PULLING PUSHRODS APART
We run the valve train geometry on every single engine we build. Every once in a while we get in a time bind and need pushrods ASAP. It is for this reason we keep extra sets of push rods for the popular engines on hand. For emergencies, we keep some longer than normal 3-piece pushrods and shorten them as needed to expedite deliveries. Shortening pushrods in a lathe is pretty easy and doesn’t take long, but removing the push in ball ends can be. We’ve tried dowel puller collets, collets in our mill and a host of other ways to remove the ends. The easiest way we have found is to make up a few different width cut off tools ground into high speed steel tool bits. We start the cut right under the ball end and cut the tube to the shank of the ball end. This leaves a nice groove to grab the ball end with a small bearing splitter held in a vice. We use the collet in the dowel pin puller on the pushrod itself so there’s a lot of area for it to grab onto for pulling. You don’t have to worry about nicking the shank of the ball end, as they are harder than the high speed steel tool bit that we make the cutoff tool from. You can cut the rod to length once the ball end is removed, or make the tool exactly as wide as you need to shorten the rod. You can’t just drive the ball end back into the pushrod after it is cut. There needs to be a slight chamfer inside the pushrod to clear the radius between the shank and ball end.

Timm Jurincie
Tuf-Enuf Auto & Marine Performance
Avondale,AZ
July, 2016