<VV> Ole Valve Guide Eater

[corvairs]

Again, how did his "usual half cup of oil" get in the rocker cover????? 
(Keep in mind this is after the engine has been stopped and the majority 
of  oil present has drained back into the (gasp!) draintubes before the 
cover can come off. All that oil was present (somehow?) not doing 
anything? LONG before he would lose a valve guide he would have lost one 
or more rockers and purshrods. LONG before.  The lifters weren't passing 
oil? Why no lifter noise? Why more than adequate residual oil in the 
rocker cover? Have the lifters been inspected - is the hole in the seat 
missing?

Who did the heads? Who set up the valve guides? About 10 years ago I 
built a 140hp engine and had the heads done by one of the world's most 
renowned Corvair machinsts. After the first  700 miles I lost 6 guides - 
they had been set up too tight. Why isn't this a possibility? I have had 
customers lose guides on new engines because at some point in the 
cylinder head's life, some machinist bored a guide hole slightly off. 
Why isn't this a possibility?

Sorry folks, but the lifters are one of the last places I'd look. If you 
had lubrication failures prematurely (20,000, 40,000 miles etc) then, 
after ruling out numerous other more likely scenarios, lifters 
inadequately oiling COULD be looked at. But lifters a cause of a valve 
guide failing within the first 2000 miles???? Sorry, there is no way I 
can buy that.

Let's suppose Smitty bought the worst set of lifters on the planet - To 
cause a guide failure within 2000 miles, yet not cause ticking or 
improper operation? I don't  think he would have left home on an engine 
that was  oiling the valve train so poorly. It would have been WAY 
obvious from the start.    Lon

N. Joseph Potts wrote:

>I assume the pushrods are installed right side out and are not clogged.
>Here's a pure theory: the ends of the pushrods are worn so that they don't
>pick up the squirt of oil from the lifters and carry it to the rocker box. I
>think I'd replace pushrods (unless yours are new) before I'd replace
>lifters. I'm running what I suspect are my engine's original lifters and
>pushrods. Had a problem not too long ago (reported to the list) of a guide
>working loose from its head, too.
>
>Joe Potts
>Miami, Florida USA
>1966 Corsa coupe 140hp 4-speed with A/C
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
>[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org]On Behalf Of Hubert A Smith
>Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 6:20 PM
>To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
>Subject: <VV> Ole Valve Guide Eater
>
>
>Smitty Says:  Several have posted me wanting to know what I found on the
>wagon that might have caused the guide failures.  I have told each that
>when I had something to report, I would.  Got the engine fired up today
>with a oil press gauge on it.  40 psi at idle with engine warm.  (Not
>full operating temp).  Pulled a valve cover and it had the usual half cup
>of oil in it.  After the initial draining was complete all rockers had a
>steady drip of oil coming from them.  BUT !!!    Not a squirt of oil in
>sight from any of the pushrods which were spinning around and around.
>        My NAPA guy says his lifters listed for Corvairs are not the same
>as SBC.  At this point I don't care if they have inverted wide dimples
>with a twin ball check flutter valve as long as they oil the springs.  I
>will start installing them in the morning.
>
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