Just Another Day in the Life of a Car Guy...

[jayb]

Quite a few years ago David Freiburger wrote one of his back page columns for Hot Rod entitled, "Life at the Side of the Road".  It talked about the inevitable breakdowns that all of us suffer with our high performance equipment.  It struck a chord with me because I'd been there, probably like most of us on this forum.  I was there again yesterday 

I was on my way to my friend Steve's house to see his progress on my 69 Torino; Steve is doing the bodywork.  Three quarters of the way there in my 68 Mustang with 428CJ, I stopped at a stop light and heard a noticeable ticking sound.  Hmmm, did I just develop a header leak?  I turned the corner and accelerated and suddenly things got dramatically worse; the engine was backfiring and popping, the car bucking and lurching, etc.  Oil pressure was down to about 20 pounds, from a normal 60.  I pulled into the nearest parking lot just as it died, wondering what the heck had gone wrong.

I popped the hood and through my trick FE Power clear valve covers ( ) I could see that the #4 exhaust rocker had broken.  This was a Comp Cams rocker, one of the extruded aluminum ones that Dove used to make for Comp.  They are known to fatigue and fail after a while, but I hadn't been too worried about this because the valve springs on this engine are pretty mild.  Apparently that didn't matter to this particular rocker arm.  The engine has been together since 2008, and I put a couple thousand miles a year on it, so I guess it doesn't owe me anything, but still...

Anyway, with just a busted rocker I figured I could limp the remaining 3-4 miles to Steve's place.  I got the engine started and found sort of a sweet spot where the engine would run without a whole bunch of drama, and pulled into Steve's driveway.  At least I wasn't on the side of the road LOL!  I had a spare rocker arm at home, so I borrowed Steve's truck to get back there, and while I was gone he pulled the valve cover.  When I got back he had the offending rocker out, picture below:




Nice!  While I had been at home I called Steve and had him check the pushrod, and it was still straight, so I figured we'd just pop in the new rocker and I'd be ready to go.  Unfortunately, when we got ready to reinstall the rocker assembly with the new rocker, we discovered that the lifter had come completely out of the bore, and was laying in the valley.  No wonder the oil pressure had gone away.  At the rear of the engine compartment, the hood hinge and spring were in the way of really seeing anything, and it was clear that we weren't going to be able to fish that lifter around through the holes in the intake and get it back in the bore.  It was getting dark, and I didn't want to impose any further, so Steve lent me his truck and I went home, figuring I'd fix the problem today while he was at work.

I got over there early this afternoon after taking care of some FE Power stuff in the morning.  My plan was to leverage the features of the FE Intake Adapter to open up the valley of the engine, reinstall the lifter, and button everything back up.  Everything went fine at first; I had the intake and carb off in 15 minutes, and the center plate of the intake adapter off a couple minutes after that.  There was the lifter just laying there in the valley, so I stuck it back in the bore.  However, quite unexpectedly, the #4 intake pushrod was bent down near where it goes into the lifter:




Well, that wasn't good.  With the exhaust rocker broken and the intake pushrod bent, it seemed like something could be seriously wrong in cylinder #4.  I got back in Steve's truck and headed back home to pick up a spare pushrod, while thinking about this.  Bent valve?  Broken rod?  It almost seemed like something had to be seriously wrong.

When I got back to the car, the first thing I did was pull the #4 plug.  It looked fine.  Then I spun the motor over while holding my finger over the plug hole, and there was plenty of compression and no leakage back through the intake valve.  Also, the whole valvetrain seemed to be working as it should.  Nothing to do but put it back together and see what happens.  While I was getting the engine put back together, Steve got home from work and mentioned that when he took the broken rocker arm out, it had been sitting vertically in the rocker arm area.  We think now what probably happened was the broken rocker jammed underneath the #4 intake rocker, preventing it from opening, and that caused the pushrod to bend.  In any case, the engine went back together and fired up with no hint of a problem, and I drove home uneventfully. 

