IE HD units and doing the head gaskets and other hardware. Head building and ARP studs can wait.

[digger]

That's not very good logic

[downforce22]

if you did it right the shaft should be able to rotate and you can grip it slide it forward back a bit at a time until you get it all the way out. Or until you can get an extension in there and tap on it with a hammer to slide it out.

It really isnt very hard if you have done everything correctly.