Valve Assembly Fail
 

After getting my old truck running again I had a bit of a tick that sounded like valve train or possible fuel pump. It seemed to go away under load. Keep in mind, I was told when I got this truck that the engine was new so I did not rebuild it. Last night I used a stethoscope and narrowed it down to #6 so I performed exploratory surgery.

On 2 cylinders the valve guides were not seated properly. The clip was installed between the guide and the spring. The intake on #6 was making the noise but the exhaust on #1 was the same. Fixing #6 was easy but the other one has been a bugger. The guide was stuck and didn't want to budge. I finally got it into place and the clip installed properly. Now I just need to get the spring retainer back on.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Congratulations on finding the source of the noise. It looks like your engine may have the split valve guides, if so, make sure both halves of the guides are lined up before installing the retaining clip. My old Ford service book says misaligned guides can result in valve noise.

Also make sure the retaining clips are seated in the counterbore squarely as shown in the second photo.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

I do indeed have split guides and mushroom valves. That's what made the exhaust guide such a fight. I didn't want to cut or damage the valve. The guide was stuck in it's bore.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

You have some old school stuff in there, but not a thing wrong with that. . Have you had a chance to run it now that you solved the problem?

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

I don't have gaskets to reassemble it yet. I was having a rough time getting the retainer back on one valve so I quit for the day.
Today and every Sunday is reserved for my Dad so no work done today. Don't know how many more I'll have with him.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Here is a suggextion to install the retainer if you do not have the head off. Make up fitting to pressurize the cylinder with air while the piston is at TDC on compression. This will hold the valve down and you can pry the spring up with a pickle bar. I actually made one once with a piece of EMT and a washer I welded to it and cut an opening. I only needed it for one valve and it was not good for much more than that but it worked.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Update.
I was not able to free the exhaust guide enough to push it back up so the clip was in it's counterbore. I ended up having to cut the valve to remove the guide so this project is down for another week waiting for parts.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

On our rebuilds we only use straight stem valves, usually Chevy valves, if we have installed new seats. Years ago, it was unusual to not have at least one valve "tick"
in spite of the best efforts to get them all right.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

I'm helping a good friend with his first flathead build - a 302" stroker that is using the late 11/32" stem valves and one-piece guides.

Anyway this is his first real engine build and I had him and his son over to put in the valve-train (they are very anxious to learn all they can). Then I had him adjusting the valves and he kept having trouble on one of them. I let him struggle for awhile and then came over to figure out what was going on . . .

Well, upon closer inspection found they had managed to do exactly what you found - had the horseshoe clip between the top of the spring and the guide (on 2 valves). Very happy that we found/noticed this issue while it was on the stand.

I've put a lot of these together and have never seen that issue before (had never done it myself). It once again helps me understand that I need to check everything when I'm helping somebody "learn" - as all sorts of strange things can happen (things you've never seen before) . . . and some can result in an engine failure or issue upon startup.

First time for me to see . . . and here a month later . . . somebody has a running engine with the same exact issue. Go Figure . . .

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Did the same thing on this build, split guides can be a pain to line up and get the ol' shoe in. I checked what I was doing so picked it up no problem.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Yes! I've not ran split guides since my first race engine build when I was 15. I found a set of 426 Hemi valves - beautiful tulip shape. Anyway, they were out of margin, but I could turn them down to fit my flatheads. They had 5/16 stems, so I used the split guides. I always made sure that when I inserted the valve/guide assembly, that the split was directly facing me (in the valley), such that the valve bar could grab each side of the guide to pull it down.

The only problem with split guides was the fact that they were split - and with high lift cams, tended to wear the valve stems a bit. Later on, I would take the solid 11/32 solid valve guides, bore them out and insert a 5/16 stem silicon bronze liner in them . . . and run the 426 valves.

Years after that, you could buy really nice "Pro Flo" valves that had a 11/32 stem and a reduced profile above the guide, swirl polished and all that jazz - so there was really no reason to use 5/16 stem valves . . . unless you were totally concerned about valve weight. If this was the real issue - then go to titanium valves . . .

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

If I ever rebuild it, I will use straight stem valves with solid guides and adjustable lifters. I ordered a stock style valve and split guide so they would all be the same.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Final update.
I got a new valve and installed them measured valve lash at .006.
The nearest valve grinding machine is 75 miles away so went for a drive. The shop owner came in on a Saturday and took .010 off the stem for me. Took it home and reinstalled. The engine is back together and running smooth and quiet.

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Nice work! Always good to see a positive followup!

Re: Valve Assembly Fail
 

Good job - thanks for reporting back . . . we all like "happy endings" around here! ;)