Lost a cylinder and need to drive the car-help?!?!

[formula]

So something in the valvetrain on my #8 cylinder collapsed on my way down to the beach. I pulled the valve cover and it's on the intake side: the rocker is still a-rockin and the pushrod is still a-pushin (and straight upon removal and inspection) but the rocker is just tapping on the top of the valve instead of pushing it down. The valve spring is all the way up, though, as far as I can tell. I limped it the five miles to my friends' house, but now I need to get the car home (couple hour drive). I'm thinking about pulling out the pushrods and spark plug wire on that cylinder and just running on 7. Does this sound ok, given the situation? Is there a safer way, short of towing the car, that I could do this? Should I leave the exhaust valve operational in case the intake valve is in fact partially open and thus filling a little on each intake cycle?

[McssGmachine]

I had something like this happen to me at Woodward in the middle of traffic! I didn't find out what the problem was until a week after. The lifter came apart and rocker was off of the stud. I drove it like this for awhile, So you should be ok.

Brian

[David Pozzi]

You may have wiped a lobe off the cam. The top of the lobe goes first, so you have lift but less than normal, another possibility is the rocker stud came loose if threaded or it pulled out part way if the pressed in type. If the pressed in type, check that the top of the stud is level with the others using a straight edge across the tops.

Any chance the rocker arm nut just backed off?

Pulling the pushrods sounds good but if you rev it much, the lifters may get thrown out of the bores, then you'll have a massive oil pressure loss on that side. I'd leave the plug wire attached, if you do disconnect it be sure to ground it or you'll have spark damage to the cap/rotor by the time you get home.

[formula]

Milked her home ok...she's a trooper!

I think I just popped the stud out. As I was getting ready to roll out from hilton head, I tried to tighten the rocker down a bunch in hopes of keeping it from spinning off of the pushrod. I kept getting down a thread or two, then pop, i'd lose any tension. so yeah.

[Munch69ProTour]

Milked her home ok...she's a trooper!

I think I just popped the stud out. As I was getting ready to roll out from hilton head, I tried to tighten the rocker down a bunch in hopes of keeping it from spinning off of the pushrod. I kept getting down a thread or two, then pop, i'd lose any tension. so yeah.

Sounds like it could be a bad hydralic lifter also...

[formula]

Sounds like it could be a bad hydralic lifter also...

I agree, I originally thought this might be the case.

I'm gonna beat the stud into submissio...er...gently hammer the stud back into the head and just bolt everything down and see what I can see.

[rohrt]

If your running a pontiac with the stock 3/8 bottle neck stud it should just bolt down until snug on the rocker. I can't imagin that you have press in studs with a 78 motor. They should be screw in.

[formula]

ohhh but its not a poncho, its a chebby. Blame GM, not me.

[Madspeed]

First off are all the studs at or very near the same higth?
If they are then Its not a pulled stud.

Cmon Guys You should all know Stock chev cams are Notorius for going flat, Assuming its stock

If the rocker isnt pushing the valve much and the pushrod isnt loose then its a flat cam lobe

You can do what you want but Im gonna tell you what the right way to fix it is
Tear the entire eng apart and remove all the galley plugs have the block cleaned by a machine shop, Inspect everything replace what needs it put in a new cam ifters tiing chain and reassemble it all ut it back in and run it.
I say tear it apart because that cam that went flat! Where do you think the lobe is? Is a bunch of etal powder in the oiling sytem.

Honestly If it is the cam that went flat and the eng has Miles on it you ight as well spring for a rebuild

Now it you wanna bandaid it then just change the cam lifters and timing chain along with the oil and filter
But do yourself a favor and reove the filter pad ( you know the piece that the oil filter screws onto) take out the oil bypass spring and valve, Then drill it and tap it out and put a plug in it, then grind it flush so the filter will screw on,
reinstall it, and use a fram HP series Oil filter ( HP = High pressure)
or a K&N oil filter.
That liitle bypass valve Bypasses oil when the eng is cold and pressure is high and allowes the oil to COMPLETLY bypass the filter
It it there so the cold high oil pressure wont blow the filter off in the morning upon startup
I remove this On EVERY engine I buld.

hope that helps

Ken F

[camaro608]

you have a problem on your hands good luck
man 06T'rex can write

[Madspeed]

Heh I can get carried away =)
i just wish i had a keyboard that didnt skip all the time
Man i need to edit that