If the weather was A LOT nicer and we could drive it I would be on it! Woke up to 5" of fresh snow this morning.
It lives and breathes. I have to figure out why the fuel pump is running with key on and then the motor is running the bowls dry. Took the carb off and pulled the top to make sure it was clean and clear. All is good there. It's very snappy with giving the beans.
Gonna also add some grounds from the engine to the frame. It only has one ****ty ground on it right now. That could be part of my problem also.
Well today I found out I missed a step in the head work I did. Today while it was running I noticed #1#2 and #8 cylinders were not firing. I confirmed it with my heat gun. A compression test on those 3 cylinders gave 0 compression. Pulled the driver side header off and with a flash light I could see light around the valve. Was scratching my head why that would be if the valves were moving. Then I remembered I failed to add the shims under the springs. So now I know why it was running like **** all along. So I'll order a shim pack and get all the valves at the proper height, set them and be running like it should! We learn something new everyday!
Do us Old Farts a favor… take some pictures of the process you go through to add the shims. It’s not that us Old Farts have never done this type of work, we tend to argue what technique , or how to do it, or ONE UP each other on this forum. We just need our daily fix at something new to look at so we can keep the process of ******* and moaning at each other…your not pulling the heads, I hope.
are you sure it is not because those valves may not be adjusted properly? a valve should still close even without the shims. check the adjustment at the rocker arms
@pantodd74 It sounds like you are describing you have 3 valves off the seat with Valves springs installed ? How much shim stack you Have ? When you installed the retainer & lock Keeps , you should of hade to collapse spring @ least .250 thou . With keepers in. Are you sure Valves are not to tight in guides & are Not sticking ? Do you know about coil bind I think you used a Hyd With cam lift .480 - .500 lift spring on seat pressure 85- 95 ish single spring & some times with a damper. Did you check push rod length Rocker geometry ? Have you collapse the hydraulic lifter & its acting like a solid & Valves are off the seat's ? My self I run/ use 1/4 to 1/2 turn of pre load on lifter with Hyd
Well as of what I can tell I need a shim under each valve spring. When I tore the heads apart I removed said shim/washer from each spring. A few months down the road upon re***embly it slipped the mind. No I'm not pulling the heads. I ordered the measuring device to put in place of the springs on each hole and get the proper measurement. I also bought the multi shim pack with the 15, 30 and 60 thou shims. With the rockers off the heads the exhaust valve did not close. When I adjust and set valves I took give the 1/4 to 1/2 turn. I have 7 more days to work so I won't get back in the shop until next weekend.
@pantodd74 By chance when you took rocker off Did you grab spring & retainer pull up by hand to see if it seated ? That will also off seat if guide to stem to tight or bur , bent . & check with thumbs to see if you can push Valve off the seat ,, if so spring to light @ install ,, Did you check for coil bind on max lift of cam Valve full open On int & ext valve .
Yeah, I'm going to double down that the problem is not spring shiming. Shiming just adjusts spring height and spring force....but is not related to the gross sort of problem of valves hanging open that you report. I vote for pulling the heads to check whether ANY valves are bent or have difficulty sliding in the guides. Frankly, what you report is so weird that something unexpected may be in play.
Here is what I learned today. The #1,2 and 8 exhaust valves kissed the pistons. They are bent and therefore would not seat. I have only taken heads apart never rebuilt them. So my buddy that is a machinist clued me in on a few things. 1 ya can't just buy new valves and install them. He has the heads and will check all the valves to make sure I only have to buy 3. 2 he will grind the margin of the valves to raise them in the seat to prevent them from sticking down so far. I'm also going to pull the short block and degree the cam. Installing it like I did straight up did not work. As mentioned above the shims do not do what I thought they would until he explained it. I had planned on degreeing the cam last year when I was building the motor but never did. Now I see that I shouldn't have skipped that step. I'm just glad the valves did not do any damage to the pistons other than small marks.
My buddy called and found the issue. It's not the cam. Someone down the line installed bronze guide inserts. The new valves on the exhaust side didn't have the clearance needed. So the initial firing of the motor swelled them up and hung onto those 3 exhaust valves allowing them to kiss the pistons. He is going to ream the guides to the proper clearance and all will be good.
I was thinking guild's , ****s @ least minimum damage. ***anium valves will stick if not used in long time setting still , Chemical reaction to the bronze & seize $160 ish per valve
Man the plot thickens! The exhaust valves I bought last year were not the correct length. No wonder the stock length pushrods did not work. Now after talking to my buddy I have ordered the correct exhaust valves, stem seals and all will be good! Note to self is if I go down this rabbit hole of not knowing **** from apple ****er to consult with a pro! I have learned a lot the past 2 days!
Yes & No by pic, More likely Looks to have a guild Plate , so if guild plate off not in correct location It will miss align rocker . When Screw in studs used . Some are adjustable even ones that are not Alignment should be checked before tighten down rocker studs . Bent push rod can , but that fair off should of felt funny or seen when dropping in . guild in head off will also Or miss Machine rocker where pushrod pocket was off
So the heads are done with new exhaust valves with the proper guide clearance. We didn't have to install any shim under the springs which is good for me. The motor is back together other than the cap and wires, exhaust. That will be done today and I can fire it up again.
Man does this motor sound mean! Warmed it up and broke the cam in. Now to find tune it. Gonna take the old driveshaft with measurements to a shop and have it gone over with the right yoke and a new U joint. They will cut it and balance it and out the door will run me $200 the guy said. Can't wait to finally drive it again. Momma is super happy with it. As soon as the video transfers from my phone to the laptop I will upload the video.
Uploading a video is not the same as a pic. So can someone enlighten me on how to get a video in here?
Yeah I forgot about YouTube. Had it idling at 2200 rpm to break in the cam. 25 mins later backed down the idle and it sounds great!
The Jalopy Journal
