stuck inlet valve

[chapelfarmer]

hi - I wonder if anyone can help with this problem (short of taking off the head...). my number 2 (from the front) valve has stuck in the open position. it's fixed open all the way but if I tap it with a drift it pops up almost (but not quite) to the closed position again. As soon as I turn the engine over - stuck fully open once more. i've tried penetrating fluid etc. the engine (of course) sounds dreadful if I allow it to fire.

engine is BJ8 stage 2 modified and has less than 1,000 miles on it since build. i know there's probably no magic-wand cure to this and I'll almost definitely need to get it back to the (200 miles away) engine builder but thought a question was worth a go!

thanks JOHN

 

[GregW]

Hi John,
Off hand, it sounds like you have a bent valve, or maybe the rebuilder didn't check the tolerances very well when he put the engine together. I don't know a way to check for a bent valve without removing the head. Well, actually I do, but it would entail a lot more work.

 

[Randy Forbes]

I was going to suggest Kroil ("the oil that creeps"), but seeing as you've got less than a thousand miles (<1000), it is not deposits causing your problems.

I'd say the guy that built your engine has some warranty work to do.

 

[Johnny]

As long as it's stuck anyway remove the springs and see if you can move it up and down within the valve guide. Might want to stuff something in the cylinder in case it falls in. (I've used a length of nylon rope).

 

[mjobrien]

John,

Had the same issue on a new engine rebuild, I agree with Randy, Warranty work might be in order. In my case the builder didn't check the tolerance for the guides and new valves. To his credit he welcomed fixing it and we still talk :wink:


Best of luck....
Michael.

 

[BoyRacer]

No question about. Contact your engine builder ASAP. Tell him the situation and be nice. Although it rarely happens, if you take the car to him, he may do the labor to remove the head and make the fix. How do it know this - I am an attorney and I have seen people do good things. Good luck.

 

[chapelfarmer]

Hi everyone. You were all correct - bent valve due to tolerances wrong. unfortunately my builder did everything but the head which I bought from another guy as a 'ready to go' reconditioned unit. hmmm, lesson learned. anyway the builder sorted it out for me at a very reasonable price. thanks again for the tips

JOHN

 

[Michael Oritt]

Some folks are dead-set against bronze valve guides as they grow at a different rate than iron ones and often bind up the valve. Then again I know folks who swear by them and just allow a bit more tolerance which I do on my Elva race car.

I have iron ones in my Healeys and bronze in the Elva. I did swallow a valve on the
Elva a few years back but that was because the end snapped off, not because of binding up. See the attached picture--I epoxied the head of the valve into the slot in the piston that it created and mounted the piston on my "Wall of Shame". Surprisingly no co-rods were bent and I only had to resleeve the one cylinder and get a replacement piston. The valve stem was spit out the exhaust pipe. I now use VW valves which have a stronger end and better circlips.