BigBMarkIII

Ive been helping a friend fix his Vandura....we pulled the old heads off(they were cracked....severe overheat) since his funds were low and the bottom end seems OK.....we got reman heads and bolted them on......then he continued to finish the job and was ill informed that the valves were hydraulic and non-adjustable

long story short
he cranked the rockers down tight and tried to start it
it popped and banged thru the throttle body and never ran

a closer look revealed 16 bent push rods

could anything else have gotten fudged up?

please dont say the valves can get hit by the pistons and bend as this is my biggest fear

i posted this here and not in G-vans because i need near real time help from someone who knows the 350 inside out and upside down,THANX ALOT

maxxman04

how long did you guys crank it before realizing there was an issue? i would take a look at the rocker arm studs and rockers. then replace all the lifters, pushrods. yes, lifters need replaced. motor should be ok after that.

BigBMarkIII

lifters huh?.......shiite! looks like the intake is comin back off

Terry Neff

I agree with the part replacement to a point above.Really the question is how many times do you want to take this apart before you are sure the damage done is repaired??.Taking the intake off is real close to taking off one bank of heads to check them and the piston tops.No short cuts to really knowing where you at.Quick fixes are just like they sound.Suggestion here is to check for bent valves or any damage to the heads or valve springs,guides,etc.You want to return the re-man heads back to their original condition or aleast be sure they are not damaged.Take your time on this and it will come back to you 10X's over never having to do this job over and over again.The mistake was made,don't compound it by not looking at it completely.

One thing I left out.Depends on how hard the lifters was jammed against the cam which was a used cam in the first place and if any of the cam lobes where wiped out because if it.It is possible,but I really don't know not being there.I am sure you don't want to risk putting it back together and then find out it needs a cam....................Do think you need to do some thinking before you make your next move and then learn to live with whatever you decide to do.

MDTAHOE

I second complete dis assembly to see what is damaged and what is not.

BigBMarkIII

I def agree with you on complete disassembly.....

BUT I RECOMMENDED A NEW ENGINE TO BEGIN WITH DUE TO THE FACT ITS GOT 160K ON IT AND WAS SERIOUSLY OVERHEATED.....

IF THIS WAS A CUSTOMER...JUST A CUSTOMER....I WOULD TEAR IT BACK APART...SINCE MY NAME RELIED ON IT......BUT THIS IS MY BROKE FRIENDS WORK VAN

IT TOOK HIM BROKE JUST BUYING 2 EBAY HEADS,GASKETS,OIL,COOLANT,PLUGS,ETC,ETC,ETC

hE BOUGHT 16 PUSH RODS AND ANOTHER INTAKE GASKET,i WENT OVER HIS HOUSE AND WE TORE THE INTAKE OFF,LIFTED AND LOOKED AT THE LIFTERS(SEEMED OK),PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER,AND I STAYED LONG ENOUGH TO LASH THE VALVES,START IT,AND TIME IT FOR HIM AND IT SEEMED TO BE OK.....

HE IS GOIN TO PUT THE LITTLE STUFF(VALVE COVERS,SERP BELT AND SUCH) BACK TOGETHER AND TEST DRIVE IT TONITE OR TOMORROW AND ILL LET YOU GUYS KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT

THANX FOR ALL YOUR HELP GUYS