I have a feeling I know the answer but might as well ask.. is there any issue using the steel 20R rocker arms on a 22RE head instead of the newer aluminums that came on it? As far as I'm aware aluminum rockers can last longer than the steel shafts they're on because aluminum is just soft enough to pick up grit that gets embedded, which then accelerates wear on the steel instead of itself. So steel rockers SHOULD wear the shafts less. Classic race engine builders often advocate for steel rockers over aluminum as well, but obviously on big blocks and the like with big power.

OEM's are expensive (new ones in general are expensive) and I have a brand new OEM 20R rocker assembly that a buddy had laying around. I know they're steel and therefore heavier (maybe louder too) but will they hurt anything, or has anyone done it? Aluminum rockers still have steel pads anyway, so I can't see why they wouldn't work. They'd be going on a brand new casting with a new cam, built similarly to something like the performance heads 22RE Performance and LCE offer.

If not, should I even be worried about OEM or will new aluminum "OE" arms like the ones on Yotashop be alright? Seems everyone says to use OEM but lots of stores also carry aftermarket so mixed signals there.

 

They did revise the rocker shafts to improve oiling. Maybe that’d be the way to go. And btw, you can get oem rockers for much less than $50. Yotashop, ICE, and 22RE performance all mark up oem parts pretty high. Never understood why people bought oem from them.
I haven’t seen any abnormal wear on my oem rockers or the towers. The first 22R’s had those plastic spacers that did trap grit and grind the two rockers, but when they went back to steel spacers that stopped.

 

I think the steel rockers have the same geometry as the aluminum ones do.

They should interchange . A bit of examination and measurement will tell for sure.