engine valve problems

Since we get into heavy theory here I wonder if there is any effect of torqueing bolts in cold weather.
 
Probably much more of an effect when torquing them dry as opposed to using torque lube or not cleaning the threads first than the temperature.
 
Hy,
I just had a birthday, too. Nov 11, veterans day, 67. Enlisted 1966. I guess they saw me coming.

Bruce,
I think most engines are assembled in ralatively cool weather as compared to engine operation temps.

I've had a 1963 Olds with a small aluminum V8 that would overheat and blow head gaskets. Also an iron block engine with aluminum head and an aluminum block with iron head, both would easily overheat and warp heads/block. That was before they developed head bolts that would streach at a rate according to the type of material it was holding.
 
IIRC some makers said dry some said lubed.

Special specs stretch is new to me but sounds smart. I do know of recommendations to nou reuse head bolts.
Amazing how the engines look very interchangeable but are very different.
All my gas wrenching is obsolete, like me.
 
The head bolts on the Mercruiser 7.4 have to have sealer applied to their threads because they enter the coolant passages. I wirebrushed each bolt (electric wirebrush in a drill) and then coated each with airplane sealer before threading them into the block. Tightening is done is three stages. What was a real PITA was that the tightening diagram was facing one way and the head facing the other way. The numbering on the diagram was also very small. Yes, I should have re-written the numbers larger and in the right direction before I began, but why do things the easy way when one can make them more difficult without even trying! The head bolts on that engine are the old-fashioned ones; they don't stretch to lock. Heading out to dinner -Italian food _ to celebrate. Hy
 
Hy,
Agree with all you said about stuck brakes. This chassis is Ford E450. Has four-wheel disc brakes with a dual-piston caliper on each wheel. No parking brakes on rear calipers. Instead, it uses a transmission-mounted driveshaft brake, made by ZF.
Hope you enjoyed dinner! Comfort Food, that's what Italian is...
 
Hy,
Smallblock chevys are the same as BB chevys as far as the head bolts go. I assemble the same as you. Never done a big block but I'd bet they're just larger configurations of a smallblock.
 
JD: Then I'd look for a frozen caliper, very common. In most cases, the remedy is to disconnect the fluid line and force the caliper open with two large screwdrivers. I don't recommend trying to rebuild the caliper yourself. They rarely work out OK. You can buy a new, rebuilt, or used caliper. Be sure to flush and bleed the brake lines. Check the other rear caliper also. I recommend replacing the slide bolts and boots at the same time. I've had to do that on a Toyota and a 350Z we've owned. NY salt on the roads plays havoc with brakes, as does the salty air down in Florida.

We switched to an American food restaurant instead - lobster bisque, scallops wrapped with proccute (sorry for the spelling), asparagus, and mashed potatoes, along with some white wine and a slice of chocolate-and-peanutbutter cake for dessert. Great way to end the day.

Reaching 70 hit me yesterday morning, something I didn't think would happen. I don't feel that old. I still like to work on cars, boats, engines, and our house. I write (poetry and short stories), belong to a writers group, and am an adjunct professor at a community college. We've been married almost 47 years and have four children and eight grandchildren. So, all in all, life is good. I'm rambling and this doesn't belong in the 'engines' section, so I'll shut up now. Have a good weekend, all. Hy
 
Never met a scallop I didn't like, Hy. Prosciutto-Wrapped or not. To keep it boating-related, scallops have caused foundering and capsizing. Commercial boats filling the fish holds, then dragging for scallops at the end of the voyage. If they got them, they'd pile them on the afterdeck. Fully loaded boat then a heavy load of deck cargo, not good.

RV uses these things on the rear brakes
3
and I hate them. Had them on the front brakes of our first Ford RV chassis and that was bad enough. The fronts we have now use slide bolts with rubber boots and that modern stuff. Much more mechanic-friendly. I've flushed lines, replaced caliper with rebuilt, cleaned and lubed the slides with ceramic-rated lube that won't melt or run. Pads were OK. I'll do the other side when we get home. Have rebuilt calipers in the past but this is vacation out of town and it got cold yesterday. I looked Eastport up just now and saw 39* there now. That's what we had this morning.

71 in a month and I've felt the last year or so. Amazed at what I'm still able to do. Take care, Young Man.
 
I think all bolts stretch I didn't understand that years ago but that is what makes them hold tight. Also break :D
Newer ones have designed stretch from what I understand and at some point head bolts were specified for single use.
 
