Took Myrtle in for a service today after coming back to Biggy for some final chores.

He tells me he suspects one of the valves is burnt out.

Should be ok for the trip back to Vic so I can get the original people to look into it.

What more can I say.

Take it slow and easy Marj.

Gday...

Bugger (and other unpublishable phrases and expressions) 

I do hope the mechanic is right ... and it is 'possibly burnt valve'

This may make good reading so you are aware of what is involved ... might help when talking to other mechanics etc

Better to be forewarned than caught short. All the best - thoughts are with you

http://www.ssch.com.au/trade-news/a-basic-guide-to-engine-valve-failure/

Cheers - John

I could think of worse places Marj, hope it doesn't come to that though.

Greens is lovely - even with 140k per hour winds, intermittent rain, and a bit cool!!!!! Looks gorgeous at the moment!!!!

Happywanderer wrote:

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Took Myrtle in for a service today after coming back to Biggy for some final chores.

He tells me he suspects one of the valves is burnt out.

Should be ok for the trip back to Vic so I can get the original people to look into it.

What more can I say.

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 If he is correct then no way would I drive a vehicle that far.

The possibile damage that could be done as a result of a long trip could be far more expensive than the cost of having it checked here.

IF you have any warranty left contact the people that done the job & ask for an ok to have it looked at where you are.

A vehicle of that era may still have a manual adjustment setting of the clearance between the valve stem & rocker (thats the bit that opens & closes the valve).

IF this has been set incorrect then it causes the valve to be held open slightly, giving the same sound effect & a miss in the motor.

IF this is the case & you catch it quickly you may just save the day, depends how long it has been happening for.

Its not a real big job just to check the adjustments if this is the system fitted.(the other system is called hydraulic)

Worse case of a long trip, damage to cylinder head, chance of a section of valve burn/break off & get crunched up by the piston which will render damage to that as well.

DOLLAR WISE; Have it looked at ASAP.

JC.

jules47 wrote:

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Good advice there Marj!!!

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 Agreed

Marj just an idea.

We use Repco Authorised Service Centres now as they an Aust wide warranty,,, maybe worth considering and from my limited experience with interstate motoring organisations  I believe most Repco ASC's are endorsed by them.

Also if compression test shows leakage don't drive to Vic,,, get it fixed.

Hope this helps,,, good luck.

Hi Sheba, I'm with RACV and the service centre here in Biggy where I get all my work done is the registered RACQ for the area.
Will go and see him tomorrow and run him through all the suggestions here and see what happens

Not a good month for us Kiwi's, eh Marj.

Glad to see you have taken good advice given by all Marj. JC must have changed his mind about "Wizbangs" to give you such great advice that he did 

It may be some carbon on a valve seat.
I have used a small amount of diesel in a petrol motor to clear carbon from valve faces etc.
In bad cases I have dribbled neat diesel through the carby. Start the motor as normal and then with the air cleaner off dribble diesel out of a syringe. If there is carbon you will hear when it lets go as the motor will pick up.
In my boat with an old motor I used to run about a cap of diesel per tank of fuel to keep the carbon at bay. if I missed it for a few trips it would start playing up but the adding of a bit of diesel all was OK.
I would expect the mechanics will either confirm or deny it but it is a cheap method to try and you never know it may work for your vehicle and cant do any harm.

Regards
Brian

We'll keep our fingers and legs crossed for you!  Let's hope it's something that won't be too much!

Happywanderer wrote:

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Myrtle back at service centre. He's going to do compression test and test a few thing including the clearance etc.
One way or other he will either reassure me she will be ok for trip to Vic or its a disaster and I won't be going anywhere.

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 Not sure what kind of engine you have, alloy head of cast iron, but if it's a Jap engine probably alloy.

We have had lengthy discussion in our VW circles about using "valve saver" in our vehicles, some for, some against. One of our regulars is a well know expert on all things VW and a mechanic by trade. He says he would never use it. He says it eventually builds up under a valve seat and prevents the valve from closing properly. Once the valve is held open, uncontrolled heat due to combustion pours through it  like a blow torch and quickly burns the valve away. Also, as early as these VW engines are, they were originally set up to run on lead free fuel because of the European design even though super was recommended in Australia, however we always use the highest octane fuel we can get hold of. The engines run cooler and we actually get better economy too. On his advice, I stopped using the valve saver some time ago and so far haven't experienced any problems.

The above (of course) relates to early air cooled VW's, but I'm wondering if the same principle applies to other alloy head engines. I know alloy heads handle gas better than the old cast iron varieties because they were already fitted with hardened valve seats which is the same principle as using fuel without super. The lead additive only supplied a cushion for the valve seats in older cars. There's no lead in either gas or ULP.

Hopefully it's just a matter of a "tight" vale adjustment and you'll be back on the road soon. Please keep us informed. I'd be very interested in the outcome.