So after trying for a few weeks to diagnose the misfire I was having.. I finally found it. The car is a 1983 trans am 305 with the quadrajet. 38000 miles. I'm not a mechanic but I'm pretty decent with cars in general, but this through me completely off. I was getting a serious spark knock. New ignition system was put in and still had a knock. So I pulled the valve cover and the pushrod below the Egr valve is completely missing. The valve cover has a small dent above that rocker from that rod (I'm not sure if the rod is in the intake plenum) I just bought this car and it was sitting before that for many years. It almost seems like that rod was pulled out by the previous owner to allow the car to kinda run(limp).
Does anyone have an idea what is happening or what could of happened?

 

Post pictures. But my guess is the pushrod bent or broke and fell into the lifter valley

 

I agree, no big deal, pull the intake look for rod remove rod, replace rod, I would do all of them, done.

 

Yup, prolly just broke and fell in.

That's about the worst valve adjustment I think I've ever seen, even on a motor with as many miles on it as that one clearly has. I'm surprised you actually even drove it like that. Must been HELLA loud with all the clacking and whatnot.

Either that, or you need to add jam nuts on top of th erocker nuts.

 

You need new rocker arm nuts. Those stock type nuts wear with time. New the top end hole is kind of oval shaped and nut has 'lock lines' on them. As they wear the oval top opens up wider and gets round and you loose your valve adjustment. The rocker nut will back it's self off some and your pushrod can come out.

Which is what I think happened in your case and by the looks pf it you are fixing to have a couple more do the same thing.

I bet you find your missing pushrod in 1 pc. inside the lifter valley

 

 

looks like the rocker arm adjusting nut backed off, notice how much closer it is to the end of the stud than the others in the pic..

this is what happened on my Nova about a decade ago when a poly lock backed off on the #1 exhaust rocker when i was driving home from work one night... heard a bad ticking noise for about a half mile, pulled over to check it out, and it quit... so i drove it the 5 miles home and pulled the valve cover to see no pushrods for either vavle on the #1 cylinder... i pulled the intake, and this is what i found:



2 new roller rockers and 2 new pushrods from GM cost me about $120, and i triple checked the poly locks when i put it back together..