The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop bent pushrod

I bought my truck with a slight knock that sounded like it was in the valves. I expected to find a couple of valves that needed adjustment. I actually found one valve that has a huge gap and when I turn the pushrod I see it has a pretty good bend in it.

Do I just readjust the valve? Do I take it apart and try to straighten? Or should I replace the pushrod?

The engine is running great.

I would look at all the push rods and make sure none of the others are bent. It is easy to bend a push rod it the valves were adjusted wrong with solid lifter. If they are bent replace them
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37 Chevy 1/2 ton

I'd order a new pushrod (they're pretty cheap) and straighten the old one to use until the new one arrives. Or, just wait a few days and you'll only need to adjust the valves once, when the new one comes in.

Great, so I can just replace the bent ones and leave the rest. I guess I will pull the whole rocker assemly off to clean it as well, it looks pretty cruddy up there. Where to order them and are there different ones?

You should be able to get them through a local parts store, the mom & pop operation. If not, try one of the on-line vendors, I think Patricks has them. When you clean your rocker assembly, mark everything so you can put it back the way it came apart. I made some thin aluminum tags, I saw the other day one marked with a paint marker, which held up under a solvent bath. Check all of your pushrods for straightness, you might find more that are bent.

Tony....push rods don't just bend on their own....
Please see if you can find why it did
before you have major problems

you also might want to check the piston in that cylinder. Something might be in the cylinder that made the rod bend, and it could have caused damage to the piston, like a puncture. to check for bends in your other pushrods, just roll them on a flat surface like a table and see if the ends come up as you roll them along.

I have seen the bent pushrod thing in 235/261 engines before.One time it was a valve sticking in the guide that caused the pushrod to bend.Another time the failure appeared to caused by lack of oil to the head, the push rod was blue at the end.Check the ball on the end of the rocker adjustment screw.Does it look like a teat with a nipple or is it still round and smooth like a new one??Does the rocker tip that contacts the valve have a deep groove worn onto it? Unexplained bent pushrods usually go with the worn rocker arm parts.I think piston to valve interference on a stock engine is unlikely .As Jim says, they dont bend on their own.Your local machine shop will carry replacement rods or Patricks has nice tubular ones for the same money as stock forged ones.