S.B. International, Inc.® currently offers well over one hundred different Pushrods for Automotive, Light and Medium-Duty Trucks, Agricultural, Industrial, Marine and Heavy-Duty applications. Each SBI® Pushrod is Designed and Manufactured from the highest quality Steels available and will meet and/or exceed the OE Manufacturers requirements. Each pushrod's length, wall thickness and end configuration, hardness, along with the material it's made of, are all specific to the application.
Depending on the valvetrain design, a hardened pushrod may be required if the OE Manufacturer requires a pushrod guide plate as part of the cylinder head. If a guide plate is used, then the pushrod will move against it. If the proper material and hardness isn't used, it can wear prematurely and cause engine failure. As part of the SBI specification listing, we indicate overall length, tip end configuration (type), rod wall thickness and if the pushrod is hardened. For example, (312X060H) indicates a 5/16 inch diameter rod with a 0.060" thick wall and "H" indicating a hardened rod. Please refer to our specification listing in our catalog for this information and you can also download the pushrod tip end configuration (type) here on this page.
The SBI pushrod overall length specifications DO NOT require the use of "Graduated Checking Balls" when measuring drilled or cupped pushrods. at the OE Manufacturer level, these graduated balls are inserted into the drilling or cup and the resulting measurement is listed as the overall length. The lack of availability of these checking balls has resulted in an industry wide problem in measuring pushrods. Considering this, SBI has measured every pushrod and now lists the actual measurable length using equipment available in every Rebuilder's shop. It should be noted that variations to specifications will be greater for pushrods with forged cups due to variations in "as forged" components.