Push Rod Question
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 111
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Push Rod Question
Hello All! I read often and post seldomly.. My 16 year old son drives an 86 Bronco with a 5.0 efi. Long story short, it blew a head gasket. We've torn it down and kept all of the rocker arms and push rods in order (we're replacing the lifters). What I didn't do is maintain the pushrods in their original orientation. Is there any way to know which way is up and which is down? If we reverse them in reassembly how much excess wear will we be looking at? There is a small diversity in the side of each one near one end that I originally thought was a passage, but it's not. Does this divet help orient them?
FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 30,860
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From: Angier, NC
I don't know of any way to find out after the fact what is up or down?
It would of been nice to keep trasck of that but to tell the truth I don't think it is that big a deal unlike lifters & rockers / pivots.
I would think if there was any wear marks it would be at the top & rockers.
Dave ----
It would of been nice to keep trasck of that but to tell the truth I don't think it is that big a deal unlike lifters & rockers / pivots.
I would think if there was any wear marks it would be at the top & rockers.
Dave ----
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,958
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From: Houston
Pushrods dont exactly have an up and down, they are the same on both ends.
Only time you run into a up and down situation on pushrods is if you got aftermarket pushrods like I have that uses a standard 180* spherical tip on one end and the other end uses a 210* spherical tip on the other end. The 210* spherical tip is the rocker arm end as it allows for added rocker arm clearance with higher lift cams and prevents the cup in the rocker arm from side loading on the side of the pushrod itself. OE spec pushrods are the same on both ends.
Only time you run into a up and down situation on pushrods is if you got aftermarket pushrods like I have that uses a standard 180* spherical tip on one end and the other end uses a 210* spherical tip on the other end. The 210* spherical tip is the rocker arm end as it allows for added rocker arm clearance with higher lift cams and prevents the cup in the rocker arm from side loading on the side of the pushrod itself. OE spec pushrods are the same on both ends.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 111
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Yes, I realize that the push rods don't have an up or down when initially installed, but I've always been taught to reinstall items with wear surfaces in the same orientation that they were removed. But with the lifters being replaced, I think I'll be OK. Thanks for the reply!
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 10,349
Likes: 2,588
From: Near Salt Lake City
If the head had guide plates you could surely see witness marks where the pushrod was contacting the guide plate
With no guide plates you might still see a witness mark or two
And, of course those marks would be up
Old story from yesteryear. Once I did the same thing and had mine all lined up
An old fart master came around and took and scattered my pushrods all over in the solvent tank
Said I been working on Fords too long
Really It does not matter except sometimes they wear in together
So, just inspect them close for roundness
If they are all nice and round on the ends it will not matter which way you install them
With no guide plates you might still see a witness mark or two
And, of course those marks would be up
Old story from yesteryear. Once I did the same thing and had mine all lined up
An old fart master came around and took and scattered my pushrods all over in the solvent tank
Said I been working on Fords too long
Really It does not matter except sometimes they wear in together
So, just inspect them close for roundness
If they are all nice and round on the ends it will not matter which way you install them
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Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,958
Likes: 105
From: Houston
Yes, I realize that the push rods don't have an up or down when initially installed, but I've always been taught to reinstall items with wear surfaces in the same orientation that they were removed. But with the lifters being replaced, I think I'll be OK. Thanks for the reply!
Ive seen some pushrods get wear as a result of bad oiling, those I replace as it shouldnt have wear.
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