Had the same thing happen to my new engine, I used needle nose vicegrips and did a lot of wiggling, eventually the rod came out. It took a lot of cussing. Be patient the metal is soft enough that the mushroom will curl up. Since then I have never bought another Mopar Performance part. Never will either. That was a $6,000.00 engine almost ruined by a $20 piece of garbage. Went to the salvage yard and got one out of an old car, no problems since.