New engine... no good

[trb97]

I bought a 350 on craigslist. This is what I saw when I tool the intake off. Ever seen thai before? Lifter sitting in the valley...

[Sick5]

wow that sucks.

[Jimal]

Was this a tear down before running it? It looks like someone missed while installing the pushrod. If you think the motor is already a dud, I'd still the lifter back in, install the pushrod - correctly - button it up and see what happens. It isn't like this would have caused a valve to hang open and cause real damage.

[66Submarine]

Welcome to the forum! Great first post.

I did find an extra pushrod in the oil pan of a 292 I bought...

[trb97]

I really think they missed it on the install. Everything looks good/straight. The cam appears un-damaged when the motor is turned. And the motor turns smooth. I took cut open and nothing looks suspect. ??

[trb97]

It was an upper end rebuild that he ran for a month or so then he got a good deal on a 383 he said he could not refuse.

[geezer#99]

Check the rocker for that pushrod to see if it's damaged or the nut is backed off.

[trb97]

Thats the thing, the bolt was completely off sitting next to the rocker(right where it is in the picture below., the rocker was just sitting on there. The pushrod is straight and undamaged also.

[jayoldschool]

1. Remove all rockers. Inspect.
2. Pull pushrods, check for straightness on a piece of glass.
3. Reinstall pushrods.
4. Reinstall rockers. Lash properly.
5. Rotate engine a couple more times, observe rocker operation for each valve.
6. Put engine back together, install.
7. Start.
8. Smile.
9. Buy lottery ticket.

[61_FL_Apache]

At least the lifter and rod jumped out of the way before anything could happen.

Is that stud or nut stripped?

[PGSigns]

I would look at it really close. Looks like some marks on the retainer and the end of the pushrod looks beat up. Look at the lifter and cam for small dings from the cam hitting it. It takes a little while for a poly-lok to back all the way off. Take a look to see how many threads are sticking up through the rocker for the poly-lok to thread on. If it is only a 1/4 inch or so it may have to long a push rod in it. I looks to me from the picture the set screw is way down in the hole on the other rocker in the last picture.
Jimmy

[trb97]

Nothing is stripped. I'll do everything that you guys suggested and update you all. Thanks for the information!

[Jimal]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

I would look at it really close. Looks like some marks on the retainer and the end of the pushrod looks beat up. Look at the lifter and cam for small dings from the cam hitting it. It takes a little while for a poly-lok to back all the way off. Take a look to see how many threads are sticking up through the rocker for the poly-lok to thread on. If it is only a 1/4 inch or so it may have to long a push rod in it. I looks to me from the picture the set screw is way down in the hole on the other rocker in the last picture.
Jimmy

You're doing better than me. I'm not even seeing a lock screw in there. I wonder if they were ever installed. The long pushrod thing is a good thought too.

[rideblue00]

Are the rocker studs long enough to accommodate the poly locs? are factory studs long enough? i didn't see any setscrews in that last pic either.

[trb97]

The set screws are there but they are pretty deep in the poly-loks. About half way down. I think the guy said he re-used the push rods when he installed the new rockers and cam.

[Jimal]

Originally Posted by rideblue00

Are the rocker studs long enough to accommodate the poly locs? are factory studs long enough? i didn't see any setscrews in that last pic either.

I don't think that roller rockers are a good mix with the factory pressed in studs, which are going to be way too short to work with the locks. Get yourself some stock rockers, or if you really want rollers, IIRC Comp Cams makes a stamped rocker with a roller tip that will work with those stock studs.

[Thommyknocker]

I saw that on a "running" Pontiac engine I got.

It ran ok but had a miss.
Apparently the PO forgot to put a pushrod in, that rocker flopped over and took out it's neighbor
LOL

I got a set of rockers, 2 pushrods and I'm still running it.

[Jimal]

Originally Posted by Thommyknocker

I saw that on a "running" Pontiac engine I got.

It ran ok but had a miss.
Apparently the PO forgot to put a pushrod in, that rocker flopped over and took out it's neighbor
LOL

I got a set of rockers, 2 pushrods and I'm still running it.

I had something similar happen with an old Rabbit Diesel pickup I had a few years ago. When I bought it and drove it home it was running on 3 cylinders (think about that for a moment; a 4 cylinder Diesel engine that on a good day had about 60 horsepower). I pulled the cam cover and discovered that one of the cam followers had chucked its shim. The shim was just laying in the head. The follower itself got a bit chewed up, but once I replaced it and the shim the engine ran fine.

I'm not seeing any shards of metal in these pictures that would tell me that this engine won't be fine once it is put back together with some more appropriate parts.

[jayoldschool]

Also... what rockers are those? There are some sketchy cheap ones out there.

[awbrown]

You can see that that one push rod tip is damaged , I would pull all the pushrods out and inspect them .. also check the rocker arm geometry , it may need a different length pushrod , if it has been run then the lifters should stay with the same lobe that they are mated to ...

[Jimal]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Also... what rockers are those? There are some sketchy cheap ones out there.

They appear to be these:



The issue isn't that they're cheap and sketchy so much as they're probably overkill for this application.

Originally Posted by awbrown

You can see that that one push rod tip is damaged , I would pull all the pushrods out and inspect them .. also check the rocker arm geometry , it may need a different length pushrod , if it has been run then the lifters should stay with the same lobe that they are mated to ...

Is the tip missing, or just hiding behind the oil gallery casting?

[Dans66Chevy]

In about 1982 my Dad bought a 1964 Chevy Impala from a lady up the street. I had a miss and a back fire out of the carb. It was a 283....It turned out to have a broken rocker arm. My parents drove that car as a winter beater for about 10 years. Was one of the best cars we ever owned.

[trb97]

Got e everything buttoned up and it is running fine so far. Thanks for all the input guys!