Dropped valve seats part 3

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slickclyde
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Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by slickclyde »

Hey Guys,

I think I posted in the wrong section previously. I’ve had a terrible luck with dropped valve seats , 3 Times already, and each time paying too much from a local shop and machine shop that clearly can’t tackle this problem. I’m located in South Florida and although I’ve gotten some responses, everyone seems to be pointing in the farthest direction, CA. I’m willing to send my heads to one of these shops but I’m not willing to wait 4-6 months as I was told by a shop in Indiana that it may take that long.

65 Corvair Corsa coupe
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azdave
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by azdave »

Have you talked to Tom Knoblauch in Texas? He seems to do a lot of respected head work on Vairs. Never used him myself but I see him often on the forums with lots of projects going on.

http://www.americanflat6.com/knoblauchsthoughts.html
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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thewolfe
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by thewolfe »

+1 on Tom Knoblauch. After 4 dropped valve seats I gave up on my heads. I'll bet yours have been over heated like mine had. Do yourself a favor and bite the bullet, you won't be disappointed and will no longer have head issues if you get a pair built by someone that knows what they're doing. In my case I located a couple 95hp heads and shipped them down to Texas to have Tom work his magic. Did I wait months? Yes. Took months just to locate a good pair of heads and then I was informed that one of them had questionable valve guide bosses so I had to locate another one. Then months to get them back. Any reputable machinist you are going to be waiting. That's just the way it is when you want work done by the best.
Nate Wolfe
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66vairguy
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by 66vairguy »

One of the things I learned is sometimes it is less expensive to find a set of good used heads to have PROPERLY rebuilt.

Decades back before I knew much about Corvair engines I picked up a few sets of 140HP heads for what I thought was a bargain. Well ---- when I went to the local Corvair head rebuilding expert he looked at the heads and explained to me the work needed to make them usable. Some were badly overheated, some had been over machined, etc. He could have taken me for some serious money, but suggested I go find a better set of used heads. I did and it saved me hundreds of dollars in rebuilding fees. It really is nice to be close to somebody with a good reputation you can go to and discuss your heads.
slickclyde
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:11 pm

Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by slickclyde »

66vairguy wrote:One of the things I learned is sometimes it is less expensive to find a set of good used heads to have PROPERLY rebuilt.

Decades back before I knew much about Corvair engines I picked up a few sets of 140HP heads for what I thought was a bargain. Well ---- when I went to the local Corvair head rebuilding expert he looked at the heads and explained to me the work needed to make them usable. Some were badly overheated, some had been over machined, etc. He could have taken me for some serious money, but suggested I go find a better set of used heads. I did and it saved me hundreds of dollars in rebuilding fees. It really is nice to be close to somebody with a good reputation you can go to and discuss your heads.

Thanks guys I appreciate it. I’m gonna try the guy in Texas. Crossing my fingers and hoping it doesn’t take 4-6 months


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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by Wagon Master »

Quick question because maybe I'm no reading your original post correctly. You've experienced 3 dropped seats. Had them repaired , now your fed up with the machine shop.
Did any of the seats they repaired come out again? If so you have a right to be frustrated and need a new source for rebuilding your heads. If not, shame on you for not springing to have ALL the seats replaced. Do them all. Do it once, be done with it.
miniman82
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by miniman82 »

Strange, the small valve heads don’t typically have as many issue as the 140 style do. The shop probably isn’t experienced with aircooled stuff, the seats need more press so they don’t fall out.
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'stitch'
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by 'stitch' »

+++ Again for Tom Knoblauch! He did my heads (Bill Thomas Tribute Deep Seat) Never looked back. Does take awhile, but worth the wait! Of course I live about 10 miles from him, But Dayyyyum! He's good!
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plmbcrzy
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by plmbcrzy »

'stitch' wrote:+++ Again for Tom Knoblauch! He did my heads (Bill Thomas Tribute Deep Seat) Never looked back. Does take awhile, but worth the wait! Of course I live about 10 miles from him, But Dayyyyum! He's good!
I'm down from NY for the holidays and I am staying for a while to rebuild my engine. I'm in North Port Florida. Did you find a local machine shop? I'm still looking for the right one.

