Itinerant Air-Cooled

The good.Just happened a few miles from home.
The bad. Exhaust note added braaps.About three seconds of action till it shut off without locking up at idle.
More ensuing info collected after engine frag inspection was negati e.upon keying ign,three jugs seem willing,and firing. One though,zero compression. Heh.
Don't know about the Ugly. Might be the Dodge Stalker Van Im going to borrow while I do look for MY problem.
The laying on of hands is a little premature for this rebuild. I was stretching the valve adjustment to 5K..Let me pop a couple valve covers and see whats up.

my bet is tight valves....

Why did you install a 914 windage tray and did you modify it for higher oil flow return?

We will see about tight valves.
Nice thought. But the immediate onset spells something else.
Will look more this pm. Checked plugs as Paul the overPunctual Tow Truck pilot was rolling up. They all seemed to be where they belonged.

I would truly be suprised if it sucked a valve

Windage tray was in earlier iteration.That my entrees into the Type IV world was via 914s was how I rolled.
That I 944 now is just a twist of fate, and a well prepared one at that

Anyway the upside is the 944 gets out of the too tiny to work in garage,and can shed all the Spiders From Mars that have been homesteading while I mused effort of IT'S repairs.

Cars. Meh.

Well, infinitely unadjustable #3
Probably my bad somehow.

Lets see what the teardown says..

Boxcar wrote:Well Len Hoffman who built these heads has disabled his phone #. He gave me.sage advice though to get my cases decked. I thank him for this wisdom. Yet, he is of no avail when his product fails.

Raby Inc. Ent. Squirt. who I bought the heads at uber premium price from is such a person and company, I WILL not call with a problem. Since, they HAD to have used Chinese valves to have failed. Contacting them for more bad parts makes me feel unwashed.

I will however contact Bucky, at Verden Tool, Dover NJ, who are the best head builders who still have the same phone#! (They are near where I worked as a Casting PE@ Howmet Turbine) True Porsche guys,lifetime driver-Bucky and true grit machinists.


Replacing all eight valves. If anyone is interested in what brand, and series, they may pm me.

The END.

For a street car this Raby/Hoffman shit breaks?
C MAN was right. I paid too much.

Pissing me off enough to yank the LJet, and squander more on some Webers.

Why blame the L-Jet for a metallurgical failure? Anybody claiming that L-Jet was too lean is a cop-out for an L-Jet that just wasn't adjusted. I have the customers and personal experience to tell you that we can make L-Jet give you 12 mpg and black soot city on the exhaust valves.

I am more interested in the valves themselves. Remember how Chloe the 1600 ran so damn hot that it turned the too-small exhaust valves reddish with not a trace of carbon and cut the steel seats down? Those VW exhaust valves were fine after chronic 430-440CHTs across the country.

Are your valves those welded chrome stems? Very sorry to hear of your troubles, but we need to be very carefully focused on forensics. There may be quick answers a-plenty coming your way, but slow questions are more valuable. For example, was your deck too tight? Was this a high rpm chronic contact between the valve and the piston? Was there evidence of side loads on the valve guides that notched the stem and caused a fatigue fracture? Can you find someone who knows metal failure well enough to establish the start point of your valve's failure?
Colin

Boxcar wrote:Well Len Hoffman who built these heads has disabled his phone #. He gave me.sage advice though to get my cases decked. I thank him for this wisdom. Yet, he is of no avail when his product fails.

Raby Inc. Ent. Squirt. who I bought the heads at uber premium price from is such a person and company, I WILL not call with a problem. Since, they HAD to have used Chinese valves to have failed. Contacting them for more bad parts makes me feel unwashed.

.

If you can't get Len on the phone, email him, he typically answers within a couple of hours.
http://www.hamincgroup.com/main.php

Sorry for the poor pictures.

The stem broke at the end of the little collets at the spring end of the spring retainer.Metal break revealed even texture,with wavy not annular perimeter fracture line.

My L jet comment was not due to poor adjustment. L Jet is great.
Plugs were light grey. Also not so clear in my photo.
I just FELT like if the engine has to come out, it should get some more breathing to go back in. But no way.
The dependability/simplicity of L Jet is paragon. Jetting and fetteling Carbs in this instance is not a road I honestly want to turn onto. Even though carbs would be cool as hell. Expense and time outstrip result.

Stock LJet Bay!

I withdraw my rash comment.



Thanks for Len's contact info.

