i'm just going to guess stock pushrods aren't going to get the job done. car has been running fine forever but i knew at least one pushrod had a slight bend it in because i could hear the ticking. i bought used ones off someone for $10, checked them all and put in (what i thought were) only straight pushrods. adjusted all the rockers and it ran fine for a few hours. after one time of WOT not even near redline as i start to decelerate i hear a lot of clatter a lot. i know i set the preload harder on a few that were coming out of lash before so is it just the stock pushrods are junk? as soon as i can get a hold of someone on here i think i'm buying brand new chromoly pushrods, will this solve my problem? i'm tired of having to take off the valve covers and re-adjust these and hoping just hardened pushrods will keep me from doing that. thanks in advance, any help is appreciated

-Chris

 

If you have a valve or two that keeps on going back to ticking, I would be looking at the lifter not the pushrods. You should be running hardened pushrods though. If you spin the "loud" pushrods on a piece of glass, can you tell if they are bent? You shouldnt be bending them that easily.

 

Exactly, shouldn't be bending them at all. With the hot cam and and 1.6 rockers you may be getting valve spring bind when fully opened. The LT4 came with oval wire springs because of this.

 

Yea ...

I just figured it wasnt coil bind since he was using the hotcam kit. Hot cam springs are marginal, but do work, with the hot cam. May be it is binding though? Thats definatly something to look into. That would be the most reasonable explanation for this. Coil binding.

 

Your adjusting nuts or poly locks are backing off. Fix that before getting into replacing anything else. Probably ain't the lifters.
Could be low oil pressure from too thin of an oil when it warms up.

 

He said they did it immediately after readjusting them though. And a loose poly lock & adjustner nut would have to get pretty loose ( And loud ) to bend a pushrod. He said it bent it didnt he?

If it was for sure bent, id be checking everything over like we already said. If it wasnt bent, you jsut think it may have been, the 1racerdude is right. I thought it was my valves making the cik on my at first but it turned out to be the one way valve for the AIR fittings on the headers. So check everything before you jump to conclusions. Also with poly locks, when you set your preload, tighten the poly lock, then turn the adjuster nut with a wrench to help insure that the poly doesnt come loose or you will loose your adjustment and have to keep readjusting the vavles which could get annoying after the first couple times

 

He said it was fine for a few HOURS of running.First WOT pass the ticking returned.

 

O hah,

I missed that part.

Sorry

 

i guess the adjuster nut held fine on normal driving around town...after i got it back home after the ticking i was gonna let it sit for a couple days till i had money to buy chromoly pushrods (getting next week) but last night i had an hour so i took off the valve covers and checked them over and about punched myself. i didn't lock down the poly lock on the exhaust valve on cyl 8. i finger-tightened the adjusting nut, turned the car on, set just that one nut and all the clicking was completely gone. tightened the polyloc and drove around all night. i've still been scared to take it to redline in worry that there are bent rods, and i'll wait till i get the new ones for that. i've done this so many times (first few i admit i wasn't 100% sure on what i was doing) its like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me now. thanks for all the help!

-Chris