Thread: sticky valve fix

If there are fumes choofing out of your rocker cover and you are using excessive amounts of oil, I would rather suspect you have broken compression rings. A sticking inlet valve would cause a loud popping noise in the inlet manifold when you try to accelerate. The quickest way to check for a sticking valve is to remove the rocker shaft and "bounce" the valve with a soft faced hammer. The valve should shut rapidly with a distinct "tock" noise. Make sure the piston is down in that cylinder before you do that.

It is a bit fiddly to replace rings with the engine still installed, but not impossible. I've done it a few time sover the years. Ring breakages aren't all that uncommon. I bought a supposedly high performance engine a few years ago, the builder had forgotten to fit one cylinder's top ring. Eventually the second ring broke and the symptoms were obvious. As the engine was still tight in every other way two rings went in and the engine's good.

do a compression test and a leak down test....

if when the cylinder is on compression you get air out the exhaust its the exhuast valve, if its coming out the rocker cover its the rings, if its coming out the inlet its the inlet valve and if it pressurises the cooling system or comes out the plug hole of an adjacent cylinder its the head gasket.