Engine Carnage

With engine breakin done and a heat cycle on the engine it was time to check torque on engine fasteners.  When I pulled on the valve covers I found that one of the push rods had come out of it's cup on the rocker. :(  Totally did not expect to find that since it ran so great during the breakin.

In an effort to determine the cause I pulled the lifter out (an extendable magnet through the distributor hole, an inspection camera, and patients).  Could find anything wrong at first glance with the lifter.  I ultimately took the lifter apart and did find a sliver of metal inside.  Not sure if that was the cause or not, but it caused me to pull the lifter next to it as well.  That one showed a wear ring where the lifter contacts the camshaft.  Can't actually feel anything, but you can see it.

I ended up sending pictures to Comp Cams tech support and at there suggestion I decided to pull the cam and lifters.  I just didn't want to risk it happening again, or having a worn out cam and lifters in a few hundred miles.

So I replace that camshaft and lifters with a hydraulic roller.  Another Comp Cams, but this time 282HR grind.  No break in required on the new camshaft.

With the new camshaft installed and everything buttoned back up, we fired it up again and everything is good to go.