Shortening stock pushrods

[oprn]

A while back I asked here if the stock pushrods could be shortened by machining a bit off and just driving the end in deeper. I got a lot of answers but nothing to really sink my teeth into. Mostly "buy this and buy that" and some "you need to know what you are doing" answers.

Well I just completed the learning curve and have an answer for future "do it your selfers" like me. The answer is yes.

I just trimmed off the amount I needed in my lathe, put the pushrod between two old lifters so as to not flatten the ends drove them home. My first attempt resulted in a bent pushrod, it takes a pretty good smack to get the tips to move! I then cut a piece of 1/2" tube to slip over the outside of the pushrods to stiffen them up and voila! No more bent ones!

The top tube is my stiffener sleeve, the next 3 are shortened and ready to drive the ends home and the last one is the finished pushrod.
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[67rustavenger]

This is the way I understood how to shorten stock aluminum PR's.

Did you just machine off the amount that you needed to shorten them and drive the tips home?
Or did you remove the tips completely and reinstall them?

These are just questions for understanding the procedure. I don't have a lathe here.
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I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
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[oprn]

Yes that was part of my original question. I should have stated that. No I did not remove the tips, just trimmed off what I needed to and drove them in further.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[Wreck]

Heat the end a little , expands the alloy more than the steel end . It helps .

[oprn]

Yes it would, good idea!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[Rome]

Good going, oprn. Once I finally get some motivation to continue on my 1776 top-end redo, I'll be shortening the stock pushrods also. Using an adjustable PR I determined I need to shorten them 4 mm. I used a fine-blade hacksaw on an otherwise junk PR to cut through the end manually to test this method, which is shown in the "How to hotrod your VW engine" book. For the 8 PR on the 1776 engine, my plan is to use a thin abrasive cut-off wheel on my stronger Dremel, rest the tool on a wooden fixture, put the PR on another wooden block so that it is parallel to the fixture base and at right angle to the cut-off wheel, and rotate the PR by hand. Cut a few bands off the PR the thickness of the cut-off wheel to reach the 4 mm distance. Hack yes, but it should work. I don't have access to a lathe.

[QRP]

You could probably press the tip in using the tail stock with a chunk of aluminum rod in the chuck.
Do it right after trimming so it will at least be a little warm.

[bugguy1967]

Did a set recently for a 36hp guy using AA lifters: I prefer to remove the ends, drill for a less extreme interference fit, and reinstall. No reason for the ends to bulge from the press-fit.

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[oprn]

The ends on mine didn't bulge. Not sure why they would as that is the factory interference fit and the factory ones didn't bulge either.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[bugguy1967]

[bsairhead]

Would it be any more work to machine that amount off the tip? or half off both tips? Not trying to be that guy that says "your doing it wrong" just a question nothing else.

[oprn]

Sure would, the tips are hardened steel.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

[slalombuggy]

I have 3 summers of driving on the ones I shortened for my 1904. I don't have a lathe so I tapped around the pushrod with a ballpien hammer to relieve the press fit, pulled the ends out and used a tubing cutter to remove most of the material and a file to finish.