Connie is kicking my a**

[Dan Szwarc]

Probably a bunch of bent pushrods!

[mge825y]

The old “banana in the tailpipe” gag eh?

[danleblanc]

Also not ruling out timing chain jumping a tooth or 6.

[TonyC]

That could be possible--after all, the nylon cam sprocket became an industry norm when Lincoln's use of it proved to be successful back then. Of course, nobody back then knew about the limited life span of synthetic materials, so they didn't know those sprockets would eventually fail with age. If your engine's timing components have never been tampered with, it probably would be prudent to shop for new parts; the new ones should be all-metal, so that surgery would not have to be re-done again.

---Tony

[danleblanc]

Probably a bunch of bent pushrods!

Winner winner chicken dinner. Two are also possibly down in the valley

[action]

A watch, a ring and some question marks.

Those rods that look like a question mark were not the cause. They took the hit for the cause. Now to find the cause.

Did you find these in the process of doing the compression check?

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[danleblanc]

I did the compression test and found no compression on 5 cylinders. So I dove in this morning.

The question mark ones were popped out of the rocker assemblies.

I'm thinking the next step will be to pull the intake. I'm hoping the distributor doesn't have to come out for that. That part kinda worries me about getting it back in just right.

On the plus side, no sludge or anythj g derogatory under the valve covers. Engine appears to have been decently maintained.

[action]

Things that could make push rods into question marks

A valve or multiple valves are stuck in the head. One stuck would be common. (Carbon) Multiple not so much.
Installation of pushrods or rocker arm assemblies incorrect. Not a factor on an engine that has run well n the past
Timing chain jumped a tooth or multiple teeth of the crank gear such that the valve timing was off. If it is posssible any valve can strike the piston when the piston is at top of stroke this would be a big concern.

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[danleblanc]

In other words, instead of pulling the intake to retrieve the lost two pushrods, I should be pulling the engine and tearing it down, if I'm reading this correctly.

All the failed pushrods are on intake valves, by the way.

[action]

I would not do that. And that is me. Removing the engine is starting repairs of an issue you have not yet diagnosed.
If it were my engine I would want to know what is the issue.
Pulling the engine may be necessary. Or if you want to do that go ahead. Certainly you will find the problem by pulling the engine.

You have the valve covers off. Wack on the valve ends to see if you have a stuck valve. (Use a bunt end or flat end punch and a ball peened hammer)
You might look at valve timing to see if the chain has jumped.

If it is a stuck vlave why yank the engine?


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[danleblanc]

If I did that, I'd be watching for up and down valve movement, zero movement, or a valve that will open but not close I'm assuming.

A borescope would be nice right about now. Pull a plug and look for signs of impact on the piston.

Is it just me or is it strange that the exhaust valve pushrods are fine but the intake ones are not?

[TonyC]

Well, I'd think that pushrod failure would not discriminate between intake and exhaust valves, but I could be mistaken.

I can tell you that the distributor will have to come out if you pull the intake. BUT, this is how you make sure you have a good reference point: Turn the engine to compression TDC (piston is at top of travel, and distributor's rotor is pointing at the #1 terminal). That is the absolute reference point for ignition timing; use paint, nail polish, or a permanent marker to make a hash mark on the distributor's body where the rotor is pointing, to aid in alignment of the distributor when you put it back in. Do this before you pull the distributor.

---Tony

[action]

Is it just me or is it strange that the exhaust valve pushrods are fine but the intake ones are not?

That is significant. Especially if the engine has been idle for years. I forget, did you get the engine running or has the engine been not running for a long time?

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[danleblanc]

I had it running in the garage a few times until one day it just wouldn't start and hasn't run since. The last time it ran it ran worse than before but I was able to take it down the street and back.

It hadn't run since the early 2000s before that.

[action]

Check to see if those intake valves open.

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