RUH ROH; this can't be good; bent rod & cracked arm!

[KnightHauler]

This isn't exactly what I wanted my first post here to be like but here it goes!

Well, this is my first time removing injectors and it was going along pretty smoothly removing the injectors on my 96 7.3 PSD until I got to the number 3 cylinder. My hand brushed against the rocker arm and it was loose. I then noticed that the push rod was loose and I could simply pull it right out of the head. Noticed a little while later that the rocker arm itself is cracked in three places. Not sure what to make of this.....anyone ever seen anything like this before? Any thoughts about what to do now short of having to pull the whole engine?

This is not turning out to be the deal I thought it would be. Paid $5K for this truck about three months ago and now have at least $3k in repairs/parts and now this!! :fustrate:

Thanks for your time, Tom

 

[neverkickn]

Strange you didn't hear it. Must have had some contact. I would just put in another rocker and push rod and keep truckin.

 

[KnightHauler]

Thanks much for the quick reply!! I just found this site today so I will probably posting a good bit while I try and get this thing running. I have new injectors to put in before I can fire it up again.

 

[BigAlsPSD]

Somewhat common, but surprised you didn't hear it in the intake either. Like stated, just put in a new one and inspect for more bent pushrod, rockers on the other cylinders, you'll probably be fine.

 

[haulin99sdp]

yep... ive seen it and dealt with it....

was that the only one you found like that? was it intake or exhagust?

 

[KnightHauler]

I have visually checked all of the other rocker arms and they all look OK. Kind of hard to tell with the push rods. I will take another look at them tomorrow.

As for intake or exhaust, hate to sound like an idiot but I am not sure. It was the forward rod/arm on the number 3 cylinder.

 

[neverkickn]

fowards are intake and rears are exhaust.

 

[haulin99sdp]

you have definatly had some valve to piston contact.....
i think that is an intake valve if its the forward....

do have any tunes on the truck? was it this way when you purchused it?

 

[KnightHauler]

you have definatly had some valve to piston contact.....
i think that is an intake valve if its the forward....

do have any tunes on the truck? was it this way when you purchused it?

I bought the truck in SC and drove it to Maryland without any issues. Only issue was it was hard to start and ran pretty rough when it started. The real problems started when I was towing my Jeep up to Rausch Creek in PA two weeks later. On the last steep incline I started losing power and blowing white smoke, also running real rough. Had it towed home and have been trying to figure it out since then. First time ever really working on a diesel. I bought new injectors for it and that is how I found the push rod/arm today. Is it possible that it could have been this way and I wouldn't have noticed it?

 

[neverkickn]

Before I spent the money on injectors I might check compression starting with the hole that broke the rocker arm.

On edit: if you havent already removed the old injectors you should check compression before removing those. If you have a bad hole you might as well save yourself the trouble of an injector swap and just yank the motor and overhaul.

 

[KnightHauler]

Before I spent the money on injectors I might check compression starting with the hole that broke the rocker arm.

Too late on the injectors........I already bought them before I found this problem. Guess a compression check wouldn't hurt though.

 

[haulin99sdp]

it is very possiable it was already that way.......
i wil vote to put new pr's in it while your down as they are not that pricey...
i 2nd the compression test.....

 

[neverkickn]

Too late on the injectors........I already bought them before I found this problem. Guess a compression check wouldn't hurt though.

Seriously though, do it before you pull the injectors or you will have wet cylinders and unaccurate numbers. If you do the swap first, then you will have to run it for a few miles to burn the oil/fuel out and pull the valve covers again for the compression check.

 

[KnightHauler]

Seriously though, do it before you pull the injectors or you will have wet cylinders and unaccurate numbers. If you do the swap first, then you will have to run it for a few miles to burn the oil/fuel out and pull the valve covers again for the compression check.

Too late for that also. I had already pulled most of the injectors before I found the push rod. I was on the next to the last one! Now I will have to install the new ones before I can do a compression test.

Still having trouble understanding how this rod could have been bent and the arm cracked without hearing a lot of noise out of the engine??

 

[haulin99sdp]

it should have been poping throught the intake......... maybe less than more but none the less noticable......
somting has caused your valve to hit the piston causing your issue... as for wat :shrug:...
i would go ahead with the compression test and go from there...
if you have a chip and tunes on the truck i would also look there as well.......

 

[neverkickn]

Too late for that also. I had already pulled most of the injectors before I found the push rod. I was on the next to the last one! Now I will have to install the new ones before I can do a compression test.

Still having trouble understanding how this rod could have been bent and the arm cracked without hearing a lot of noise out of the engine??

Maybe the rocker damage and the white smoke occured simultaneous. If you saw smoke and shut it down then you might not have had it running long enough to hear it.

What did the injector that came out of that hole look like? Was the nozzle distorted/broken?

 

[KnightHauler]

Maybe the rocker damage and the white smoke occured simultaneous. If you saw smoke and shut it down then you might not have had it running long enough to hear it.

What did the injector that came out of that hole look like? Was the nozzle distorted/broken?

I think maybe the rocker arm damage did occur when I lost power and started smoking but I did not shut it down right away. I limped on to the off-road park which was probably another 8 miles or so. Wheeled the jeep at the park for a couple hours and then drove to the hotel about 10 miles or so. Never heard any noises out of the engine just ran like it was only on 4 cylinders and smoked like a locomotive.

I do not see anything out of the ordinary as far as the injector goes but this is the first time I have ever pulled injectors. Two pics of the injector from #3 cylinder below.

 

[neverkickn]

Nozzle looks fine.