Pushrods went through rocker arms
 

355 Blueprint crate engine with 4k miles. All was fine until I started it today.. popping thru the intake and sounded like a diesel engine at idle. Shut her down.. pulled the value cover and found this.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...0a9718010e.jpg

Blueprint warranty said they would be in touch on Monday and would get me up and running again.
I hope so.. but what would cause this in the first place?

Re: Pushrods went through rocker arms
 

Some combination of shi'ite rocker arms, not enough valve spring, poor spring setup, and/or clearance problem between retainer and guide.

The springs themselves look like they're not the problem. Not saying they're not, only, the other possibilities are more likely.

Re: Pushrods went through rocker arms
 

That Chineseum metal is not very tough.

Re: Pushrods went through rocker arms
 

What do the rest of the rocker arms look like?
Poor quality comes to mind first. So does a localized lack of oiling. Which may be indicative of a broader problem.
Now to deal with the metal that's entered the oil...

Re: Pushrods went through rocker arms
 

Luckily both rockers popped the oil cap off clean and I recovered both. I replaced the two pushrods and rockers today. Lifters pumped up.. good oil to all rockers. Adjusted the lash and tomorrow I'll put everything back together. Hopefully it was only cheap stamped metal.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...6cf349f895.jpg