Looking forward to teardown .

Boxcar wrote:Sorry for the poor pictures.

The stem broke at the end of the little collets at the spring end of the spring retainer.Metal break revealed even texture,with wavy not annular perimeter fracture line.

Any evidence of galling between the keepers and the stem grooves? Any evidence of slightly rounded edges in the lift direction? Keepers have been known to be slightly off where they grip the valve stem and starve the grooves of oil, preventing the necessary rotation.

By all means, let us know what Len has to say about this valve failure. Remember that if any mention is made of incorrect maintenance, driving, whatever, you have seven other valves as testament to the environment within which this failure occurred. I would be most interested to know the brand of your exhaust valves.
Colin

Inner rocker studs backed off a half turn. Outers took double nutting to remove and ONE showed evidence of loctite. Inners not. But movement and oil and heating cooling COULD have massaged it away after they loosened.

I know I paintmark a bolt when I either/both torque or loctite. No paintmark on any rocker stud.

So studs had no such mark. Rocker nuts also.

I think heads came with rocker studs wrapped in plastic. Rocker nuts clearly were not loctited or torqued,though still tight. I missed those forsure when I was setting up valve geometry.

I know what is getting torqued and loctited (red) now,on both sides.

Did the 3/4 head teardown engine in situe. Have to say I like it.

Combustion chambers showed some carbon build up. (I ran for a while with no thermostat)
And they showed a little puff of leakage at the bottoms.Though not chronic. NOT Retorquing after break in always lingered as afterthought.
Is torquing at least the lower head studs only better than nothing? At this point I might as well strip the tin off 1/2 and re torque those. Whats 3 or 4 hours now??
Head studs/nuts 3/4 took even amounts of oomph to remove. Washers were galled by nuts a bit. I wonder If they should be that way. Btw nuts and washers were new for that last assembly.
Thats what I know.(not much)
//Eric

Such a MAROON! I am.

Contacted Len Hoffman, who was much help.

Jake Raby showed up on my facebook.

Len is sending two intake valves.

Checked 1/2 side rocker studs and nothing obviously loose.

My paint marks on rockerassy evident but fading, so my guess is I installed rocker assy studs.

Len said he has been wrapping them and sending since 2008+-.

His recollection of this type of failure* happening only four or five times. (*Excess lash)

So, LH really helpful and informative. Also suggested hardened mil spec washers for head studs.

Boxcar wrote: Contacted Len Hoffman, who was much help.
His recollection of this type of failure* happening only four or five times. (*Excess lash)

Excuse me? "Excess lash" breaks valves? Is that what I am hearing? "Only" four or five times?

Did I read correctly?
Colin

For some reason lash is bad for zero lash setups like the CS heads. Steel pushrods can't be in there because of less spring pressure.

I noticed a change in exhaust tone for like a thousand miles or so. Very slight between, 2.5 & 3K. Devilish to discern where from the driver throne.

I now think that is when those rocker studs loosened. Rocker assy nuts were not noticeably falling off loose either. But maybe a half turn of a M1.25 thd is @lot in american inches.
So like a thosand miles of that and plink. Len is sending two intakes as #4 inner rocker assy stud was equally untight.

Any Ideas on best sourcing of piston and cylinder sets or while we are at it?
This used set still is burning oil on #3.
That is after Bucky and Barry or Bucky or Barry Verden Tool Dover NJ honed and mic'ed the set and pronounced good. But something is slipping oil into the combustion chamber. My fb page has pics.(enriccardo carrerapanamerica)
Grant rings are what I used.

Ok. Enough typing into a little phone for now.//Piston/Cyl kit sourcing suggestions please?

Boxcar wrote:For some reason lash is bad for zero lash setups like the CS heads.
I now think that is when those rocker studs loosened.
So like a thosand miles of that and plink.

Any Ideas on best sourcing of piston and cylinder sets or while we are at it?

I will so very bow out of the above assertions, but to say (you knew I was going to) that the "stress" of lash is ah never mind . . .

So, yeah pistons and cylinders, 2.0? ( 1.8 ) Pony up and get the good 94 ( 93 ) Cofap/Mahle/Kolbenschmidt.
Wash them thoroughly, install pistons/rings carefully with copious quantities of clean oil and you will get 100,000 miles just fine.
Make sure your rods are correctly notched as per the technical service bulletin.
Colin

Yeh, Still 1.8 here Boss.