Joined: Sun Jul 13 2014, 10:04PM
Location: Mechanicsburg , PA
Posts: 151
SGVert wrote ...
Mine went bad on my 68 Newport, 383. Had replaced it in 2003 when I restored the car and had the engine rebuilt. It lasted until 2015, but only had about 2300 miles on it. For the last couple years, it was difficult to start, and would often be hard to keep running at idle, until it got so bad it would no longer start.
Mike pointed me in the right direction last summer, I replaced the pump and pushrod, the old one was about 3/8" shorter than the new one! Starts much faster and runs smooth again.
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
66PolaraRagtop wrote ...
Mike66Chryslers wrote ...
I installed a spare pushrod and mine has been fine so far. Slather moly break-in lube on it as extra insurance. Also change the oil. All the metal that ground off of that pushrod is now in your crankcase!
Thanks Mike! How many miles since you changed it? No major damage?
I found my thread from when this happened to me. I was having problems in 2011 and changed the fuel pump, then it failed completely in 2012. The odometer in my convertible is broken, but I'd estimate I put on 3000 miles a year, so it's been 10,000 miles with no further issues since changing the pushrod.
You never used to hear of it, but it seems like this is becoming a more frequent problem. I suspect that, after many years of use, the surface hardening on the original pushrods is wearing through. After that happens, they probably wear down pretty quickly.