Inlet valve oil seal question

[jedwards]

Gentlemen,
I am preparing to remove the head on my 1953 80" as I have two thinks I want to resolve by doing so.
Firstly, I need to know for sure what engine I have (siamese or spread bore) as I have no engine number at the front of the block and the number stamped at the rear appears to be a number added by thr NSW Poalice way back when they did that sot of thing. 132461

My second reason is to try to resolve a very sooty exhaust issue at start up, which splatters my wife's newly painted wall and gets me into all soets of grief. When to took off the timing cover, I noticed that the head is designed so that the inlet value recess fills with oil, which is good for lubrication, but makes it super easy for oil to work its way past the inlet valve oil seal and into the combusition chamber. So I am assumingI need to replace all the inlet value stem seals.

I dont have a parts catalogue for the later 2 litre spread bore engine, so I am hoping someone can tell me if the inlet value seals are the some on both 2 litre petrol engines and if not, what is the part number for what I need to order?
We have a good local company that can do the rest of the work on the head, but I will need to get the parts in, well in advance.

Apart from the help with the actual part number for the value stem seals, are there any other suggestions that I should do while i have the head off? I plan to do a unleaded conversion and a dechoke.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
regards
jeff

[LR1953]

Jeff, I'd say the sooty matter leaving the exhaust on start-up is quite normal and not related to oil getting past the valve seals. It's just due to a rich mixture and a cold engine, so it's carbon (from imperfectly burnt fuel) and condensate. At start-up the engine oil is at its most viscous so less likely to be drawn past the valve seals. I have the same problem so I simply leave a sheet of waste 3-ply to cop the soot and water until I move from where the vehicle is parked. Also, leaky oil seals will be obvious from oily or greasy spark plug electrodes. Do the plugs indicate efficient combustion once the engine is warmed up?
Cheers, Rob S

[Bigbjorn]

Old used car dealer trick for worn valve guides/stem seals. you need a spark plug thread air chuck (easily made) and some oil resistant hose that is a neat sliding fit over the valve stem. Cut the hose to a length where it slightly crimps when the valve is open. Use air pressure in the cylinder to hold the valve in place, lever down the spring retainer, remove retainer, slip tube over valve, and so on until all are done. The piece of hose will compress and stop oil going down the guide on the inlet stroke. Worked great on smoky ex-taxis.

[LR1953]

Jeff some further thoughts: new seals will wear quickly if the valve stems are loose in their guides. If money is no object replace guides, seals and valves suitable for ULP. You'd need to do the same for the exhaust valves of course, which are much more likely to fail in the presence of ULP without a lead replacement. And remember they're in the block, not the head.
When I bought my '53 in about 1977 one of the first jobs I did was replace no. 4 exhaust valve, burnt out because ignition timing was retarded to billy-oh. And the head gasket of course - burnt out between cylinders 1 - 2, and 3 - 4. (bane of siamese bore engines asked to work hard before being fully warmed up). Hope this helps.
Cheers Rob S

[jedwards]

Gentlemen, following your excellent advice, I thought I would run a really simple test. I took off the timing cover and filled the areas around the inlet values with oil and let it sit for 2 weeks. My theory was that over time, if the seals are worn, then some oil would leak past the seals and I could see a slight difference in the oil levels in each recess.
All 4 recesses are still full so I am clearly not getting oil leaking into the combustion chamber while the engine is off.

Anything wrong with this logic?

One other question I am looking for help with is in adjusting the tappets. I don't have an engine crank handle and have not been able to buy one, so I am wondering how best to turn over the motor to adjust the tappets. My issues is that if I am under the car and rotating it with a breaker bar inserted into the crank shaft "receptor" thing, then I can not see where the values are. It would take me days to it if I rotate the engine a degree or two then climb out from under the car to see where each valve is in its cycle. So how do you rotate the engine AND watch the valve at the same time with Land Rovers? Overhead cams make this far easier.

There must be a trick to this that I have not worked out.

regards
jeff

[klonk]

Hi Jeff,
To turn your engine over and see what's going on put it in 3rd hi and push the car, try lower gears for smaller movement. Or tighten the fan belt and turn the fan carefully.

It is also not nessary to replace the valve seats in these engines for unleaded fuel. The UK people prefer to leave the seats but use harder valves. Better quality cast iron back then.

Cheers Steve

[bee utey]

Jack up 1 front wheel and 1 rear wheel and use your hoof to turn the front wheel, TC in 4WD hi.

[Bigbjorn]

If you have worn valve guides or failed seals you will get a puff of smoke on start-up. To turn the engine over easily by hand take out the spark plugs.

[Jackofalltrades]

bad guides seals show up driving on the gear change,

or restarting hot,

you need blue smoke,


black is just lots of fuel, starting cold, they do that