Setting Things Straight

I am the owner of the GTO that was written up in this article:

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/features/0908gmhtp_2004_pontiac_gto/index.html

The engine that Westech Automotive in Wisconsin built, in fact blew up twice.  Upon tearing it down, I discovered this - they're all supposed to be the same length:



In addition to the pushrods being all different lengths, nobody measured for coil bind.  That nice big .74 lift cam was mated with valve springs made for .70 lift.  

The first time it blew, it destroyed lifters, sent metal shavings throughout the engine, flattened the cam and trashed a good portion of the internals.  Val's Automotive, in their infinite wisdom, blamed it on a "bad cam core", proceeded to have Westech build it again, and the same thing; camshaft flattened, lifters trashed, metal shavings, and another tear-down.  This time the problem was "front oil passages that were restricted but shouldn't have been".  

It took me, the owner, to tear this thing down personally, measure everything and discover the valve springs were binding - in addition to the installed pushrods which nobody can explain.

Accolades go to Westech Automotive in Wisconsin in the article when in fact, it was an incredibly incompetent work on their part.

Just setting the record straight because I'm one very pissed off person.

And by the way, nobody stood behind their work.

Roy  

by the way.... getting into coil bind.. can distort push rod lengths...

i have seen valves shortened by 1/16 of an inch.. when the piston hit the valve on a OHC VW motor..
that is not a description of coil bind.. but it does show that even solid objects can get shortened..

just curious.. can you take your straight edge and lay it across your valve tips...  see if they are all level..
i am not saying anything.. but using shorter and longer push rods .. even custom versions has been done to get the lifter preload right and the rocker arms geometry exact..

but i would bet they were damaged during coil bind..

were offset keepers installed... or offset height retainers ????  

Waynepp,

In s nutshell:

1.  Coil bind

2.  Westech cut those pushrods from blanks, they told Val's they were supposed to be one size.  When I tried to lash the valves on the 3rd rebuild, some valves could not be lashed at all (the adjusting screws were forced all the way out), others were too loose.  That's when I decided to rip the whole thing apart.  They were shown pictures of the pushrods, all I got back was silence.  I wish they did tell me they were carefully cut individually for proper geometry, at least I would have gotten some response from them (and maybe a good laugh) instead of nothing.

The heads have been checked by a trusted shop, and one length PROPER SIZED pushrod gives a perfect dead center wipe across the valve tips.

I could take a sledge hammer to those pushrods and not put a dent in them.  I wish they did bend, it would have saved two engines, a lot of money and a ton of grief.

Bottom line, this thing blew twice and each time it didn't make it 2,000 miles; expensive parts assembled horribly and not checked.  It would have gone back together a 3rd time and the same thing would have happened if I didn't get personally involved and get other outsiders involved.

All involved in the build are running from the problems.

Roy  

Damn, that sucks, man.  Thanks for posting up the info, as it's a wakeup call (for me anyway) to double check everything when something doesn't seem right.

Beautiful car, by the way!  How do those tires do hooking up all that power?  

Sorry to hear that Roy, it's hard to find a skilled machine shop/engine builder, especially on the level that you are at with a high-lift solid roller. Hopefully everything worked out in the end. I recently used CV Products pushrods in my 451 LSX motor and  have had good luck in the past with their stuff. I hear Smith Brothers is also excellent, and it is hard to go wrong with Comp.  

I am a pastor in a small town in Florida and our church is 4 years old. We have been to the C3 regional conferences and have been very blessed to learn from Ed. We also use the Elevate and Elevate Jr. resources, which we absolutely love. Ed, I know that God has a plan for this situation. You handled it biblically and with great humility. May God continue to bless you, your family, and Fellowship Church!!!  
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