greatwhite99

I have a 1999 Pontiac Trans Am with basic bolt ons, stock internals and I bent 4 pushrods at the track. Car has 52K so, should I just replace all the pushrods? Just changing the pushrods would certainly be cost effective but long term I am considering a cam and headers since I would like to get the car to run 12.0 consistant all motor.

mike

wildchevy

I would DEFINETLY do a cam and headers. This has made the biggest difference out of all the money have spent on my car. Don't be afraid to go big. Something like 231-236 or 236/236 and do a big lift around .595. These cams make a HUGE difference is power on the LS1.

Jason99T/A

iTrader: (21)

Do not replace the pushrods with anything other than stock if you plan to reuse your stock valvesprings.

The stock valvesprings leave alot to be desired. I would changing them to either Comp 918s or the Crane 144832 dual springs, especially if you plan on a cam in the near future. Then, a set of 7.400" hardened pushrods would be recommended.

greatwhite99

Thanks for the replies! I will be pricing springs and pushrods. What about soft rev limit for spark to avoid this problem in the future?

mike

JackZ28

Unless you're upgrading the bottom end, don't get chromoly pushrods, because if the pushrods don't give, something else will!

greatwhite99

where can I get stock pushrods and should I replace them all or just the bent ones?

99 red Z

If you replace any parts replace them all as a set. the others might have been stressed. depending on how bad you bent them. something else might have gave too. I bent 8 push rods. replaced them all and still had missfires. not sure if i collapsed lifter(s) and/or bent valves. so I changed everything out. might have been overkill, but had to take the heads off anyhow to check valves. from my research, couldn't tell if the lifters were bad unless you replaced everything else, put it back together and find out then. I didnt have the time or money to take it apart again. hence, did everything at once.

also, Since I already have the chromemoly Push rods I used them, but to do it over again. i would have got stock. so they were the weakest link. easier to replace them.

greatwhite99

I called around to some of the local dealers an I got all different prices from 10$ to $20 ea. best price I found was on gmpartsdirect how come the chromoly ones are cheaper?

mike

greatwhite99

I got the new oem pushrods in and there are still problems. Started it up the first time after the install and got P0300 Mutiliple random missfire and there is a ticking noise. Am I looking at some serious damage here like bent valves or collapsed lifters?

Joe Vinci

iTrader: (3)

Unplug the harness going into each banks coil packs. Spin the motor over. If it sounds uneven, then there is a compression loss and you have a problem somewhere. This is a simple way to test compression to see if you have a problem.

greatwhite99

update: the heads are off and I have removed all the valves. I finished late last night so I did not get a chance to check if the valves are bent but there were some crescents on some of the pistons where the valves touched them. What is the best approach to the heads? Should I replace the only valves that are bad or the whole set? I was planning on replacing the lifters with COMPR lifters while everything is appart and also replacing the valve springs with 918s and titanium retainers since next year I am planning on doing a cam like thunders 224/224 112LSA. Can I still use stock pushrods with this setup?

mike

greatwhite99

ok I ordered the following from texas-speed:

Patriot Dual Spring Kit, Comp OEM lifters , Manley Stainless valves, gaskets and bolt kit. I am going to continue using the OEM pushrods for now since I still have the stock cam this should be ok with my setup? I am going to have the heads just freshened up with valve seats recut and fit with the new valves

mike

Dave00C5

iTrader: (4)

If you need a good set of stock low mileage pushrods i have a set with 10k mileage. Email me as i'll sell em for less than you'll pay for 2 new ones. Why spend alot when your going to upgrade to H&C in the near future.