Disaster?

B

Blackfinger

Junior Member
Previous owner used a bolt to close a threaded hole on head above and behind cylinder 8. Now that car has been running, that shady fix has reared its head and caused an issue. Bolt was 2 inches, maybe more, and ran down into exhaust valve pushrod for cylinder 8. The rubbing apparently made the pushrod snap, and I could see the cup end, and the broken section side-by-side in the hole. While trying to fish them out, they both slipped down hole and I heard each "ping" as they bounced off something. Where did they end up? Are they likely in pan? Afraid to crank it over in case they are pinned against something and ready to do damage.
 
ive never seen them do damage but most people like to remove them.you have to take of the intake and remove the cover below.not a big job.
 
Most likely they dropped in the lifter galley (doubtful they could get into the pan) If it was one piece, most people just let it lay because chances of it causing damage is almost nil. However, two smaller pieces might be a problem. Just for peace of mind, pull the intake and valley pan.


When replacing the valley cover, do not over tighten the two bolts as it may warp the cover.
 
Blackfinger said:
... Where did they end up? ...
Click to expand...
Yes, in the lifter valley.
Pictures, just so you can see it.
All 8 bolt holes (2 each) at the front & back ends of both heads are open into the pushrod bores. It wouldn't hurt to look into the top of each one and check them given the problem you discovered.
That rear-most bolt hole at cyl #8 would have originally had a short bolt for a sparkplug loom bracket or possibly the 'ground' battery cable.
 

Attachments

  • lifter valley.jpg
    lifter valley.jpg
    92.6 KB · Views: 44
  • lifter valley 1.jpg
    lifter valley 1.jpg
    42.1 KB · Views: 46
  • pushrod vs bolt holes c.jpg
    pushrod vs bolt holes c.jpg
    63.7 KB · Views: 49
  • plug wire loom.jpg
    plug wire loom.jpg
    53.1 KB · Views: 47
Last edited:
Thank you for the responses. This will be a much simpler fix than I was dreading. Bright side is that she gets all new pushrods.
 
Still not 100% on engine size. Common casting number, no aspirin but flange doesn't look 63 years old either. I still need to pull pan and check caps. will update when I do
 
Blackfinger said:
Still not 100% on engine size. Common casting number, no aspirin but flange doesn't look 63 years old either. I still need to pull pan and check caps. will update when I do
Click to expand...
The prefix letters of the engine block casting number won't tell you the difference between a 292 & 312 but they will confirm the year. If it isn't what it was supposed to be that's (unfortunately) not a new story. I've got one too.
.
 
Last edited:
The dot on the crankshaft flange is about the only indicator of size between those two displacements other than the ECZ main cap prefix if it has an original 312 block.There's a lot of water under the bridge since then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top