While coming home from the track earlier today, one of my rockers loosened to the point of it not opening the valve(#2 intake). It happened right after I left, so I drove 40 miles with it beating up against the valve cover. Could it have damaged anything? I am most concerned with the shortblock because it only has 1300miles on it.

 

If the lifter is still in the lifter bore and the valve didn't drop you should be ok, if it tossed the lifter the engine could have suffered a loss of oil pressure, try to find out why it came loose because something is not right, they don't just back off if everything is assembled correctly with good parts.

 

If the lifter/push rod/rocker didn't cause or suffer any obvious mechanical damage, you likely didn't hurt anything. Running the engine with one inoperative intake valve won't cause any damage to the cylinder/chamber. An inoperative exhaust valve might have caused more problems (backfire, stalling), but not an intake.

Did the nut back off or the stud pull out?

 

i had this problem not long ago....the rocker broke right at the bottom....got a new rocker and the car runs perfect now....glad i have a lifter vally pan to keep trouble like this from wrecking the motor...

 

The nut backed out, I'm running Crane gold race rockers. I am going to relash all the rockers today, is there a torque value for the set screw on the nut? That is the only thing I can think of why they backed out.

 

Well I relashed the rockers today and now it is ticking. The rockers aren't hitting the valve cover so you think the sound is a bad lifter? Assuming it is a bad lifter, could it have ruined the lifter bore?

 

TTT
Anyone? Maybe a bent pushrod?