Car has been running like crap ever since I bounced off the 6700 rev limiter, today I was checking the pushrods cause to my understanding I could have bent them, well I found one bent, but only very slightly, just enough to notice it. Is this enough to cause a motor to run like crap? All the valve springs appeared to be in order, I couldn't press down on any of them. I'm running outta ideas. A friend told me, had it been the Opti, the car wouldn't run at all, and that is not the case.

 

That's not the case at all. Bad optis can cause all sorts of problems before they go compeltely out.

Can you define "running like crap" Symptoms?

 

Loss of power, studdering in upper RPM's feels sorta like I've not running on all 8 cylinders. I'm sure all of yall know what I'm talkin about, Something isn't quite right hard to put your finger on one specific thing. It is running wickedly rich, not throwing any codes though

 

Shoebox did reply at one time saying it might be the opti, I'm just really hoping that's not what it is lol although since my choices are getting less and less, it's starting to look like that.

 

Dear running like....Push rods and valve springs can be damaged by over revving the engine. Either of these components, if damaged, can cause the running symptoms that you describe.

 

The push rods seemed fine, I could twist them completely around in their journals, I'm not quite sure how to test springs, but nothing appeared wrong with them. Yall will have to bear with me, this is my first time working on a car lol so I'm not quite sure what I'm doing most of the time, so I ask a lot of questions. Is there anyway to test the opti, short of, replacing it, seeing if that fixed the problem, if not move on?

 

Ya got the bottom end and ya got the top end. Ifin it is the bottom end, you'd be lookin' at a new short block. If top end, you are lookin at the valve train. If ya have NSA RRs, you most likely have hardened rods which would take quite a beating to bend. If you do not have guide plates and hardened rods, you may very well have bent a rod which, depending on whether exh or int can affect the geometry and the opening and closing of the valve.

The simple way to check a rod is to roll it accross a pane of glass. You might want to check the train to see which, if any, of the RRs is extra noisy, but I'd certainly replace any rods that were bent, just because they are not supposed to be. JMHO

 

To bend a pushrod the valve had to come in contact with a piston. This would cause a bent valve. Don't drive it until ya know cause the valve might break off and then ya got a rebuild.Compression and leakdown test will tell.
The opti rotor has been known to break the end and get off sync with the firing order.
Could also be a vacuum leak.