Return to the home page...

Go Back   Moyer Marine Atomic 4 Community - Home of the Afourians > Introductions

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   IP: 67.182.135.54
Old 09-08-2010, 04:04 PM
bigoledave's Avatar
bigoledave bigoledave is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Indianola, WA
Posts: 68
Thanks: 18
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Funny A4 story..and valve job question

Greetings,

I have had my Columbia 29, 1965 since 1989 and still love it.
My A4 now has a compression pattern of:

105 psi
38
102
30

If I put oil in each cylinder and repeat the results
are not much changed. I conclude that the valves
are bad or not seating well in two cylinders.

My plan is to remove the head and valves and inspect
closely. How does one grind the seats in an A4? Are
there special tools required?

My funniest A4 story is when I sucked up water in very rough
seas a few years back and flooded the engine with saltwater.
I removed the plugs and cranked a lot then added oil drops.
By this time my battery was too low to crank it over fast
enough to restart it. My solution was to install just ONE
spark plug.....I then got it actually running with three plugs
out....and kept adding plugs to get back to four. I swear
it's true. Keep it mind for when your battery is low and you don't
have a hand crank.

Dave
Reply With Quote
  #2   IP: 68.109.228.113
Old 09-08-2010, 04:16 PM
Seabee Chief's Avatar
Seabee Chief Seabee Chief is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Southington, CT
Posts: 37
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
A few things to check

Dave,
I'm no expert, but I have had simular issues.
It is either the valves of head gasket.
Check the plug condition upon removal. They can tell you a story. Are the wet or dry?
You should be able to see all the valves without removing the head. The ones forward of the spark plugs are diffucult, but you should be able to shine a light. I can't help you with the valve info. Sorry
That is a good story and makes sense.
That is what is great about the A4. It always wants to run!

Chief
Reply With Quote
  #3   IP: 67.182.135.54
Old 09-08-2010, 06:04 PM
bigoledave's Avatar
bigoledave bigoledave is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Indianola, WA
Posts: 68
Thanks: 18
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Cheif,

I put on a new head a year ago.....since the low cylinders
are not adjacent I think it is the valves. I have pulled the
side cover and "pinged" them closed to make sure the
springs are ok and the valves have some gap clearance.

I am going to pull the head....just wondering about how
one "faces" the valve seats. I want to get all valves
ground or replaced and do the seats. Since the other
2 cylinders have 100 psi I think the rings are OK and I
don't want to pull the whole engine.

Thanks for your feedback.

Dave
Reply With Quote
  #4   IP: 76.237.200.76
Old 10-21-2010, 08:25 PM
Boilerbob7's Avatar
Boilerbob7 Boilerbob7 is offline
Frequent Contributor
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Chicago, (Hegewisch) IL
Posts: 9
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Boilerbob7 Send a message via Yahoo to Boilerbob7
Valve Lapping

The standard procedure for doing valves on old flathead engines was to remove the cylinder head, disconnect them and then "lap" them with grinding compound. For disconnecting them, a spring compression tool was used, being careful not to drop any of the keepers into the oil pan. You would use "coarse" compound, then use "fine" compound. A suction cup on a stick was used, and some engines had two shallow holes on the valves for a special tool to lap the valves. A soft pencil was used to draw several lines vertically on the lapped surfaces and then give them a slight rotation. If all the lines were partially erased, you were good. Any old timers recall this procedure?
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
A developing story Qben General Interest 38 04-28-2010 11:28 AM
A carb story and question Jim Booth Fuel System 1 05-24-2005 04:11 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:55 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.


Universal® is a registered trademark of Westerbeke Corporation

Copyright © 2004-2024 Moyer Marine Inc.

All Rights Reserved