Oh Boy !?!
April 27th, 2019, 04:45 PM
#42
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Oh, and one other nasty complication: If the valves were stuck open they may have been smacked by the pistons, bending the valves or worst case, breaking the pistons. You might want to do the compression test before installing new parts. Hopefully you won't have any "zeroes", but if you do, focus on those cylinders. The good news is, I think you said you weren't burning any oil, so the pistons should be OK.
Oh, and the link for pushrods:
https://www.jegs.com/i/Proform/778/6...276+4294829275
I think you can do better price-wise, but this listing says all 260-403 engines, '64-'84 have the same 8.328" long pushrods. I remember when pushrods were a buck apiece...
Oh, and the link for pushrods:
https://www.jegs.com/i/Proform/778/6...276+4294829275
I think you can do better price-wise, but this listing says all 260-403 engines, '64-'84 have the same 8.328" long pushrods. I remember when pushrods were a buck apiece...
April 27th, 2019, 05:13 PM
#43
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One thing I have found... there is a #4 head on the left side and a #3 head on the right, looking from the front at the motor. One rocker retainer bridge has been replaced onthe #3 head.
April 27th, 2019, 05:33 PM
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i took the heads off because I figured it would be easier to work on the valves, and I could also look at the cylinder walls while I had it apart. I dont want to have issues when I put it all back and have to repeat this again. The heads have been off because it has the blue gaskets on it. I don’t see any marks on the cylinders that make me worry, so I’ll be cleaning and assembling again in the future.
April 27th, 2019, 08:47 PM
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April 28th, 2019, 07:28 AM
#51
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OK. I'm just thinking what I'd do at this point. It looks like there's a lot of oil on the plugs, so you may have worn rings or valve guides. I'd pull the valve springs off and make sure none of the valves are stuck. DON'T MIX UP THE VALVES. Do them one at a time. Borrow a valve spring compressor from Auto Zone if you don't have one. It's free if that's one of the tools they lend out, and it should be. Take each valve off and inspect it and the valve seat for any burn-through. A bad place will look like a small piece of the seat or valve lip is missing where hot gases have wooshed through between the valve and the seat. Pay particular attention to the exhaust valves.
Once a spring is off, wiggle the valve in the guide. A little slop (about 0.002" or so) is OK. If it's a 32nd of an inch you need guides. You can have them knurled, but that only lasts for a couple thousand miles. If you do that, keep the valves in order by sticking them through a piece of cardboard, two rows of eight. Put an "F" on the cardboard for front. Put a mark on the front of each head with a center punch.
If there's a ton of black, wet, hard crud where the stem meets the head, that's an indication that oil is coming through the valve guide and the guide is shot. You can wire brush whatever is there off.
If you have the valves ground there's an old wive's tale that says any significant increase in pressure will blow the carbon away from old rings and cause the rings to leak. I don't believe this, but it may be true.
If all the valves are free and all the stems are rust-free you have frozen lifters. If stuck valves didn't bend the pushrods, frozen lifters did. If you take the lifters out and plan to re-use them, DON'T MIX UP THE LIFTERS. Pay particular attention to the valves with bent pushrods.
With as much crud as there is in the engine, the lifters will have several thousandths of crud on their sides below their bores, causing them to be tough to get out. See if Auto Zone can lend you a lifter puller.
As oldcutlass said, put some new valve seals on, and some new plugs when you reassemble.
Once a spring is off, wiggle the valve in the guide. A little slop (about 0.002" or so) is OK. If it's a 32nd of an inch you need guides. You can have them knurled, but that only lasts for a couple thousand miles. If you do that, keep the valves in order by sticking them through a piece of cardboard, two rows of eight. Put an "F" on the cardboard for front. Put a mark on the front of each head with a center punch.
If there's a ton of black, wet, hard crud where the stem meets the head, that's an indication that oil is coming through the valve guide and the guide is shot. You can wire brush whatever is there off.
If you have the valves ground there's an old wive's tale that says any significant increase in pressure will blow the carbon away from old rings and cause the rings to leak. I don't believe this, but it may be true.
If all the valves are free and all the stems are rust-free you have frozen lifters. If stuck valves didn't bend the pushrods, frozen lifters did. If you take the lifters out and plan to re-use them, DON'T MIX UP THE LIFTERS. Pay particular attention to the valves with bent pushrods.
With as much crud as there is in the engine, the lifters will have several thousandths of crud on their sides below their bores, causing them to be tough to get out. See if Auto Zone can lend you a lifter puller.
As oldcutlass said, put some new valve seals on, and some new plugs when you reassemble.
Last edited by 69 Ragtop; April 28th, 2019 at 07:34 AM.
April 28th, 2019, 07:46 AM
#52
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With as much crud as there is in the engine, the lifters will have several thousandths of crud on their sides below their bores, causing them to be tough to get out. See if Auto Zone can lend you a lifter puller.
