cutting down on valve burning

[hesguitar]

We've got the 2.6l 6 and from what I hear it would be fair to assume future issues with burning exhaust valves- which got me thinking, the cylinder head re-conditioner we use at work taps into a coolant passage at the rear of falcon 6 heads (that tend to warp around cyl 5) allowing coolant to flow faster to reduce captivation and keeping the rear of the head cooler.

Has this method been tried before on land rover heads? If the head was already off to replace the valves and a blueprint was available it's a pretty easy modification.

[bee utey]

We've got the 2.6l 6 and from what I hear it would be fair to assume future issues with burning exhaust valves- which got me thinking, the cylinder head re-conditioner we use at work taps into a coolant passage at the rear of falcon 6 heads (that tend to warp around cyl 5) allowing coolant to flow faster to reduce captivation and keeping the rear of the head cooler.

Has this method been tried before on land rover heads? If the head was already off to replace the valves and a blueprint was available it's a pretty easy modification.


The Falcon mod is to reduce head gasket failure and head cracking. I think I've only seen one single burnt exhaust valve on a Falcon alloy head in 20 years. Tons of cracked heads though.

You are better off running Flashlube in a drip feeder or with your petrol.

[Blknight.aus]

its the #5+6 exhaust valves your trying to save and in the long term no there is nothing you can do to save them
running a touch rich and on qood quality leaded fuel helps.

[hesguitar]

They are completely different heads but they both have a problem with heat, i just thought something similar might help with cooling the land rover head.

Any issues with carbon build up on the valves with the flash lube? I've got one fitted and was wondering about that too, never had a car with a drip system before

[bee utey]

They are completely different heads but they both have a problem with heat, i just thought something similar might help with cooling the land rover head.

Any issues with carbon build up on the valves with the flash lube? I've got one fitted and was wondering about that too, never had a car with a drip system before

Temperature of the head isn't the problem as such. It is more a lack of lube at the valve faces causing poor contact at the valve seat and the overheating of the valve head edge. Regular tappet adjustment is also very important as it maintains valve closing for longer.

I have seen a badly adjusted Morey's set-up cause inlet valve failure on a Holden 308 with massive carbon deposits. But then the owner was a dip stick. He just kept pouring the Moreys in instead of adjusting it down.

So far I haven't seen that kind of damage with Flashlube. It should be checked regularly to use about 1ml of Flashlube per litre of fuel. It isn't hard to check with the sight glass on the dripper.

[UncleHo]

G'day Hesguitar :)

The 2.6 Litre 6 cyl IOE motor was originally from the Rover sedan which had a vastly longer engine compartment,when this motor was shoe-horned into what was basicaly the 4 cylinder hole,they had to modify the firewall backwards to fit the motor, so, the rear 2 cylinders get starved for cooling air, that, with the difficulty in adjusting the rear exhaust valves lead to them being to tight and burning,set the Exvalves at .002 more than specified,that will help, these motors were designed to run on leaded fuel so ULP is unkind to them, use a lead replacement treatment.

Note: the rear head studs are hard to tighten to the correct tension when in the vehicle without a "crowsfoot" spanner,this under-tension can lead to oil and water leaks at the back of the head :(

When set up and tuned correctly these are a smooth motor BUT thirsty. lots of torque at low revs


cheers

[Aaron IIA]

I just did a valve adjustment on one of these engines yesterday afternoon. I had no trouble getting to numbers five and six exhaust valves. They were correctly adjusted, but I added .002" to try and extend valve life. There is a slight pop in the exhaust, so I suspect that it may have had tight clearances in the past. I will now conduct a compression test to find out if it has a burnt valve. I will also apply compressed air into the spark plug hole and listen at the exhaust pipe for escaping air.

Aaron.

[UncleHo]

G'day Aaron 11A :)

It may well be worth investing in a compression tester, reasonable qualityones can be purchased at places like Repco etc. they usually have a selection of plug thread heads, i have had mine for about 20 years, remove plugs, place in selected hole turn motor over about 4-6 times and it will give the mean compression reading for that cylinder, or turn over as before but wait until the selected cylinder has compression, then while stopped in that position any drop in pressure will indicate poor seating valves :)


Hope that is of help


cheers

[Aaron IIA]

That is exactly what I would normally do, except my compression tester was in my shed, while I was on the other side of town. If a low reading is found, I will then do the compressed air trick, while listening at each manifold to determine if it is head gasket or valves. This check is redundant, as if the compression check shows a fault the head has to come off anyway.

Aaron.

[Hymie]

When I had a Toyota Commuter running as a Taxi I had heaps of trouble with Exhaust Valves burning out when running on LPG.
The answer was to have some made out of Stainless Steel. I did 600 000 Kilometer on a set of valves after doing a set every 80 000 Kilometers. Mind you, 80 000 K was every 7 months or so.

[Aaron IIA]

It isn't strange then that my WWII Ford V8 had stainless exhaust valves from new. But you would want them with these engines, as to adjust the valve clearances you have to remove the valves.

Aaron.

[wagoo]

We've got the 2.6l 6 and from what I hear it would be fair to assume future issues with burning exhaust valves- which got me thinking, the cylinder head re-conditioner we use at work taps into a coolant passage at the rear of falcon 6 heads (that tend to warp around cyl 5) allowing coolant to flow faster to reduce captivation and keeping the rear of the head cooler.

Has this method been tried before on land rover heads? If the head was already off to replace the valves and a blueprint was available it's a pretty easy modification.

As you know hesguitar, Falcon heads are all overhead valve, wheras the 2.6 landy engine has overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves, so no amount of head modifications will reduce the incidence of exhaust valve burning.IMO one reason why they are susceptible to burning, aside from fuel mixture and clearances, is that the exhaust valves are just too small for the engine capacity.
However,a friend who used to rally a Rover saloon way back in the day, did have a great deal of success with stainless valves.as well as a significant reduction in oil consumption by plugging every second oil hole in the piston ring lands with grub screws.
Wagoo.

[wagoo]

It isn't strange then that my WWII Ford V8 had stainless exhaust valves from new. But you would want them with these engines, as to adjust the valve clearances you have to remove the valves.

Aaron.
If you think about the design of sidevalve v8s,they need all the help they can get re valves and cooling. The valves are inboard of the cylinders, so the hot exhaust gasses have to cross over through the block and coolant to reach the manifolds on the outboard side.I believe it was the reason that the Chevrolet CMP (Blitz) 4x4s were more successful in war time operations in hotter climates.
Wagoo.

[Aaron IIA]

Do you own either a Ford or Chevrolet Blitz?

Aaron.

[wagoo]

Do you own either a Ford or Chevrolet Blitz?

Aaron.
I had a SWB 15cwt Chev Blitz about 30years ago with only 12,000 miles on the clock.Had 9.00x16 semi offroad tyres and only a single speed transfercase.Sold it to some tree loppers after I bogged it on my front lawn and realised it didn't ''do what it said on the tin'':)
Wagoo.