If you've read some of my recent posts, I'm resurrecting my Dodge Travco 413 for a road trip or sale (if I find a decent diesel motorhome). It's been sitting about a year and a half but I've started it periodically.
Well, when I started it recently, it ran like hell, was very hard to start and wouldn't idle below about 1200 rpm's and was making tappet noises. I replaced the plugs, coil, and fuel pump, thinking a failed pump was making the tapping. No luck. I couldn't pin down the tapping with a stethescope. Well I pulled the left valve cover today after noticing it was hotter than the right. Two intake pushrods are completely disconnected, lying off to the side and a third is cockeyed but apparantly wedged against the top of the lifter somehow because it looks as if it was making the noise because, not being in the lifter seat, it wasn't getting any oil thru the pushrod but it was still pushing on the rocker/valve. I think the valve cover may have been hot because the misplaced rod was not allowing the intake valve to seat and hot combustion gases were getting by into the valve cover
What the hell happened????? What would cause three intake pushrods to pop out of place, all on the same side of the engine? It looks as if the rocker shaft is still firmly attached (although the engine was too hot to do much investigating). I'm assuming the right side of the engine is ok, because otherwise I can't imagine how it would run at all with three cylinders on the left malfunctioning.
Anyone else ever have this happen? Any hypothesis? I've never heard of a failure like this before. I did have a pushrod slide off a rocker arm on a Ford 240 six once, but it had been tapping pretty bad for thousands of miles before it failed.

I'm going to unbolt the rocker shaft and put the pushrods back in position if they are all straight. It's possible the rocker on the one that wasn't getting oil might need to be replaced, but it might be ok.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13