I've had to do these kinds of repairs many times over the years, and often in parking lots or on the side of the road.  Drag Week comes to mind.  You guys must have some stories like this; let's hear them!

[thatdarncat]

Jay, our mutual master mechanic buddy Bradford taught me about the bent intake pushrod many years ago. I had broken a rocker shaft on my FE on the end exhaust rocker while at the track. That was back before I had end supports on my shafts. His first comment when I had called him was...”Did you check the intake pushrod on that same cylinder, I bet it’s bent”, and sure enough it was. When the exhaust rocker fell off, and no longer opens the exhaust valve there is nowhere for the exhaust to go, when the intake valve then tries to open against the exhaust pressure it bends that intake pushrod. As you found, no “touch” interference was involved.

[cjshaker]

The only time I've ever been stranded due to breakage was when I was young. It was really cold out and I had just been dropped off at my car (390 '66 Fairlane), and I was in a real rush to get home before my curfew....you know, when parents took that stuff seriously..lol I started it up and threw it in reverse, then hauled butt home. I made it about 2 miles when I heard a loud BANG, then nothing. I coasted to the side of the road, got out and saw a big oil spot and trail leading up to the car. Knowing I only had a couple minutes left, I ran to the nearest house, which, fortunately I knew the people, and they let me call home. Dad came and got me, and wasn't too happy after seeing the oil spot. A rather large oil spot!

The next day we took a look, and I was pretty surprised to see a big hole in the side of the block and oil pan. Looking around, I saw a main cap wedged between the block and alternator. What convoluted path it had to take to end up there is still a mystery to me. Needless to say, Dad was not happy and blamed me for 'hot rodding' it. It wasn't until I got the engine out and tore down that we both took a good look at the main bolts. On the MIA cap, one bolt had a clean break, but the other was obviously tarnished with surface corrosion on both the busted bolt and the remaining stud left in the block. It became apparent that one of the bolts had been busted for some time, probably before I got it. It's still the only time in my life that I've ever seen a busted main bolt. That got my butt out of the doghouse. I never told him that it was probably a combination of 'hot rodding' it trying to get home before my curfew, with very cold oil that probably finished it off. I didn't see the need to ruin his day....or my life. 

The only other times I've been stranded were due to ignition problems. One busted set of points, and THREE failed MSD ignition pickup modules.   I now carry spares at all times, for all my vehicles. Two of them are still points ignitions.

[JamesonRacing]

Stories, eh?

So, many years ago, I was out late at night wiith a group of other car guys match racing at Martin Tractor in Topeka KS.  I had my 66 Fairlane GT, 12:1 390 solid lifters, toploader, 4.57 gears, G60-14 tires. 

I'm getting ready to make run against a guy I should easily beat and make $50, when I whack the throttle hard in first gear to clean the tires, stab the clutch to grab second gear, when the clutch rod drops out of the clutch fork and the engine dies.  Mere seconds later, we hear the sirens of the incoming fuzz.

Everyone else tears out of there, except me, with an inoperable clutch.  I think quick, jam it into second, crank the starter, and head off down the access road at 6000rpm, knowing that, if I stop, the car will die again.  Car wouldn't shift into third, so I somehow managed to make it all the way back home (ten miles) turning 6,000rpm and going about 35mph (or so it seemed).

No damage, no ticket, but a distinct memory

[gpwguy]

Is it just me or doesnt that rocker look  like its been broke for awhile ? only a small part of it looks like a fresh break

[cammerfe]

About 1962, I decided to drive to Indiana, where I went to school, from suburban Detroit. It was New Year's Eve day, and about 5 PM or so when I left.

The trip, at that time, was almost all two lane country roads. The first populated area after home was Ann Arbor, MI, and the path went through the downtown area and out the other side. Just as I was getting close to the U of M Campus the engine in my '54 Customline (312 engine, three on the floor, factory race dual quads and home-made headers plus a B7A 6250 C cam) began to run VERY rough. Seven, or, perhaps, six cylinder rough.