As oldcutlass said, put some new valve seals on, and some new plugs when you reassemble.[/QUOTE]
I love the detailed instruction... Thanks for the input. I will definitely take the advice, as I don’t want to do this but once...👌
As oldcutlass said, put some new valve seals on, and some new plugs when you reassemble.[/QUOTE]
I love the detailed instruction... Thanks for the input. I will definitely take the advice, as I don’t want to do this but once...👌
April 28th, 2019, 01:18 PM
#53
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The shiny substance that looks like oil is hard like glue. Is what stuck the valves... I don’t think I have oil escaping past the rings. The plugs are dry except where the sticky varnish is present. Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket, as my luck seems good.
April 28th, 2019, 02:00 PM
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April 28th, 2019, 02:07 PM
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😁 I do have a lot of cleaning to do. I am glad I took the heads off, as that “coke” is about 1/16 of a inch thick in some places.
April 28th, 2019, 02:13 PM
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Sodium hydroxide is what you want to use to clean/remove the coke. Sodium hydroxide works best in a soluble solution such as Easy Off oven cleaner where it is mixed w/ ethanol & some sweet petroleum. Obviously, Easy Off (sodium hydroxide) is quite caustic. Wear gloves, eye protection and a mask. Grab a can & prove it to yourself. Spray, soak, wire brush and rinse thoroughly. It's POSSIBLE you MIGHT find an old-timer w/ a dipping/baking tank (full of a sodium hydroxide solution).
Last edited by Vintage Chief; April 28th, 2019 at 02:15 PM.
April 28th, 2019, 02:19 PM
#57
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Sodium hydroxide is what you want to use to clean/remove the coke. Sodium hydroxide works best in a soluble solution such as Easy Off oven cleaner where it is mixed w/ ethanol & some sweet petroleum. Obviously, Easy Off (sodium hydroxide) is quite caustic. Wear gloves, eye protection and a mask. Grab a can & prove it to yourself. Spray, soak, wire brush and rinse thoroughly. It's POSSIBLE you MIGHT find an old-timer w/ a dipping/baking tank (full of a sodium hydroxide solution).
April 28th, 2019, 02:29 PM
#58
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That's not coke, its old varnished fuel. A good penetrating oil should break that down. Your lifters should pop out unless they are really worn on the bottoms. Again a good penetrating oil will break down the crud.
April 28th, 2019, 02:33 PM
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Your other option, if you are so inclined (and much cheaper), is to grab a half-dozen cans of Red Devil Lye (sold in many grocery stores, but not all, and some hardware stores, etc.) - it's 100% Sodium Hydroxide. Mix four cans of Red Devil Lye, w/ two cups Trisodium Phosphate into 50gallons water (or reduce the total amounts of each substance to suite the size of your container) drop in the 'stuff' you want cleaned & heat it until it's toasty or boils. You don't necessarily even have to heat it or boil it, but it does work much faster and you can let 'stuff' sit for days if you like and check on your 'stuff' occasionally watching the coke drip off the parts like fat from a turkey.
April 28th, 2019, 02:33 PM
#60
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ok 👍 I will start there.
April 28th, 2019, 02:39 PM
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Your other option, if you are so inclined (and much cheaper), is to grab a half-dozen cans of Red Devil Lye (sold in many grocery stores, but not all, and some hardware stores, etc.) - it's 100% Sodium Hydroxide. Mix four cans of Red Devil Lye, w/ two cups Trisodium Phosphate into 50gallons water (or reduce the total amounts of each substance to suite the size of your container) drop in the 'stuff' you want cleaned & heat it until it's toasty or boils. You don't necessarily even have to heat it or boil it, but it does work much faster and you can let 'stuff' sit for days if you like and check on your 'stuff' occasionally watching the coke drip off the parts like fat from a turkey.
April 28th, 2019, 02:41 PM
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Oldscutlass is wrong. The term 'varnish' refers to nothing more than the 'appearance' or 'glossy' texture of a 'finish' - the term varnish has NOTHING to do w/ 'varnished fuel'. Varnish is an 'appearance'. The substance you have on your heads is coke - plain and simple.
April 28th, 2019, 03:07 PM
#63
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Oldscutlass is wrong. The term 'varnish' refers to nothing more than the 'appearance' or 'glossy' texture of a 'finish' - the term varnish has NOTHING to do w/ 'varnished fuel'. Varnish is an 'appearance'. The substance you have on your heads is coke - plain and simple.
April 28th, 2019, 03:36 PM
#64
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well I can see where the term varnish comes from when referring to what I see when looking at my specimen. It is a clear looking substance that resembles a varnish. Maybe coke is the more scientific name for it. Maybe penetrating oil will work also, but not as quickly as sodium hydroxide. Either way I do appreciate both your inputs on the matter at hand. Thank you😑
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