explain 4k pushrod plz??

[Scotty]

Im kinda new to cars know the basics but im looking at gettin a 77 corolla s/w with a 4k push rod engine. would some plz explaint to me wether this is a good bad or ugly engine.

cheers

[JasonZE]

They have proven to be a good reliable engine over the years and with $$$ can go hard out but standard they are not very powerful as only 1300cc in a wagon!
Push rod just means its not overhead cam engine as most old engines were push rod as are most modern v8s etc
If it dosent blow blue smoke or use water it will serve you well.

[PumpN]

and even if it does blow smoke and use water it will keep going for ages
4k's would have to be one of the most reliable engines ever made, i know of many cars running the standard engines (no rebuilds) who have done well over a quarter of a million kays without any really major problems

the only issue with these engines is noisy tappets, and because they are carby and have points ignition they need to be adjusted regularly to keep them running sweet

[Dell'Orto]

Yeah mine is up to 253,00ks and it runs mint
Yes, having points does suck

[Lloyd]

Just incase you want to know the difference between overhead cam and pushrod then have a look here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/camshaft5.htm

Thats the pushrod page. Flick back a couple to see how the overhead works.

[skoty]

Yeh from what Ive seen the 'k' series engines are dam reliable.

[Scotty]

cheers guys

[myk00l]

But some OHC engines have pushrods, 18R's are single overhead cam pushrod.

[MIKE AE85]

Yeah, go the mighty 4k. I had one in my starlet with twin carbs. Took a friggen good hiding... we used to do jumps in it, but nothing ever got really screwed (except the gearbox crossmember).

Had a noisy timing chain at times. Didn't really affect it's *performance* tho

[JasonZE]

MYkool I think you confuse pushrods with rocker arms as 18r doesnt have pushrods just a cam then rocker runs on cam an opens/closes directly onto valve.
There are no engines to my knowledge that have ohc and pushrods as the whole point of ohc is to eliminate pushrods and the number of moving parts in the valvetrain.