Varsity Ford was, at the time, on the edge of the campus. I had a mental picture of a broken rocker shaft, although I'd never experienced one. I ran to the dealer's door, which was locked, but I could see a guy still moving around inside. He came over to tell me they were closed and he was the book-keeper, and knew nothing about the insides of engines.

Talking fast, I persuaded him that I'd be able to find the part if he'd only let me into the parts department. He agreed, and I did, in fact, find a rocker shaft after scrounging around a bit. Neither of us knew what a proper price would be, but he told me to just take it and come back after the holiday to settle up.

With the shaft, in its cardboard tube, on the seat next to me, I limped across the parking lot to a auto repair facility/gas station close by. They were just open for gas, but I talked them into letting me inside in a repair bay. They also let me use the necessary tools. (It was about 15 degrees outside and snowing freely.)

Inside, I put my hand on the rocker covers and could feel the effect of the non-running cylinder(s). I pulled the factory Thunderbird cast aluminum cover on that bank, and, somehow, I'd guessed right. I pulled the shaft loose, and re-assembled all the rockers in the right places on the new shaft. I carefully put all the pushrods back in the tops of the mushroom lifters, and a bit at a time, cranked the r-s bolts down tight. No bent pushrods or other damage. Just the shaft, broken in such a way that the engine wasn't doing so well. When I re-started the engine, the valve lash was close enough that I left everything 'as-is'.

They were happy to sell me a gas fill-up but didn't want anything for the use of their space or tools.

I didn't make it to school by midnight. In fact, it was after 1 AM and a New year. The party had wrapped-up before I got there. I checked into a motel, and didn't find the girl until almost noon that day. But that's another story...

KS

[427mach1]

Heading to a muffler shop in downtown Spokane in 1983 or 84, the light turns yellow and I decide to step on the gas rather than the brake.  I go "over the hump" in the intersection and upon descent, I hear a loud scraping noise as my Moroso oil pan begins emptying its contents.  Looking in the rear view mirror, I see a smoke flow visualization of the twin vortices trailing behind my car.  I pull to the side, shut of the engine, and hear the "gluk, gluk, gluk" as the last of the 9 quarts of oil evacuates the pan.  A car of teenagers pulls up, "Nice Mustang!".  Yeah, thanks.  I call some friends and we push it the last few blocks to the muffler shop.  I pull the pan while the shop owner does the exhaust work.  Upon dropping the pan, I find a big slug of mallory metal; the machine shop drilled radially into the counterweight rather than axially and, at some point, the centrifugal forces exceeded their welding capability.  The slug hit two rods and one piston skirt.  I was somewhat lucky that the pan was wiped out, otherwise I would not have discovered the poor balancing job until much later.

[Cyclone03]

Driving my Mustang to work ,not messing around, 1st gear 3500,2nd 3500,3rd.....that sounds weird....power seems soft...turn into a driveway idle is rough and labored. Fuel injection self tuning working over time to keep an idle. I turned toward home, about 3 miles, self learning correcting mixture. Pull into garage and shut it off. Took truck to work.
Later that afternoon I pulled the left valve cover and looking over the rockers #8 looked odd,out of time?
I jumped the starter and sure enough the rockers on 8 did not move. That is odd. Pulled right valve cover and #4 looked odd,cranked it over and rockers didn’t move. Not happy I let it sit for 2 weeks before I pulled engine.
Somehow no valves bent.
I decided to freshen the stroker up new bearings ,rings, heads freshened up. I had my machine shop look over the block to see if something was off. It all checked ok. I decided to have them check the deck because I had coolant seepage at the head gasket,went ahead and corrected the deck height as both needed work.
It’s now zero decked flat top 4.125 stroke FE with a Lynkins Hyd Roller and non adjustable rockers.
Almost 3 years and all is good.
Being my picture didn’t load,wrong format, the cam broke aft of the #4 bearing so I am the proud owner of a 3/4 race cam and a 1/4 race cam.

