FA20 Rocker Retainer Kit
 

I used my google skills and found no one on this forum talking about this. Seems a company in Australia https://denstoj.com.au/ has developed a rocker retainer kit for the FA20 to stop the rocker from falling out.

This video was released in April 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0dzUSaRv0

Interesting- I've just sent them an email.

Not relevant for me at this time but seems like a simple solution to an issue people have when reving the fa20. Good to see it is available.

Nice find.

And just an FYI, if you lose a rocker, the pivot comes out of the oil galley and you lose oil pressure instantly. That's when shit really goes bad. Don't ask me how I know.

Retainer adds mass to rocker. Not a con?

Yep. I was thinking the same and why the manufacturer didn't do it.

That part of the rocker where they are adding the clip is the fulcrum, so any addition to mass would be negligible I would think.

I am interested in more info as well, maybe we could get a group buy going!

When they respond to me, this was going to be one of my questions, seems like they're just releasing it.

Being that they're upside down, it may take a while for them to get back to me; my main inquiry was about shipping.

Also interested in a group buy

Also found out that AWDtuning sells "rocker stoppers" for the FA20 intended for the WRX, I have an open inquiry with them as well, but haven't heard back from Denstoj

Now if we could just find an oiling solution I would possibly keep running the FA.

Didn't Element Tuning solve it? But it was via internal modifications.

Yeah, they did and it is expensive.

color me interested. :scared0016:

You are correct would make stuff all difference if any, I can only see benefits from this mod.

Same here, depending on cost. I don't run my car hard enough to really need them, but it would make me feel better to have them, even if I never install them. :iono:

I've sent follow up emails to both companies. No response from either yet

Awdtuning replied- they ceased production of these because they never caught on.

probably cause no one knew it was an option!

That is what I was thinking. I certainly never heard about it. :iono:

To be honest, it looks like their solution required some work to the head. It looks like their retainer is held in place with a fastener.

Yeah, oh well. Hoping the Aussies get back to me.

I received a reply from Dennis- he is willing to do some sort of a group buy, with a caveat- he'd want to ship them to one address, and that person would be responsible for shipping them to the other buyers in the US.

I would certainly feel apprehensive about leaving my fate in the hands of someone else, so I understand if this is a turn off- you could certainly e-mail him individually, but the answer is yes- they will ship to the US.

If anyone is interested in getting one and doesn't mind trusting me to ship to you when I get mine, let me know.

Contact - Dennis@Denstoj.com.au

I'd be interested! did they say how many buyers they would need?

No requisite, just that he'd far prefer to ship any quantity to one location to save on shipping cost/reliability. Pretty sure he'll sell them individually.

He said if people want to buy as a group, he just needs to know how many and he'll send a quote

Count me in as being interested in a group purchase. This, in addition to an IAG stage 1 or 2 built short block would make these engines a whole heck-uv-a lot more reliable for everyday street and occasional track use.

Sub

Learned something new today. Is this a potential problem in the 2017+ engines as well? I know they had some revision to the valve stems, camshafts, and a minor change in rocker arm pivots for weight reduction, but I honestly don't know that any of those changes are helpful as I don't have a lot of knowledge on engine internals. I did a little searching on it and didn't find too much aside from a few cases that people have posted in the past.

I believe the rockers in the 15'+ engines have deeper pockets and the pivots are taller. I don't recall for certain. There are a lot of revisions on the rocker pivots going back to 2014, but they are mostly due to changes in the oiling hole. I believe @solidsnake11 knows more details on the changes from his motor builds.

Im down to order

Thanks for the clarification.

But do these design changes also address the flaw that has been brought up by Denstoj and the OP with the rockers popping out under certain circumstances?

I'm in for the group buy as long as the price isnt crazy

Gents! If you're interested in purchasing the retainer kit, go ahead and shoot an email through to dennis@denstoj.com.au as we will no longer need to do a "group buy" and put any unnecessary pressure on someone to be a middle man.

The kit costs $450 USD + a $99 refundable security deposit + shipping (~ regular U.S domestic rates). See more info here: http://denstoj.com.au/retainer-kit/

The security deposit is refunded once Denstoj receives the original pivots from your engine. We recycle the parts to keep costs down.

Note, I'm affiliated with Denstoj so I hope I don't get banned for trying to sell stuff on here! We just noticed the thread and I wanted to help everyone out. We have a few kits in stock but need to understand how many more to make up.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

does it matter if the pivots are from the engine I want to put the new ones in? I have a spare and it would be easier to send those.

Nope doesn't matter - just need an original set.

I’m curious as to what model year engine this problem was being demonstrated on in the video posted here and on the Denstoj website, and whether this engine was in its stock form.

As solidsnake11 here mentioned that the 2014 and up engines were modified by the manufacturer to solve this problem. I don’t want to purchase parts that I don’t need and pull my engine to install them in order to fix a problem that has already been solved by the manufacturer. Can you answer those questions for us?

So for those interested, Subaru/Toyota updated the rockers and pivots but the change didn't combat the issue we're seeing in the video (it was mentioned earlier that the change was for the oil). The height of the pivot didn't change, meaning that retaining kit can be used on any model year.

Note, it's important to check valve clearances during installation and swap out the lash adjuster buckets if required. This is unlikely if each lash adjuster bucket is returned to the original valve.

FYI, the engine in the video was factory sealed.

Wish I knew about this sooner...
I found that out the hard way...today... I literally just started the car, heard some sound... didn't think of it much and then on my 12 min drive to my appointment, i noticed smoke and a trail of oil... FML.
https://i.imgur.com/pyEhruy.jpg