What level of longevity can one expect from using a bronze tipped fuel pump pushrod in a roller cam application?

I've been busy with a hydraulic roller cam swap in my 440/495 ...

I'm getting close to switching to a roller cam in the big block!

I plan to slip in the camshaft today. Part of this swap includes the use of a bronze tipped fuel pump pushrod:



This one measures to spec, 3.22" even though it was lightly used by a previous owner. I'll be slipping this one in since the material used in the camshaft mandates it.
How long are these expected to last before replacement? On the Dodge Charger forum, a member claimed that he wore one out in 400 miles. I like to go on an annual 900 + mile road trip in the Spring so this would be a bit of a problem!
@HawkRod .... Did you have to factor in pushrod replacement as a maintenance item when you went to the roller cam? Anyone else?
Replacing these isn't a difficult job but it sure would be inconvenient to deal with this often. It would surely inspire a man to convert to an electric fuel pump.

I have a customer who has done two seasons of street/strip use, including 2 Drag Weeks with a bronze tipped pushrod he bought from Trend.
At the end of the second Drag Week he pulled the PR out and measured the length and compared it to new.
No difference……. Reinstalled PR.

As always……. Ymmv.

Just built a 503 wedge , 40 plus pulls on the dyno fuel pump push rod bronze tip from 440 source all looks good using Valvoline VR 1 20-50 oil.

Thanks guys. I hate the “not knowing” of stuff I haven’t done before. I could carry a spare on road trips, it isn’t a huge deal but it is annoying when a man is trying something new and dudes throw out warnings like these.

Kern Dog said:

Thanks guys. I hate the “not knowing” of stuff I haven’t done before. I could carry a spare on road trips, it isn’t a huge deal but it is annoying when a man is trying something new and dudes throw out warnings like these.

Click to expand...

What warnings?

Cranky said:

What warnings?

Click to expand...

The warnings of poor reliability.
I mentioned that a guy on another forum (also a member here but rarely comments) warned of how I should be ready to switch to an electric fuel pump because his fuel pump pushrod crapped out within 400 miles.
He may have just been trying to help.

Oops, I'm late.

Electric fuelpump.

57 years, 158,000 miles. Bee's push rod is still full length... as is a spare I pulled out of my spare 383HP in case I needed it.

Kern Dog said:

The warnings of poor reliability.
I mentioned that a guy on another forum (also a member here but rarely comments) warned of how I should be ready to switch to an electric fuel pump because his fuel pump pushrod crapped out within 400 miles.
He may have just been trying to g to help.

Click to expand...

Ran a car back in 84 with the right distributor gear and it was fine after over 300 passes....ran an electric pump but it's still on the same cam.

I don’t have a problem changing a few things. Heck… I am changing several things just making the switch to the roller cam anyway. I just was unaware of any reliability issues.

Kern Dog said:

I've been busy with a hydraulic roller cam swap in my 440/495 ...

I'm getting close to switching to a roller cam in the big block!

I plan to slip in the camshaft today. Part of this swap includes the use of a bronze tipped fuel pump pushrod:

View attachment 2005070

This one measures to spec, 3.22" even though it was lightly used by a previous owner. I'll be slipping this one in since the material used in the camshaft mandates it.
How long are these expected to last before replacement? On the Dodge Charger forum, a member claimed that he wore one out in 400 miles. I like to go on an annual 900 + mile road trip in the Spring so this would be a bit of a problem!
@HawkRod .... Did you have to factor in pushrod replacement as a maintenance item when you went to the roller cam? Anyone else?
Replacing these isn't a difficult job but it sure would be inconvenient to deal with this often. It would surely inspire a man to convert to an electric fuel pump.

Click to expand...

I don't have this potential issue because my car has fuel injection so I don't use a mechanical fuel pump.
The 400 miles story sounds just like... a story.

I read all the horror stories about the Comp Cam bronze rod and others brass oil pump drive, really makes you wonder. I finally decided on the 440 bronze tip rod and melonized drive gear. Hoping those are good choices. Have not ran the engine yet.

Bronze anywhere in an engine is a short-lived alternative to steel and iron. It is a wear-bearing i.e. it's designed to wear out before the mating surface.

Bronze gears on distributors wear out at an alarming rate compared to an OEM gear,
Bronze valve guides wear out at an alarming rate compared to the sintered iron OEM guides

OEM camshafts don't require bronze distributor gears but aftermarket cams do.

Your fuel pump pushrod will leave you stranded on the side of the road if you plan on putting any kind of mileage on the car so you'd better buy TWO while you're at it and throw the other one in the glove box so that you can do a roadside repair.

I remember flat-towing Mike Weeks' hot rod a few miles off the interstate with my '34 before we found an exit with a gas station in Ohio 20 or 30 years ago because the bronze gear on his Chevy distributor lost it's teeth.

We found a gear, on a Sunday, and got him back on the road but he could have been there for more than a day if it weren't for the fact that a oval track racer just happened to pull into the gas station at the time and he had a spare gear in the tow vehicle.

Also, while we're talking about distributor gears, if you put a USED OEM gear on a new aftermarket camshaft it WON'T destroy the cam but a brand new OEM gear will wipe out the softer cam. Used gears are broken in and don't have the sharp surfaces found on new OEM gears.