[WConley]

Is it just me or doesnt that rocker look  like its been broke for awhile ? only a small part of it looks like a fresh break

Fatigue failure.  It started at the adjuster threads.

Now onto my story.  It was June of 1988 and I had just started as a Ford engineer in MI.  I pissed off my (non-car guy) dad and bought a '68 Shelby GT-350.  "Son, you've really dug a big hole for yourself!"  The car ran pretty well but used a quart of oil every 300 miles.  After tons of sealing work and a few quarts of Rislone solvent, I got it down to about a quart every 1,000 miles.  Call it a win!  I planned to drive my new prize back to my folks' place in CT, about 800 miles away.  I was king of the world!

As the day of my trip approached, I took my then girlfriend Beth out for a little cruise and date.  At a light, three hot high school girls in a new Mustang GT convertible waved at me, and of course 23 year old me waved back.  A very annoyed Beth then looked at me and said, "What's that ticking sound?".  Needless to say the ride to her place was a bit frosty and I became obsessed with this slight intermittent engine noise.

On the way back home from Beth's house (no "quality" farewell of course),  I was in a foul mood.  The little sound kept coming and going, so out of frustration I finally mashed the throttle on the I-275 South on ramp.  Dang it, I was going to find out what that noise was. 

The car gods did not let me down.  "BOOOM!!" followed by loud clattering and clouds of white smoke out the tailpipes.  I managed to limp down to the closest rest area to assess the carnage.  Unfortunately I had chosen the rest area where the singer George Michael had recently been arrested for solicitation - of young men.  Sure enough, there was no shortage of sketchy dudes going into and out of the bathroom.  All thoughts of rescue went out with the white tailpipe smoke.  No way was I going to pick up a quarter near that pay phone!

I turned the key, and got the wounded car to proceed down the freeway shoulder to the next exit.  It bucked and banged all the way, but it got me home!  I locked the Shelby up in the garage and jumped in my POS winter beater 1980 Chevette for the ride of shame to my parents' house.

After a week of enduring a very smug dad, I returned to MI and started tearing into the Shelby's 302.  It turns out I had broken a piston skirt and a chunk had gotten wedged and blown out the cylinder wall.  All of the skirts were cracked and about to fail.  I was the victim of Ford's infamous cast piston porosity problem...   No wonder it was using oil!

It took over a year, but I did a top-to bottom resto including a new roller cam 5.0 done to look original.  The car ended up being super sweet.  Even my dad eventually came around!  I wish I still had her (the Shelby, not Beth), but that's another story.

[Tommy-T]

I got a story that involves some Comp/Dove roller rockers like Jay's. I also had them on this engine for a few years.
I decided that I wanted to put a solid roller cam in my '63 Top Oiler 454 stroker. I got a 308R cam off Ebay and some used Comp solid rollers from Ford Power Parts. I used the Comp recommended 929 valve springs that were 150 on the seat and 400 open. The car ran great and it made a bunch more power than it did with a .590 lift flat tappet. I drove it that summer and even took it to the track...where I couldn't get it to rev beyond 5k. Didn't think much about as the car ran fine on the way home.
A while later Mrs.-T and I were out on our normal Saturday morning rounds the car started running poorly and then quit...and would not restart. Had to walk up to a house to call AAA. Got it home pulled the plugs and valve covers to find 4 broken Dove rockers on the right bank and 2 more on the left. I call my good friend and forum member Afret to see if he had any Dove rockers. He asked what happened and I told him. He said that he and his brother Kay would like to come see my car. First thing they did was check the valve spring pressure. It was 90lbs. and they schooled me on if your springs go away on a solid roller, they break the crap out of everything. They were right.
Kay and Earl said they'd be back the next day with some parts to fix it, but I was already committed to take our Jeep out rock krawl'n so I said another time.

