[rotorwrench]

I have to free stuck valves on the helicopter engines now and then. You can sure tell when one sticks too. The machine starts twitching around and losing power. When I go in that rocker box, I have to pull the valve springs & push the valve all the way into the cylinder to get a reamer in there. The reamer removes just the carbon. After that I polish the guide with a small piece of scotch brite on a rotating mandrel. If it isn't polished, the damn thing will carbon right back up. It's kind of a b!tch to get the valve back in but I've done it so many times I can do it with my eyes closed now. Back in the day, we used to run MMO in all the little Continental engine's fuel tank fills. Those engines loved to stick valves. This is why you see so many turbine powered aircraft now days. They are a lot more reliable since they don't have reciprocating parts but they are way more expensive to operate.

On a flathead, this is kind of a rare occurance. The guide may not have enough clearance to the valve stem. If you have to go back in there, I would sure make certain the clearance is correct or that there isn't some bend in that valve stem. It shouldn't stick that soon after an overhaul.