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Push rods

Limey

Donation Time
Hi all,

I'm in the UK with a Chris Draycott Racing 1600cc Alpine road tune engine. In the first 1000 miles I have 'destroyed' 3 push rods and I'm still running in the engine... the top of the pushrod where the ball of the rocker sits gently collapses requiring regular tappet adjustment. They were from the original engine but the valve springs were new. Can any one direct me to a UK or USA supplier of new hollow or solid pushrods? Visual inspection reveals a deeper 'socket' on the collapsed pushrod and a lot less thread showing on the adjuster. Am I missing something??

Thanks in advance!
Oliver
 

jumpinjan

Bronze Level Sponsor
The solid push rods are from the iron head engine.
Have you checked the clearance of the rocker & the push rod top socket so they don't touch during valve lift action? I have noticed they can get pretty close. Look for them being pinched, but I haven't see that kind of failure.
Jan
 

RootesRooter

Donation Time
I had a similar problem with stock springs binding up on a cam supposedly ground to Holbay specs. I bent several push rods, plus a broken rocker arm.

Stock Sunbeam/Hillman valve springs are pretty rare. Where did you get yours?

[Oops! Never mind. Didn't notice the "...ball of the rocker..."]
 
Last edited:

RootesRooter

Donation Time
Didn't Rootes switch to solid rods with aluminum heads on the Arrow Range?

The solid push rods are from the iron head engine.
Have you checked the clearance of the rocker & the push rod top socket so they don't touch during valve lift action? I have noticed they can get pretty close. Look for them being pinched, but I haven't see that kind of failure.
Jan
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
Oliver...im thinking its an adjustment issue.
When we spoke last yeat i think we discussed that the roller rockers had a reputation of hammering the hwads of the pushrods and collapsing the tops hence better to have some robust ones made to length ..

But seems an unusal failure for stock rockers... Did chris set the motor up?
 

Limey

Donation Time
Oliver...im thinking its an adjustment issue.
When we spoke last yeat i think we discussed that the roller rockers had a reputation of hammering the hwads of the pushrods and collapsing the tops hence better to have some robust ones made to length ..

But seems an unusal failure for stock rockers... Did chris set the motor up?
He did. On the weekend I will draw a couple of push rods and measure for variation. If none then I have a circular cam (but unlikely to just one cam fail so massively after so few easy miles). Oliver
 
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