Has anyone ever found a broken pushrod in their engine? If so, whats the cause & can you simply replace the pushrod?

 

there are a few reasons this could have happened.

if the rotation of the cam, roller, rocker, and valve free of any kinks, it could have just been a bad rocker.

pull the valve cover and if you can remove the broken pushrod and all debris, you can just put in a new one as long as the roller and rocker is not damaged.

 

It's also possible the rocker arm bolt threads may have stripped out. They are easily damaged if they were ever over torqued. When I replaced my intake manifold gaskets I used a Lisle 48300 pushrod remover which lets you remove the pushrod without unbolting anything. This is for the 2.8, 3.1, 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 engines but if you have the 3.8 I don't think this will help.
If you do happen to have a stripped out bolt thread they make Time Sert kits for this very repair. Seems like most of the reviews of it say it's better than using a heli coil fix.

 

What year and size of motor?...

 

thanx for the replies fellas. I replaced the pushrod. the rocker arm was fine. Don't know how the rod broke. Got the car started & that ticking sound is gone. But, still doesnt sound right.
Also, got trouble codes 13, 17, & 36. I know the exhaust isnt torqued to spec cause smoke comes out. Can the o2 code trigger cause of this? Dont know what to make of the other 2 codes tho. Crank & Cam sensors should be good