stuck Valve or springs

[mariner blue]

A while back I posted that I had a bent push rod, well it happened again. Took the rocker arms down to the mechanic..they look fine. I bought the car at the beginning of the summer from an ex state policeman who hadn't run it for three years.

The mechanic says that it is either a bad spring or a stuck valve since it has done after I replaced it.

How can I tell which one and if it is the valve....any easy way to do that without taking off the waterpump, intake manifold, head gasket etc.

And if I do do that, I should just be able to clean it in the car right? jim

[Joe Van Datta]

You will probably have to pull the head to really do it right, and since it is such a job to remove heads on these engines you might as well pull both of them and have them worked over.
Joe

[mariner blue]

Joe...thanks for the advice. ABout 1500 miles ago the valves were ground....then the car was driven for 7 years, sat for 3.

The valves appear to work but I think during that "sitting" stage of 3 years, it caused some minor valve sticking in one of the valves. All work and the valve moves, just stick enough to throw the push rod off kilter.

Since I know how much of a problem it is to take the heads off...I am looking for any product that I can try that might unstick the valve. It easier to try that once, to see if it might work, that would save me a lot of work. Anything?

****If I do have to take the header off....on a 428, what exactly has to come off. The sticky valve is on the easy side of the car where there is no powersteering etc.... I will need to take off the right header and intakemanifold but it looks like the front can stay (water pump etc).. Can the intake manifold be taken off without taking off the left header? That one is the problem since it would mean taking off the power steering and all on that side of the car...jim

[Joe Van Datta]

You can remove the heads without removing the water pump, be sure to keep the push rods in sequence so you can put them back in the same order.
There are many snake oils that are supposed to free things up but I don't think they will cure your problem.
Joe

[tbird5866]

I have freed up stuck valves in the past without removing the heads. You can remove the valve covers, the rocker arms, the valve spring keepers, the valve springs and the seals. Crank the engine till the piston is at top dead center. You can use compressed air to keep the valves closed. Using any of the solvents that will disolve the varnish on the valve stems, work the valve up and down untill it feels free. Reassemble. The piston at the TDC will prevent the valve from falling all the way into the cylinder. The compressed air will hold the valve closed while you reassemble the seals, springs and keepers. Harley ([email protected])

[mariner blue]

Originally Posted by tbird5866

I have freed up stuck valves in the past without removing the heads. You can remove the valve covers, the rocker arms, the valve spring keepers, the valve springs and the seals. Crank the engine till the piston is at top dead center. You can use compressed air to keep the valves closed. Using any of the solvents that will disolve the varnish on the valve stems, work the valve up and down untill it feels free. Reassemble. The piston at the TDC will prevent the valve from falling all the way into the cylinder. The compressed air will hold the valve closed while you reassemble the seals, springs and keepers. Harley ([email protected])

Harley...thanks for the information...could you explain this a bit more though (compressed air etc.) THanks...

Oh...Joe...if this does not work, do I have to remove the intake manifold to get at the header. I Know I can remove the header but it is the gasket I am worried about...jim

[500sec]

Quote:
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Originally Posted by tbird5866
I have freed up stuck valves in the past without removing the heads. You can remove the valve covers, the rocker arms, the valve spring keepers, the valve springs and the seals. Crank the engine till the piston is at top dead center. You can use compressed air to keep the valves closed. Using any of the solvents that will disolve the varnish on the valve stems, work the valve up and down untill it feels free. Reassemble. The piston at the TDC will prevent the valve from falling all the way into the cylinder. The compressed air will hold the valve closed while you reassemble the seals, springs and keepers. Harley ([email protected])
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....no need to put the cylinder at TDC .When filling the cylinder with compressed air through spark plug hole,the air will push the piston to BDC.
To fill the cylinder you will have to buy (or make ) an adaptor to go into the spark plug hole which you can connect to ur air line.You must insure there are no leaks in the adaptor it must hold steady pressure for as long as you will have the valve spring off

[tbird5866]

Per what I wrote earlier, you need to move the valve up and down to remove whatever varnish is on the valve stem. If you are moving the valve, the compressed air will not hold. I hope you can understand that! With the piston at TDC, the valve can only drop a quarter inch or so. So, you can still grab the valve stem to pull the valve back up. Without the piston on TDC, where will that valve go to without the compressed air?
Mariner Blue: contact me off-forum for more details.

[Joe Van Datta]

If you are not successful in freeing the valves using the described methods you will have to remove the intake manifold to remove the head (heads) You can purchase a kit from Napa that will have the necessary gaskets for the job. I think it comes with the composit exhaust manifold gaskets that work better than the original heat shield type. It is quite a job as the intake manifold being cast iron is heavy, not to mention the heads.
Good luck,
Joe