Just when you think everything is done, it's not. This morning, I went down to the marina to add the fluids to the starboard enigne, and to finish the winterizing of that engine. I then planned to clean the cockpit floor I had gotten really dirty, to remove the canvas and put up the mooring cover, and to arrange for the shrinkwrapping. The weather was supposed to be in the 40s today. NOT. The forecast was changed this morning. As I was working on the boat, the snow was falling! There's a coating on everything right now (4:00 PM) and it's still coming down. I did finish the starboard engine and did remove all the tools from the boat, and did remove the canvas and install the mooring cover. However, when I was clearing out the engine bay, I found the rear intake manifold gasket from the port engine sitting on the distributor! Somehow, I had disldged it when I was installing the intake manifold; the kind of mistake I haven't made in over 50 years. Now I need to pull the port engine's intake manifold again and re-install it with a new set of gaskets, again. There goes another $60 and another two hours work. It's supposed to warm to the 50s by the end of the week. Friday's a good day to redo the intake manifold and clean the cockpit. I then can remove the linens from the boat and put her to rest until the spring. This repair seems to never end. Hy
 
The Patience of JOB, my friend! Better now than finding oil over the place in the spring.
 
quote:
Originally posted by j-d

The Patience of JOB, my friend! Better now than finding oil over the place in the spring.

Click to expand...


^ This , for sure. Good find in spite of the angst produced.
Hope the snow stops to give you the break you need. Sorry for your troubles but you'll finally have it squared away for winter soon.
 
The smallblock intake manifold gaskets now recommend just putting a bead of silicone on the front and rear rail. It doesn't have to be an air tight seal but the silicone does it anyway.

If you ever have to go into the bottom end, get the one piece silicone oil pan gasket. It has saved me a lot of time because it is made to be reused. I've had to pull the pan 4-5 times because of my bad short term memory. I don't remember torquing all the bolts...and there's a lot of them in there.
 
Charlie: The engines are big block GM 7.4. Most of the gaskets sets I had bought had rubber end gaskets with locator pins, easy to keep in place. The one set I had gotten had the old-style cork gaskets which are held in place with gasket shellac, a real PITA. The intake manifold itself is heavy and awkward. In addition, the forward end has a small, male hose fitting which has to be slipped into the small bypass hose while holding the manifold in the air! My body is black and blue from working on these engines, lifting, shifting, aligning, and bolting these engine heads, intake manifolds, exhaust maniolds, and risers in place. We're going on vacation next month on a cruise to the Caribbean. When wearing a bathing suit, I'm going to look like a lost quite a few fights! Actually, I did - against a couple of 7.4 big blocks. Hy
 
Well, Hy, you inspired me. About 40 here this morning and breezy but definitely no snow. "If Hy can do it I can do it," so I changed out the other rear brake caliper. I had other things to do besides that job so it took all day but done.
I haven't worked on a 454, but I know that the intake manifold on a 360 MoPar engine weighs more than a head. And I remember the service manual recommendation for the intake on a 460 Ford: Use a Hoist.
Proud of you! Enjoy your cruise!!!
 
It snowed again last night, about an inch on everything. Some more flurries are due today. Being Thursday, I'm teaching at the community college. The plan for tomorrow is to empty the boat, clean the cockpit, and pull the port engine's intake manifold. That should take about two hours, depending on the weather. The intake weighs about 35-40 pounds; it's just awkward to place while leaning over the engine. What I do find amazing is that my back hasn't been acting up the way it ususally does when I do anything physical. I have a chronic pain condition in my lower back and have tried everyhting short of major surgery to minimize the pain. I had two sets of nerve-block injections back in October and they seem to be working. I also have learned how to bend and lift things to minimize the stress. I just keep worrying that one morning I'll awaken and find my back hates me again! It reminds me that I'm still alive and kicking. Stay warm, my friends; it's wintertime. Hy
 
Yeah, I been going to aluminum for exhaust manifolds. about half the weight.

As long as the intake and water cross-over have a good seal, the end rails mostly keep blow-by inside the engine. Remember, the oil fill/breather used to be on the intake manifold.:)
 
I got to the marina about 2:00 this afternoon. The morning errands are killing me. I added antifreeze to the starboard engine's cooling system and ran it while flowing 2-cycle oil through the fuel system and winterizing antifreeze through the skimmer intake. I shut it down and disconnected the batteries. I wanted to add a liuttle more two-cycle oil to the port engine, but it wouldn't turn over. Thinking I had a dead battery, I let it go. On the way home I got to thinking about the engine not starting. It ran last week, and the batteries were on the charger the entire time I was there last week and today. Realization! The engine's hydrolocked with antifreeze! I haven't fixed the problem I had been having all season. The only possible source has to be cracks in the exhaust manifolds. Nothing else makes sense. I'm going to pull the plugs on Wednesday and spin the engine just to get any coolant out of the cylinders. If, as I suspect, there's fluid in the cylinders, I'm back to square one. I'll fog the cylinders and, sometime over the winter, pull all four exhaust manifolds to test them for cracks. I'm open to any other suggestions. Hy
 
This makes me just about too sick to reply. Heads were tested as part of the overhauls, right? Block isn't cracked... Leaves exhaust, I guess...hope? Can you get oil to the valve guides? I maybe wrong in this (and hope so!) but it seems to me the antifreeze could get to the valve stems and guides.
Did you notice, or can you check, if the starter is loose? An engine that's trying to start with water in the cylinders can stretch the starter mounting bolts, making us think they worked loose. Loose starter could point to a longer term water ingestion issue.
Happy Holidays, Hy! Take a Break.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top