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slickclyde
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Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:11 pm

Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by slickclyde »

plmbcrzy wrote:
'stitch' wrote:+++ Again for Tom Knoblauch! He did my heads (Bill Thomas Tribute Deep Seat) Never looked back. Does take awhile, but worth the wait! Of course I live about 10 miles from him, But Dayyyyum! He's good!
I'm down from NY for the holidays and I am staying for a while to rebuild my engine. I'm in North Port Florida. Did you find a local machine shop? I'm still looking for the right one.

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Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the feedback I apologize it’s taken me forever but a quick update, I had my heads removed and sent to a guy in ft.lauderale that has a lot of experience in air cooled vw engines and Corvairs. The issue is that unbeknownst to me, it was not actually a dropped valve seat. Either way, I am having the heads checked just in case now that they are off. Unfortunately, this may be a fuel issue or turbo. I have a suspicion it’s both. The turbo has always been on and off again as far as working and I’ve had to fix a small “leak” several times from the oil return feed line. Sorry if I said it wrong. Either way I’m running out of patience bc it seems like you need a nasa engineer to figure out what is wrong with the engine.


65 Corvair Corsa Turbo
miniman82
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by miniman82 »

With respect, a dropped valve is a pretty serious thing and also very easy to diagnose. What’s going on that caused you to pull the heads?
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slickclyde
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by slickclyde »

miniman82 wrote:With respect, a dropped valve is a pretty serious thing and also very easy to diagnose. What’s going on that caused you to pull the heads?

My paranoia with dropped valve seats bc it happened before and cost a good amount. And bc when the engine gave out on me last month the same thing occurred, engine started losing power, white smoke came out,and then it just died. The shop did pull the heads out and find the valves and cylinders intact and then asked if I still wanted it sent to the machine shop and I said yes. I don’t know what else to do at this point. It feels like I’m going in circles. I’ve had the Corsa for more than 3 years and I’ve had problems with it since I bought it. This wasn’t a cheap Corvair either I paid top dollar for it and have the full build sheet from the previous owner. He spend a lot of money on getting the engine fully redone top to bottom. When it first dropped a seat 2 years ago I called him and told him about it and he was shocked. I’m about ready to give up on this as I have not enjoyed the car as much as I would like to bc of constant reliability issues.


65 Corvair Corsa Turbo
Wagon Master
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by Wagon Master »

Quick question because maybe I'm no reading your original post correctly. You've experienced 3 dropped seats. Had them repaired , now your fed up with the machine shop.
Did any of the seats they repaired come out again? If so you have a right to be frustrated and need a new source for rebuilding your heads. If not, shame on you for not springing to have ALL the seats replaced. Do them all. Do it once, be done with it.



Forgive me if you did, but I saw no answer to my question about your dropped seat issues. When the first event happened, did you have ALL seats replaced? On this latest failure, you had the mechanic sent out the head to the machine shop without seeing it? Most dropped seats are pretty easy to spot.
slickclyde
Posts: 22
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by slickclyde »

plmbcrzy wrote:
'stitch' wrote:+++ Again for Tom Knoblauch! He did my heads (Bill Thomas Tribute Deep Seat) Never looked back. Does take awhile, but worth the wait! Of course I live about 10 miles from him, But Dayyyyum! He's good!
I'm down from NY for the holidays and I am staying for a while to rebuild my engine. I'm in North Port Florida. Did you find a local machine shop? I'm still looking for the right one.

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As soon I get the results from the machine shop and mechanic I’ll let you know.


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Datsolow
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Re: Dropped valve seats part 3

Post by Datsolow »

Hi all , happy new year ,🇬[emoji1058]🇧[emoji312]
I have the same valve seat issue , heads are in machine shop getting new seats , guides the only issue I’ve got is I’m using stainless valves from falcon performance on your side of the pond all’s well except the exhaust valve keepers won’t fit the stock spring retaining disc .[emoji30] maybe there’s a change on later vair models mines a 64...
sorry for Hi jacking your thread.
All best Paul


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