dead cylinder on the 53 flathead V8

[bigd1101]

A little bummed, but hey, it's what you get with old cars. Got the car back from the shop and unfortunately, the rough running engine was due to firing on only 7 of 8 cylinders. The rest were good. Bad valve, rings, who knows. Anyway, now I've got to find folks who do the work as it's not like everyone does work on the the old flatties. In the meantime, I'll just drive it sparingly. The car looks great....but the engine is tired.

Don

[Lanny]

Check the simple things first. Check compression, spark plug and spark plug wire.




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[bigd1101]

Originally Posted by Lanny

Check the simple things first. Check compression, spark plug and spark plug wire.




.

Zero compression in left front cylinder.........

[Ross F-1]

Almost certainly a stuck valve when you see -0- compression. If you pull the intake manifold, should be able to work on the valve and free it up.

[bigd1101]

Originally Posted by Ross F-1

Almost certainly a stuck valve when you see -0- compression. If you pull the intake manifold, should be able to work on the valve and free it up.

A sticky valve, hmmm. Is there any additive I can put in to free it up, if that is what it is? And if I pull the manifold, how do I free up the valves in question?

[mfirth]

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A little Marvel Mystery Oil MIGHT HELP, but Ross F1 has the best idea.

[Mart]

You could pull the spark plug and observe what is going on as the motor turns over. The exhaust valve is under the spark plug hole. The inlet is further over but still partially visible. Look to see if one or both is staying open. It might be possible to encourage the exhaust valve to close through the plug hole, but if the intake valve is open you will probably need to remove the intake manifold to get better access. You just need to gently persuade it to close under it's own spring pressure.
I hope it is something like a stuck valve because that is probably one of the easier things to fix, other than a bad plug or plug wire.
Mart.

[RalphG]

I had a few stuck exhaust valves on both the 52 Merc and 39 Ford in recent years after sitting un-used too long. I was able to free up all of them by spraying penetrating oil in around the valve stem through the spark plug hole. Letting them soak and then carefully tapping with a hammer and punch. Maybe I was just lucky but they all freed up and no damage was done in the process. About 50 years ago the Merc engine had a burnt exhaust valve that caused a miss. My brother then took the motor completely apart and fixed whatever it needed. Still works great.

[bigd1101]

Yep.....I removed the plug and will put some penetrating oil in there and let soak overnight. Then I'll do the gentle tap job on the top of the valves. Can I use a little "Liquid Wrench" instead, or is that asking for trouble? I also believe it's the exhaust valve, as I was getting a lot of oil smell. No burning, or smoke, just smell. I also installed a PCV today, the smell is just about gone, at least on the short trip home. The 80 year old I bought the car from I think let her sit a lot the last few years, and maybe why the valve is sticking.

[Lanny]

You don't want the lifter up on the valve as you're tapping it down.
Have someone turn the engine over, with a wrench on the front
bolt in the crank, as you lightly put pressure on the valve to
push it down.




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[Mart]

If you are working on No.1 exhaust, remove No.6 spark plug and when No.6 exhaust valve is open, it is safe to tap No.1 exhaust valve down, as when No.6 is open, No. 1 is on the heel of the cam.

[bigd1101]

Again, would some PB Blaster squirted into the spark plug hole and let sit a day of two, free up the valve?

[Mart]

Any sort of penetrating lubricant is worth a shot. The more the merrier. Make sure you crank it over with then plug out though to avoid potential hydraulic lock.

[flatjack9]

Just be sure you tap on the center of the valve.

[Frank Miller]

Did you try running it while pouring a little marvel mystery oil down the card? That is the first thing to try for stuck valves.
Also if you cannot find a shop to help you maybe you can get a moderately good mechanic and we can guide him here on what to look for. These are not rocket science.

[3twinridges]

This is where a borescope comes in handy! It’s worth the $50 or so

JB

[bigd1101]

Originally Posted by Frank Miller

Did you try running it while pouring a little marvel mystery oil down the card? That is the first thing to try for stuck valves.
Also if you cannot find a shop to help you maybe you can get a moderately good mechanic and we can guide him here on what to look for. These are not rocket science.

No MMO in the carb yet, but I did dump a bottle in the gas. So far I took the plug out, squirted some PB Blaster in there real good. Let it sit over night. This morning I used Seafoam down the carb while running the engine. Shut her off and let sit. Then I ran it a bit more with Seafoam. Shut her off and again sprayed Seafoam in the plug hole, a good dose. I'll let the car sit again overnight and repeat the process with PB Blaster sitting overnight. We go on vacation for 10 days next week so I'll give the valves in question one last bath of PB Blaster and let it sit for the duration of our vaca. Hopefully that will free up the valve(s). If not I'll have to pull the manifold and try that approach.

[frnkeore]

I might suspect a galled valve stem here, from a valve remaining open for a long time and then, taking a while (to long) to get oil to it.

Spraying it with non oil bearing cleaners won't help the situation. Spray it with a cleaner, then add some kind of oil, while it sits, like MMO or thinned trans fluid.

Now, most people like the acetone mixture, with trans fluid but, the solvent xylene, penetrates better than acetone and is what I use. With the penetrating power, the solvent pulls oil into the area as it goes.

Make sure you have some oil around the valve stem when your gone.

[JayChicago]

Frank
How can we know the correct products to use?
What brand cleaner(s) do you use?
What brand penetrant with Xylene?

[bigd1101]

So if none of this frees up the valve, I'll have to pull the manifold. Looking at gaskets on eBay I found this. My engine is a V8 255 cu. Will this work? Also, what other gaskets will I need?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30345177893...wAAOSwjDZYli5z