Crushed Pushrod

[xsi3rr4x]

Hey guys, I'v got a 1970 302 that I had just put together and converted to the holley efi system, while doing this conversion I went ahead and bought a new edelbrock top end kit for the motor (which is a non-roller motor, so I bought the kit with a flat tappet cam). I got new lifters and pushrods (also edelbrock) and 1.6 ratio scorpion roller rockers.
I got the car together and drove it some and had noticed the rockers tapping, so I went through and adjusted them again and the other day I started noticing a particularly weird sound, so I decided to take a look at my lifters and pushrods and noticed that 3 of my pushrods are actually crushed (NOT BENT) One of them is so crushed it has crushed even farther than the ball end of the pushrod (i'll attach a picture).
The lifters are fine and not collapsed, the only issue I see are the pushrods that are crushed.
What could have caused this?
I had adjusted my rockers just like in this video

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS1vHoNPT1g

Where you turn the motor until the intake valve starts to go down, then adjust the exhaust valve to zero lash + half turn
then you turn the motor until the intake valve comes back up and the exhaust valve goes down and comes back up, then you adjust the intake valve to zero lash+ half turn.

Here is a picture of what the pushrod looks like.

 

[frank_mancuso]

I'm no expert first off.
Have you double checked that the pushrods are made for a solid lifter set up?

The adjustment seems OK, but I'm not sure if there should be a small gap at the rocker, like .002 or .003.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

My first question is:

A flat tappet " what" cam?

Hydraulic, or mechanical?

For the ball end to have failed like they did and not bend, would have me looking at the pushrods as "not up to the job" .

Probably defective Chinee stuff. Call the supplier and take up the failure w/ them.

Where is the rest of the fragged pushrod balls?
In the pan?
I'd be wondering where the rest of that stuff was lying, myself.

Again, even if this was a mechanical cam and you zero lashed the valves, I'd expect you to bend something before a ball collapses, so I'm calling bad, or incorrect for the application pushrods.

 

[xsi3rr4x]

The cam is hydraulic flat tappet, these were edelbrock pushrods and everyone iv talked to about this have never seen pushrods do that. I'm pretty sure they're defective

 

[mikestang63]

Id be concerned about where the rest of the pushrods are. Most likely scattered all through your motor. . I'd be very leerry about running that motor without tearing it down.

 

[xsi3rr4x]

I have a magnetic oil pan plug which had no metal on it and I pulled the pan and saw no sparkly bits or anything at all

 

[liljoe07]

Never seen that before! Get some TrickFlow one piece pushrods to put back in there.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I have a magnetic oil pan plug which had no metal on it and I pulled the pan and saw no sparkly bits or anything at all

All the reason to be even more concerned about where the rest of those slivered, sharp assed fragments are. They are in there, and it's better you find them now while you're out some money, rather than later when you may be out a lot more.

Like @mikestang63, I'm advising you to consider a tear down. Ball fragments as big as those are won't necessarily fall through and get picked up by the drain plug magnet. They may be sitting in the valley under the intake, or worse they may be jammed between some part (like a conn rod, and a crank counterweight) and pretty soon, you might have a lot more than silvery bits in your oil.

Find the fragments, pretend you're a archaeologist and dig until the entire set of shattered pushrods are accounted for.

 

[mikestang63]

I have a magnetic oil pan plug which had no metal on it and I pulled the pan and saw no sparkly bits or anything at all

Your motor. Your call.