I am in the process of replacing a bad headgasket. When I removed the head I forgot to loosen the rocker nuts and remove the pushrods. So needless to say when I lifted that heavy head out of the car the pushrods dropped into the valley. I think that they fell pretty much in order. I layed them all out as they fell and when I reinstalled the head put them back in what I believe was the same order. What if any problems should I be worried about is there anything that I should check before starting the motor. 1978 302. non-roller

 

You don't mention the year of engine but I know with my '72 302 the lifter preload is adjusted by using different length pushrods. The rockers are the positive stop rail type so there is no adjustment there.

I guess you could run into trouble if you had different lengths of pushrods and they got put on the wrong spots then some valves might get held open when they weren't supposted to be while others might be too loose. You could check a see if all your pushrods are the same length...if they are then this is not a problem for you.

Hope this helps

 

If the engine is stock and has never had a valve job done to it you should be fine. The stock length of pushrods for a 1978 302 are 6.905. Because of the positive stop type adjustment to the 302 heads, there is no adjustment to the valvetrain. But if a valve seat is ground too much during a valve job then a shorter push rod is required to push the valve open. The pushrods come in 0.060 inch increments.
If you want to put your mind at ease, pull out the pushrods and measure them all to see if they are the same length or you try this procedure to make sure everything is ok.
To determine if you need different length pushrods count the number of rocker-arm-nut turns it takes to bottom out each rocker-arm pivot on its stud shoulder from the point all slack is taken out of the pushrod and rocker arm, but before any lifter plunger travel occurs. Wiggle the rocker arm and rotate the pushrod to check for slack, and look at the lifter to see if its plunger has moved. Run the nut down while keeping count of the turns. When the pivot bottoms, or turning torque increases, stop turning and counting. It should take 0.8 to 1.75 turns for a 302. If fewer turns turns are required, you need a shorter pushrod. If more than 1.75 you need a longer pushrod. If everything is ok, finish by torquing down to 17-23ft. lbs.