[T3] Push rods breaking

[Marlin Viss <mrlnvss@dordt.edu>]

Collective T3 Wisdom,

I have a strange problem.  about a year ago I had a push rod break out
of the blue.  (It was hard to diagnose.  How many of you take off the
valve covers right away when your car starts running on three
cylinders?)  Anyway, I replaced it (#1 intake, I think), crossed my
fingers, and started driving it.  no problems for a couple months, then
another one broke, this time the #3 intake.  Luckily I had picked up a
handful of good pushrods, so I just replaced that one on the side of the
road.  I started watching the valves real close.

(by the way, I keep them at .006"  Is that about right?  Every book I
read says something different.  I still have the owners manual, should I
go by that?)

I didn't have any problems for a long time, so I thought the mystery
problem had dissappeared.  There seems to be two styles of push rods,
and the breaking ones were both of one type, so I attributed it to that.

But then the last time I checked my valves, #3 intake was really loose,
about 0.012"  So I took note and tightened it up.  Now Saturday I
checked it again and it was really loose again, so I pulled out the rod
on a hunch and sure enough the steel end is getting pushed into the
aluminum rod.  It was sunk in about 1mm.  So I replaced it and now here
I am.  My question is what would be the cause of this?  The valve must
be the problem, right?  Is it significant that it's the #3, right below
the oil cooler? running hotter maybe?  The engine (1500S, all stock)
runs great in every other respect.

Marlin Viss
'65 Notch



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