1 Broken & 1 Bent Pushrod?

[ipstrategies]

Well my 383 was starting to leak pretty bad on the pass side valve cover. I took it off and was shocked to see 2 pushrods broken.  The car seemed to be running fine though I had only taken it around the block a few times since redoing rear brakes a few weeks ago. I did notice it smoking from the pass side exhaust which it had not done. The smoke is not as bad as I would of thought for something like this. In the morning the intake comes off and I will see what is going on. Any tips or thoughts (other then man this sucks) is appreciated.

[Ghoste]

Aside from the obvious that you need to find out how they broke?   I can only offer that I had bent pushrods in my 383 and didn't know it.   Neil had suggested checking for bent pushrods when I complained of one intermittent issue and I didn't follow his advice soon enough.     It didn't cause additional trouble, just that I would have solved my problem a lot quicker if I had paid attention to him.  
My biggest complaint was an intermittent miss and driving around town didn't seem to trouble the car much at all.   Just at steady cruising so I guess I know what you mean by not seeming to show as much trouble as you thought it should.
Any clues as to why they broke?   Have you checked the other side yet?

[ipstrategies]

Ghoste
I am going out to finish taking it apart right now and will let you know.
My brother has been a mechanic for 20+ years and I was telling him and he sounded the same as you and I (you would think it would be more noticeable).  Well the engine runs decent other then this.  It has been a while since I tore one apart.

[ipstrategies]

Number 4 Cly One bent pushrod and one completly boken in two.  The lifters seem to be ok I will have to figure out what caused it. I will have my brother over to determine what to do next. Ghoste if you have any ideas or anyone let let me know. 

[Ghoste]

For me, the cause was pretty obvious.  It happened when I was at the dragstrip and shoved it into neutral rather than 3rd at wide open throttle.  It just didn't result in a calamitous bang or immediately felt symptom.  It wasn't until driving it around after that the problem cropped up and as I said, when I posted my symptom, CP had suggested bent pushrods and I didn't really heed his advice.  Bent pushrods are all the time so my problem should have been all the time.  Wrong.  It wasn't until watching a video of the trip down the drags and thinking about the timeline that I thought he might be right after all.
My problem can't provide you with much useful this time.  Ron or Neil are the experienced voices on this one.

[Chryco Psycho]

often valve float or a sticking valve on the exhaust side will cause the valve train to float when they contact again it is very easy to bend a pushrod , it is relatively common , sometime the pushrods just get weak after years of use & may need to be replaced , I would get a whole new set

[ipstrategies]

Chryco Psycho my plan is to get a whole new set. Any suggestion on the best place to get them?

[firefighter3931]

Chryco Psycho my plan is to get a whole new set. Any suggestion on the best place to get them?

Crane makes a nice pushrod. Get a 3/8 chrome moly replacement in the factory size....they are practically indestructable and won't bend/flex during high speed operation.

Ron

[Ghoste]

I bought a chrome moly set from Mancini in their generic packaging.  I don't know who makes them for them but they were priced right.

[beenaround]

what has been done to the motor ?is it stock? or have performance upgrades been done?

[ipstrategies]

My engine is a stock 383 Magnum with 116,000  miles. Should I consider getting stock replacements or the chrome molys for sure.  I figure it will need rebuilt and sometime in the future. Any tips on replacing them as it has been a long time since I have done some of these things. I plan on getting them this week and installing this weekend.

[Chryco Psycho]

3/8 pushrods often cause clearance problems with the head casting 5/16 would be better for a stock engine 

[Ghoste]

It isn't a great deal of money to upgrade to chrome moly.  If you plan on installing a hotter cam and pushing the car a little harder then it's a good idea.  If you just want a stock replacement set so you can drive the car again and you aren't abusing it, then you don't need chrome moly.

[ipstrategies]

Since I am not upgrading the cam or other parts I am going with stock so I can get it running again. I am working over the mechanicals so I can them get to the body work. I was told to check the lifters (what am I checking for?)

Would  you recommend changing the valve seals while I have it apart (I was told that this a good time to do this)? I am going to order my parts today.
1. Set of stock pushrods
2. Valley Pan Gasket
3. Valve Seals

Anything else anyone can think of thanks for all of your help.