[Hostile_1LE]

So... it happened. I let my friend drive my car (really close friend) and he money shifted from the top of 3rd to 2nd. I have no idea how much RPM the car saw, but it was WELL over the limiter. I glanced over when it happened it I saw the tach coming back down over 7000 but my memory on it isn't very clear.

The bad news... its ticking. It is not very loud, but the sounds is 100% new after the money shift. It sounded like it was coming from the rear drivers side of the engine.

I pulled the valve cover and nothing was loose on driver side (didn't check passenger). I pulled #7 rockers and pushrods because that's where I thought the sound was coming from.

Rockers SEEM fine, but I'm not too sure what I'm looking for.

The #7 intake pushrod has a very visible scratch about 3/8-1/2" long around the circumference of the pushrod, about 3/4"-1" away from the lifter end. I rolled both of the pushrods on a flat countertop, and the exhaust pushrod rolls smoother and longer than the intake pushrod, leading me to believe it is slightly bent. I wish I would have taken a picture of the scratch but I did not.

I haven't pulled the heads yet to check the lifters, because I am 15 hours from my home, in another state. currently debating shipping the car home and flying home.

What are the odds that I just bent the one pushrod? I feel like that is unlikely.
If the pushrod is bent, could that mean there is damage to the lifter?
I have not tested to see if the car is misfiring, but oil pressure never changed and the only sign of damage prior to digging was the tick.

https://youtube.com/shorts/xKh7zBlO3L0?feature=share

[arpad_m]

Very sorry to hear that this happened. I'd want to check the valves, too, one or more may be also bent even if the rockers are intact.

[JT6Speed]

It takes some effort pushing left to go back into 2nd, 4th is literally just straight down. I could maybe understand going from 2nd back to 1st, or 5th back to 4th, but this shifter is gaited pretty damn well.

Terrible situation, I feel for you on this one. Definitely not going to be good for the valvetrain.

[Hostile_1LE]

How would I know if it is bent without removing them from the head? I tried to wiggle the springs but none budged.

[Dabjbr]

Sorry man. This really sucks.

In terms of money shifting, it’s easy to do on this car under heavy acceleration especially if hurrying the shift. I always invert my grasp (thumb down) and apply little pressure when changing 3>4th. It really helps. Prior to my changed approach, I nearly money shifted and it’s a scary thing I never want to do!

As far as your car, my first inclination was the ticking sound was coming from the crank and you probably have a worn or spun bearing. I haven’t dropped the oil pan on this car but that may be something to check. Our damn dodge neon that we race in Lemons has spun bearings multiple times.

[Megahurtz]

Been here before. Do yourself a favor and start buying the parts and don't drive the car. It's very likely you bent some pushrods and collapsed or damaged the lifters. And it is not uncommon that 100-500 miles AFTER the money shift, that more lifters randomly fail, especially the DOD lifters.

Replace all rocker arms, all pushrods and all lifters. Verify none of the valve springs are broken. The job is tedious but not that hard as long as you have a good torque wrench to get the heads back on properly.

Most importantly, do not drive the car or run the engine. You don't want any metal on metal friction material making its way through the engine. And you don't want and collapsed lifters smacking the cam lobes. Both can start premature wear and eventual damage of the bearing surfaces and cam lobes.

The good news is that this mistake usually only hurts the valvetrain, which is easily replaced, and the engine continues to live a long healthy life.
PS, hope you learned to not let ANYONE drive your car aggressively again.

[Christian1LE]

I'm sorry this happened to you, I did money shift my car at the track but I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I had no damage at all and it was a terrible money shift, redline 3rd gear to 2nd gear in the middle of a corner.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ds-CEpDw_SA

[Evergreen6]

I feel for ya. But also, why even friends will never drive my car, let alone that hard.

[MT-SS1LE]

That sucks and why is no one drives my car, not even my wife.

Hope your buddy is stand up enough to cough over some cash for the damage he did.

[Hostile_1LE]

I am flying home and having the car shipped. Unfortunately I will have to drive the car onto the truck. But it will not be driven normally. I plan to do lifters and pushrods first. What are the odds the lifter bores are damaged?

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by Hostile_1LE

I am flying home and having the car shipped. Unfortunately I will have to drive the car onto the truck. But it will not be driven normally. I plan to do lifters and pushrods first. What are the odds the lifter bores are damaged?

Take this with a grain of salt but I watch a lot of videos of blown up engines being torn down and have only seen lifter bores damaged once.

Also if you’re pulling the heads and changing the lifters might as well throw a cam in while you’re in there!

[Hostile_1LE]

I’m thinking I may just cam it. I want a GPI package but everything is on backorder.

[Dabjbr]

I hope everyone that’s reading this thread starts, if not already, using a backhand grip when shifting 3rd to 4th. It significantly reduces the chance of money shifting. It makes it really hard to accidentally pull the gear lever into 2nd.

[Hack]

I'm sorry to hear about this issue. It really sucks. It sounds like possibly a piston touched a valve, which is what probably caused the pushrod damage. Hopefully the bottom end will be fine, but I would check everything over when the engine is apart.

Was the oil pressure good after the event with no changes?

Is this a good time to remove the AFM hardware from the engine?