ok guys i did a cam swap this weekend on my SBC 350. we got the cam in and got the springs changed and the lifters in. got it all buttoned up and ready for cam break in. the motor fired right up and set the idle to 2200 rpm. it ran for almost 10 mins thien we heard a noise and shut the engine off. i had a rocker arm turned sideways and a broke push rod. the push rod broke where the rocker turned sideways and put it in a bind on the push rod hole on the head. the push rod didn't go into two pieces but almost. i noticed that the tip of the valve was worn at a angle. we must have missed it when changing the springs. the rocker is even worn twards one side so it has been going on for awhile but when turning the valve it got the wear spots changed so it moves the rocker now

my question is did i hurt the cam when the push rod broke? the cam is brand new with 10 min run time. i have got a different set of heads to solve the bad valve problem. just need to know if i hurt the cam

nobody?

All I can say is I've turned push rods to shrapnel and not hurt the cam before. It's all in the luck of the draw. You probably will be all right. I think the weakest link gave first.

I had a Ford guy adjust my valves when I was a "kid". I then, on a newly broken in cam, did multiple 5500 rpm passes and noticed the car was laboring to rev. I bent 11 of 16 pushrods and the cam was fine. I second the motion that the weakest link went and it's possible that your cam is fine.

Mike

Replace the pushrod with a good one and measure (a dial indicator is best but other means will do in a pinch) the lobe lift by pushrod tip travel without the rocker arm on. Compare that one to other like (intake or exh) lobes or better yet the lobe lift spec. If it's much less (say .010 or more) than the other like lobes or spec then you've probably wiped a lobe. I hope not.

Think the bind could have hurt the lifter at all over the cam?

I bet the cam is fine too.

Do what Von says. I whacked up my new UD cam by running , like, .130 lash on both #1 valves. Maybe a minute, I didn't shut it down right away. So the cam can survive unless you break through the hardening.

I popped a pushrod right through a stock rocker once overrevving with an inaccurate tach, the cam and lifter was fine. when she went I thought the whole motor was going to be toast. check your lift with a new rocker and pushrod and if it's ok then your fine.