When we came home from the wilderness, sitting on my front porch was a complete Precision Oil Pumps rocker assembly with pushrods and Comp roller cam springs and retainers. The note in the box said "Hope you enjoy your off roading trip. Here's some parts to fix your car. Earl & Kay."
They would never take any money for those and other parts they gave me. I try to pay it forward.

[Jb427]

I got 2 stories one is a 1966 fairlane highway driving when the air cleaner rod undid its self from the carb and the nut ontop of the air cleaner and fell down the carb holding it open 120mph and still going kids in back had to push clutch in and grenade it that was a friend of mine not long ago.

Second one is a 69 fastback mustang exiting a shopping centre carpark and all kinds of rattling starts look under the car and here is the tailshaft on the ground broke the u joint.

[fastf67]

In 1983 at 12am, leaving a second job at Randy's Ford Specialties working for boss 302 parts, i'm jumping on 270 heading home and a 260Z racing up on my mustang and thought he was going to get around me so i mashed it. Was pulling away from him and at about 90mph she started slowing down. No real commotion just dying off gently. By the time i made it to the next exit I was at 15mph begging to make it up the ramp. Pulled into the lights at a self serve station and had hood up checking everything, got fuel, pulled the cap and rotor checking points. All good there, put rotor back on and turned it 90 deg??? Pulled the dizzy and sure enough I sheared the roll pin and gear was slowly spinning on the shaft taking it out of time. Dug around in the bottom of the toolbox I found a nail that was a near perfect fit. Stuck it in and bent it around, pulled number 1 and stabbed it, tune by ear and ran another 10 miles down the hwy to home. Pulled in at 2am and back out the door at 6am again for the real job at supreme grinding and was feeling rough. Fun times had by all.   Mike
                                                                                                                                                     

[shady]

Hmmm. All my stories involve Chevys. Go figure.

[Skeeter65]

While not quite as involved as some of your stories, I had a few of my own breakages happen. Driving out to my buddies house in my '67 Mustang I turned a corner and stopped while I waited for he and his then girlfriend to catch up. Once they turned the corner, I dumped the clutch in first gear and BANG, there goes the 8" rear end that was in it. We were only about a mile or two from his house so we hooked up a strap to the front and towed it to the house. Went back to my house with his truck, loaded up a spare 8" rear I had from a parts car, jack, tools and lights and went to work swapping the rear out in the street in front of his house using a halogen light. Eventually I found a 9" rear to put back in it since that's what it originally came with and I have not had any issues since.

Second one was in my '86 Mustang GT. I had broken the T5 once or twice before but kept rebuilding it. Well, as the saying goes, the 3rd time is the charm. So I pull out from a stop light and turn left on the highway, I jump on it while still in first gear and grab second. BANG,,,, the car shuts off and coasts to the next intersection. The car would not start not matter what I did. A cop pulled up behind me and turns out it was a cop I was friends with. He helped me push the car around the corner into a parking lot and gave me a ride to where I was headed. Of course I rode in the perp seat to where I was going an had my friends thinking I was getting busted LOL. A friend helped me tow the car home and the next day I checked it out. Well the trans was definitely busted good this time but I still could not get it to start. Well I found out why after a little checking to see if the fuel pump was running. It was not so and my Dad told me to look for a fuel pump shut off switch to see if it was popped. Sure enough, those cars have an inertia switch behind the taillight panel that pops to turn off the fuel pump in the event of a rear end collision. I reset that and the car started no problem. After sitting a month or so I had saved enough money to buy a Tremec TR3550 trans and never had a problem with it after that. Never again would I use a T5 trans because they are so weak.   

[e philpott]

My last break down and the only break down on my 63 Fairlane was a electric Carter street pump from the early 80's about 7 years ago now on a friday night and I simply was able to coast to a buddies driveway and park in a nice spot not blocking his driveway , walked home from there , drove to Jegs at 7:30 am Saturday morning and had my car running by 10:00 am