Hi guys, have a bent pushrod. need one to suit a ZC fairlane, its a 302w. How much do they cost and what are the size of em? Cheers.

Anyone know why they bend?

Prices I don't know, I can tell you they won't be worth any where as much as you will probably pay for them..
I accidentally saw the national parts receipt for 5/16 standard length 302W Speed Pro Chrome moly push rods I bought for $120 (nothing special) years ago (parts were directly shipped to me from National parts), as this was the cheapest place I could find at the time, I remember they cost under $65 if you included sales tax and freight. The next closest price at the time for a set was $160 and the prices kept going up.

As for bending them, is it stock and you are reving it high?

Nothing unusual about bending push rods if you are over reving it or valve springs have lost tension, the valve springs become out of control (valve bounce), this can also happen for many other reasons but this is the more common one.

Do a search around on the web, you might even get lucky on Ebay, if your engine is pretty original it is best to measure the original push rods that are not bent and order that length, you can get many different lengths to suit 302W to ensure correct rocker geometry.

Cheers mate, I will measure em up later and have a look.


Would it be dodgey for the time being if i went down to the wreckers and found one to suit? or should i just save up for a good set?

Give it a try, what to you have to loose, but I would price some new pushrods first.
The only time I have had problems with a bent push rod was when it bent, it was bent to bad to remove from the top, I had to remove the intake to get it out (Cleveland). I am sure someone may be able to tell you of some nasty failures.

Cheers macca

I found some good pushrods to suit the 302.

Now i have another problem!

We put everything back together minus the cooling system ( no water in the block ), now its cranking, but not starting, feels like it has no compression, any suggestions?

It just sounds like the cylinders are going up and down and thats it.


Cheers guys