DO I NEED A VALVE JOB ?

[zoegrant]

I haven`t had my 1950 Commander very long, maybe two months ....but..
I bought this car in Hershey and drove it 300 miles to home...When I got home the engine was a lot louder sounding then when i left Hershey...I took it to the garage and the mechanic said there were two exhaust manifold bolts broken, they fixed them and installed a new exhaust gasket. I had presumed that the seller had over tightened the bolts and broke them but I just now noticed that the heat riser is stuck with the weight in the up position which is the closed position...my questions...was I resposible for blowing those heads off of those two bolts ?.....do you think my valves are burned ? and how could I tell if they are ? This is a 6 cyl so it is hard for me to tell if there is a power loss...advise please...John

[buddymander]

Your machanic should have caught that stuck heat riser. Take all your spark plugs out and have somebody crank the engine over while you stick your thumb sealing the spark plug hole. If you can't hold all the compression in when the piston comes up on compression, your valves are okay.

[Tom Bredehoft]

"Take all your spark plugs out and have somebody crank the engine over..."

If you do this, also disconnect the heavy wire from the coil to the distributor or be prepared for some nasty shocks.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Avatar1.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe (since 1959)
'55 President (6H Y6) State Sedan
....On the road, again....
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[zoegrant]

Thank you for this info...I will do that to see what the verdict is ...John

quote:Originally posted by buddymander

Your machanic should have caught that stuck heat riser. Take all your spark plugs out and have somebody crank the engine over while you stick your thumb sealing the spark plug hole. If you can't hold all the compression in when the piston comes up on compression, your valves are okay.

[zoegrant]

I will definetely do that..dont want to get shocked

quote:Originally posted by Tom B

"Take all your spark plugs out and have somebody crank the engine over..."

If you do this, also disconnect the heavy wire from the coil to the distributor or be prepared for some nasty shocks.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Avatar1.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe (since 1959)
'55 President (6H Y6) State Sedan
....On the road, again....
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[Flashback]

Please use a compression tester, and see if the results
are within 15-20# of each other on the cylinders

Tex E. Grier

[buddymander]

I can check four cylinders at a time on a flathead, by just using my fingers and thumbs..the ones I have left.. Just Kidding. I just don't like to take the time to screw the tester in every cylinder if I just want to know why it's completely dead. And I've found that I can't hold the pressure back if the valves are good. It'll squeak out just enough to sound like a , um, it makes a funny sound.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Zoe -

If you want a little more info on your engine and a better indicator of what's happening inside the cylinders...use a compression tester at least...or a leak down tester also along with the compression tester for even more info on ring, gasket and valve seat condition.

Save the finger testing for emergincies

Mike

[Milaca]

I had a motorcycle that was difficult to start in the summertime, I had to fully choke it and crank it a lot before it would even fire. I gave it a valve job and then it started easily, I didnt even have to choke it. If your valves are really bad, then you may have the same issue. But I would deffinately give it a compression test before jumping to conclusions.

So
They
Used
Delco
Electronics
Before
Autolite
Kept
Engines
Running?

Brent's rootbeer racer.
MN iron ore...it does your body good.

[zoegrant]

CAR STARTS GREAT ?

quote:Originally posted by Milaca

I had a motorcycle that was difficult to start in the summertime, I had to fully choke it and crank it a lot before it would even fire. I gave it a valve job and then it started easily, I didnt even have to choke it. If your valves are really bad, then you may have the same issue. But I would deffinately give it a compression test before jumping to conclusions.

So
They
Used
Delco
Electronics
Before
Autolite
Kept
Engines
Running?

Brent's rootbeer racer.
MN iron ore...it does your body good.

[showbizkid]

Seems like there's a lot of jumping to conclusions happening here!

John, the reason the engine was loud was that the manifold bolts let the manifold seal loosen up. Fixing that probably made things a lot quieter, yes? The stuck heat riser is a common problem. Shoot some Kroil in it and work it back and forth until it frees up or, if you can't free it up, open it manually and leave it that way until you can get a new one.

If you had bad valves, the car would be hard to start and drive poorly. since this is not the case, your valves are probably fine. Doing the compression test will take the worry out of your mind.


[img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

Clark in San Diego
'63 F2/Lark Standard

http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

https://www.studebakersandiego.com

[zoegrant]

YES...the car is a lot quiter now ..even tho it does seem louder than my 51 Ford....I will keep shooting the exhaust valve with PB blaster as i presume it is similar.... Is it easier to get at the manifold valve from the bottom of the car rather than the top ??

quote:Originally posted by showbizkid

Seems like there's a lot of jumping to conclusions happening here!

John, the reason the engine was loud was that the manifold bolts let the manifold seal loosen up. Fixing that probably made things a lot quieter, yes? The stuck heat riser is a common problem. Shoot some Kroil in it and work it back and forth until it frees up or, if you can't free it up, open it manually and leave it that way until you can get a new one.

If you had bad valves, the car would be hard to start and drive poorly. since this is not the case, your valves are probably fine. Doing the compression test will take the worry out of your mind.


[img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

Clark in San Diego
'63 F2/Lark Standard

http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

https://www.studebakersandiego.com

[StudeRich]

quote:Originally posted by zoegrant

Is it easier to get at the manifold valve from the bottom of the car rather than the top ??

From the TOP, it is inside of the little removeable plate screwed onto the front of the collector box (lower part) of the Exhaust manifold on a big 6.

StudeRich

[zoegrant]

Thanks Studerich...I will look closer to see the removable screws...John

quote:Originally posted by StudeRich

quote:Originally posted by zoegrant

Is it easier to get at the manifold valve from the bottom of the car rather than the top ??

From the TOP, it is inside of the little removeable plate screwed onto the front of the collector box (lower part) of the Exhaust manifold on a big 6.

StudeRich

[zoegrant]

Studerich...when you said " removable plate screwed into front of collector box " do you mean the box to be the bottom part of the manifold that houses the valve and rod ? ...on page 6 of the "chassis part catalog" it shows the Commander and Champion heater valves and the Champion has the plate with the two screws not the Commander...what actually holds that shaft in on the Commander ?..If I am unable to free the riser up and have to remove it am I correct to assume I would have to remove the carb and complete top of the manifold from the block ?...John

quote:Originally posted by StudeRich

quote:Originally posted by zoegrant

Is it easier to get at the manifold valve from the bottom of the car rather than the top ??

From the TOP, it is inside of the little removeable plate screwed onto the front of the collector box (lower part) of the Exhaust manifold on a big 6.

StudeRich