Well, I for one on my truck did the intake bolt "test" that Steve mentioned. I could find or see any problem there. I'm going to take a bunch of pushrods with me when I go on shorts trips just in case. As much fuel as I ran though my truck I can't see how that would be the problem. I used all new NAPA push rods the last time I did this. ( replacing them all 16) After that I probably put 800-900 miles on the truck.  When I bought the truck now that I think about it, it had 2 bent pushrods when I got it?  I just keep trying.

                                           Michael

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

My own preference are the screw in bronze guides (Atlas brand on the package but Winona sourced) which does not require a complete removal of the old guide.  The old guide is simply threaded internally and the new bronze is spiral fluted into the threads and honed to size.  More on these at the following link.

http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic7050-3-2.aspx 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Ted - Have you machined your own guide inserts or purchased them? If you are able to make your own this might be a useful product.

My outfit has been using a "new" sort of high strength bronze for extreme service requirements. It is made by BRUSH WELLMAN and goes by the trade name "ToughMet". Our mining crawler parts have traditionally used manganese bronze for severe duty applications - it has 105/110K tensile strength and 60/65K yield strength. But if it runs dry - and the mining lube application systems are sometimes less than reliable - the manganese bronze has a pretty high coeficient friction that builds heat and causes collateral damage (spun bushings are typical because they swell and the steel bores do not swell at the same rate - which eventually makes them grab the shaft).

The ToughMet has the same tensile strength and a very high yield strength - like 90/95K. But....it has a much lower "dry" coeficient of friction - which cuts way down on the collateral damage situation. Mining systems that have high "survivability" - or will run "wounded" are very popular, so some of our customers are big believers in this product. We've built several sets of these bushings and our customers have helped test them by beating the daylights out of the parts and running machines as much as a week with the grease lines broken. So far - very good results.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

For those of you running bronze guides, these do prefer additional clearance at the valve stems or sticking valves come to the forefront thus causing pushrod retention to be a problem.  Doing a search on this site will bring up old posts regarding bronze guides.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Ditto Steves comment, I have done this my self and had the exact thing happen, with the valve covers off you can see if this is the problem.

1957 ________________ Ford

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Y Blocks, The New Flathead!

I think there used to be a product that was a top-end lubricant. MMO might fall into that category, but the one I'm thinking of came in a 4 ounce container. I think it could go in either the crankcase or the fuel tank.



Anybody remember something like this?

Best regards,



Paul Menten

Meridian, Idaho

I use it.

Back in 1976, my grandfather gave me a '63 F-100 w/ a 292 to drive back and forth to H.S. When he gave it to me he told me to always add some MMO to each tank of gas, & some at oil changes, to keep the valves from sticking & pushrods from bending/ falling out. I did so religiously the 5 yrs or so I had it, and he was right - worked like a charm... /Duck

BOO- YA!!!

Sometimes this pushrod issue has to do with certain intake bolts, that if replaced with the wrong length - stick down into the pushrod passage. Its worth looking down the holes with an inspection light - or looking for signs of contact on a bent part if you fish it out without losing it into the valley.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Some what related, I have a customer with a 460 in his service truck and he would bend a pushrod about once or twice a year till he got about 25000 on the truck. He just kept putting new pushrods in, never bent a valve and the thing runs great otherwise.  Go figure.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias