WOW!! If that push rod is bent like that I would agree with the others here. You really need to do a leak down check and possibly pull that head. If I were a gambling man I'd say that your #5 cylinder (valves/piston) is on borrowed time. That rod didn't bend into a question mark for no reason...

 

The FIRST problem is the way you shift! I bet you a cold one that you death grip the shift handle with your whole hand!

The proper way to shift is with the palm of your hand and the tips of your fingers. Allowing the shift handle to self center in the 3rd/4th shift gate makes getting 4th in the heat of the moment easy. When you monkey fist the shift handle, you have a natural tendancy to pull the shifter toward your body and guess what???? You get second instead of 4th. I bet ya your engine saw close to 7500-8000 before you pressed in the clutch. Its easy to figure out. How fast were you going when you ATTEMPTED to shift into 4th?

I have a KIRBAN shifter that has additional centering springs in the shifter body. Very professional feel and makes shifting a snap!








If it were me,,,,I would change ALL the springs and pushrods and YES,,, do that leak down test. You most likely have smiles on the tops of several pistons cause the valves came in contact with the pistons. Your timing chain also had a stroke and I bet its nice and streached out now!

Just some things to think about and to put on the list for upgrading,,,, Time to break open that engine and do some MODs/up-grading!









Oh,,,another fact; Your propellor shaft in your torque tube looks like this now!

 

Well worth doing a leak check or at the very least blowing compressed air into the cylinder and seeing if it will hold pressure or blow out the intake or exhaust manifold.

Keep in mind that if the valve is bent it may break from constant flexing of the stem and head as it closes and tries to seal against the valve seat.

 

YEP! Not something that you normaly think about!

If that happens,, you wont have to worry about opening the engine! It will do it by its self!

BC

 

Im looking into doing the necessary test. Unfortunately I dont have the gauges to do the test...Im seeing if I can find a shop that will lend me their gauges for a 1hr or do it for me real fast. Thanks guys for your input.

 

thanks for the advice. I do grab it like that so what your saying does make alot of sense. Seems like this is a common problem mechanical over reving an engine. I was doing some research into the matter and I found ALOT of threads talking about people have broke multiple pushrods doing miss shifts. Defiantly a mistake I dont plan on making again. One thing I am not understanding is if I had bent valve would I notice a noise, loss of power, or even misfire depending on if it was an intake valve or a exhaust valve?

 

Bill thanks for the advice. I do grab it like that so what your saying does make alot of sense. Seems like this is a common problem "mechanical over reving" an engine. I was doing some research into the matter and I found ALOT of threads talking about people that have broke multiple push rods doing miss shifts. Defiantly a mistake I dont plan on making again. One thing I am not understanding is if I had bent valve wouldnt I notice a noise, loss of power, or even misfire depending on if it was an intake valve or a exhaust valve?

 

Depends on how bad its bent. May be bent a slight bit and still run normal and not make any abnormal noises.

IF,, you purchase an inexpensive fiber optic scope you can insert it into the sparkpug hole and examine the tops of the pistons. If the valve made contact it will have a smile on the top of the piston.

You can also purchase an inexpensive cylinder pressure tester. Use the hose connected to a compressor to pressurize each cylinder. If you hear pressure escape in the exhaust or the intake,, thats your answer. The pressure tester hose will have a tire valve stem valve in it. You can remove it with a valve stem tool.

BC

 

It's one of the big "cons" in the list of stick versus automatic. For all the stick drivers on this forum, it's not "common". It happens (usually once) and often has consequences. If it keeps happening, you need to alter shifting style as Bill suggested, or reconsider the cost-saving advantages of the 4L60E auto.

Todd

 

If it does have a smiley I guessing Ill have to replace the piston? and the valves as well? Same goes for if the pressure test isnt good right? If I dont what are the consequences and how long do I have? Thats a lot of time and money that dont exactly have readily available. Also if I do have a valve not sealing properly I am assuming I would begin to burn oil as well...Correct?

 

No! Ive seen some pretty deep smiles and they were just smoothed out and were fine...

Replacing a valve or two really isn't all that difficult.

Its a procedure. If you can read a book,, and follow a procedure,,, (with the tools) you can fix the problem.

If it makes you feel any better,, Ive seen push rods bent like yours and there wasn't any valve issues. The problem is,,,, you need to verify that there isn't any issues.

BC

 

That is some what relieving to hear...Im in contact with the two best speed shops in the area....one is specifically corvettes and the other is a shop that is well known for the land speed records they hold...I might have them test it if I cant track down the gauges tomorrow...Their technicians aren't available till Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

 

this same thing had happened to me one time but it didn't bend anything but a valve. The engine still ran fine and had plenty of power. Then I started noticing a spot of oil on the garage floor from an oil leak The bent valve was causing internal pressure in the crankcase and causing the rear main crank seal to leak. After I did my head and cam the leak stopped. I had eyebrows on both sides (#5 and #6) and I poured alcohol in the heads and one leaked and one didn't.

 

Very common to bend a stock pushrod during a missed shift/rev limiter event.

Just to make sure the valve did not kiss the piston look into that cylinder with a boroscope and examine the piston top. :thumbsup:

 

A misfire could have caused a "BACKFIRE" which can result in a bent push rod---How is your oil pressure ??? oil fresh ?? Also what oil filter are you using ?? I would only use K&N--Mobil 1 or Wix filters--Fram and others like it can plug up quickly and fail and result in low oil pressure and flow--- If you can cut the olf filter in 2 and see if there is any debris or metal in it---

 

If you have a harbor freight store in your area, they sell a leakdown guage kit for a very reasonable price. If not, you can just put compressed air to the cylinder that had the bent pushrod and see if air is escaping from either the intake or exhaust. At the very least, run a compression test on that cylinder and compare it to another. If the engine is running smoothly, chances are you dodged a bullet this time.Good luck!!!!

 

 

just pour a little rubbing alcohol in the port where the bent push rod came from and see if it holds. If not pull the head. If it holds it will dry in a short time.

 

Thats a good idea. I havent had a chance to do anything about it yet...I worked all weekend...but I have tomorrow off...Im going to do a compression check of all the cylinders...a friend of mine is a ex machinist/drag racer...he said leak checks are more precise to the valves...but are harder to do because each cylinder u test must be at dead zero...while a compression test are easier and will tell you if anything is wrong with the cylinder...If i find weird compression numbers then ill do a leak check and so on...thanks everyone ill be sure to keep everyone posted as soon as i find anything

 

Hey guys,
Just an update...I did my compression check today...all the cylinders were exactly the same building pressure on the first turn over...my pressures were all right around 210-220psi none where even close to below 200psi...I think it probably could have been more accurate psi numbers if I had a better compression tester but...it got the job done...I also went ahead and installed a hurst short throw shifter...from the reviews I have read they are the best in every aspect including miss shifts...Thanks bill for that idea. And thanx everyone for your ideas and posts I really appreciate it.