Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!

[Rollaround]

Any updates on the ticking issue?

[elagache]

Dear Kevin and mid-60s Buick subscribers to my trusty wagon's continuing "meller-drama," . . . .

Any updates on the ticking issue?

As it turns out just this afternoon there was a finally some progress.  Mike Tomaszewski had asked Greg and the guys at Orinda Motors to check the amount of play in the valve that appeared to be loose.  Unfortunately, Orinda Motors didn't have a tool to release the valve spring on a Buick engine.  They ordered one and . . . . . it got lost in the mail!   A second one arrived today and Greg was able to confirm that there is too much play in that one valve.  That was enough for Mike to conclude that the heads need to be sent back to TA-Performance so that he can find out what's going on.

Mike asked that Greg check the camshaft to make sure it didn't get damaged.  Assuming the camshaft is fine, the heads will be headed to Scottdale, AZ to find out what is out of whack with them.

Stay tuned! . . . .

Cheers, Edouard

[cwmcobra]

Thanks for the update Edouard.  Can you tell us more about "there is too much play in that one valve"?  If I interpret correctly, Orinda took the spring retainers and valve locks off, releasing the spring and found what sounds like valve guide wear in at least one valve guide.  I assume these are aluminum heads with pressed in valve guides.  Do you know what the valve guide material is?  If brass or bronze, I'm not surprised considering the lack of valve rotation.

Sorry for the technical questions.  There goes the engineer again.   

Cheers!

Chuck

[Barb69]

Wow, I am learning a lot here. Thanks of the education.

kicking Dust.

[elagache]

Dear Chuck, Barb, and mid-60s Buick engine caregivers,

Thanks for the update Edouard.  Can you tell us more about "there is too much play in that one valve"?  If I interpret correctly, Orinda took the spring retainers and valve locks off, releasing the spring and found what sounds like valve guide wear in at least one valve guide.  I assume these are aluminum heads with pressed in valve guides.  Do you know what the valve guide material is?  If brass or bronze, I'm not surprised considering the lack of valve rotation.

Yes the spring retainer was removed and the valve was kept from dropping into the combustion chamber by compressed air.  Greg then used a meter to measure the amount of movement and it exceeded the standards for those heads.

These heads are TA-Performance Stage-2 aluminum heads.  I don't know what is the valve guide material, but they certainly could be brass or bronze.

That's all I know at the moment.

Cheers, Edouard

[GS66]

I'm just glad there wasn't extensive damage. Good luck!

[66nailhead]

I definitely feel your pain. It sucks tearing apart a fresh clean motor. Wish ya luck.


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[elagache]

Dear Jim, Dan, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Thanks for your support! 

My poor wagon has been extremely unlucky these past few years.  I just hope things fill finally turn around!

Cheers, Edouard

[TrunkMonkey]

Maybe a bad spell, but no one could love her as you do.

And I am sure the biskit will be chewing up the roads soon.

[Barb69]

Dear Jim, Dan, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Thanks for your support! 

My poor wagon has been extremely unlucky these past few years.  I just hope things fill finally turn around!

Cheers, Edouard

She will turn around and be better then ever. She is a girl who wants to be spoiled with new shiny  things.[emoji12]   Best  wishes.

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[elagache]

Dear Michael, Barb, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Thanks once more for your words of encouragement.  At the moment I've just got to wait and see how this repair unfolds.  I promise to keep everybody informed of how this repair evolves.

Cheers, Edouard

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers when things get tough,

I haven't updated this situation in a while because - it wasn't at all clear what was going on.  Mike Tomaszewski had asked Greg at Orinda Motors to pull the intake manifold so that the camshaft and lifters could be inspected.  Once more there was some scoring on the lifters and camshaft.  It wasn't awful but definitely disturbing.  It is extremely hard to photograph, but here is the best photo I got of the lifter damage:



The damage is mostly cosmetic, but this is hardened steel and this engine has only 2000 miles on it.  Greg's concern is that if these components have this much damage, the softer metal of the bearings should be more significantly damaged.

For a while, it appeared that the oil filter had collected a ton of metal debris.  However, on a second inspection the amount of debris seemed small considering the damage and the filter was keeping that debris out of the engine.

I spoke with Mike Tomaszewski this afternoon and he told me to pack the engine up once more and send it back to TA-Performance so that he can look the engine over and determine what is going on.  Unless something else is discovered that suggests the engine is really dead, sending it back to TA-Performance seems like the right thing to do.

So there's the update.  Time for me to get the garage ready for my wagon to return and sit once more.

Such are da' conditions that prevail . . . . . .

Edouard

[Barb69]

How sad. I hope  they correct the challenge.  Best wishes, for your  trusty wagon.

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[TrunkMonkey]

Fingers crossed that it is a not so costly repair and that you caught this before the engine shelled out.

[35chevcoupe]

Edouard , 
    If I had a lifter that looked like that in my engine I would definately  be taking it all the way apart .   Thats a little more than cosmetic to me .
Hopefully they get it figured out for you soon with minimal cost to you .   I,d be concerned about how the lifter bore looks also .
Good luck with it .