Corrosion/Crud on intake valve
 

My engine was rebuilt around 2013. A 1971 Wagon with the original 455 that was bored .60. The car was in an accident a year later and has been stored since. I am just now getting around to getting it put back together. I'd say the engine has less than 5-8K miles on it.

I am changing the intake manifold and was looking inside the engine at the valves and I noticed that one of them looked bad. Cylinder #2 (Passenger side front) appears to have corrosion. I checked the gaskets and they don't show evidence of an internal water leak. Has anyone experienced this? What could have caused this and what, if anything, should I do to fix it? All the other valves seem to be OK, save for some carbon.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...448cc304e2.jpg


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f020a71c8d.jpg

What fuel? I quit using ethanol fuel because of corrosion in my boat engine while in storage.

Looks like that port was filled with water/condensation somehow. You can almost see a waterline.

What does that spark plug look like?

Clay

I'd bet that is just condensation and surface rust. I would just go in there with an oily finger or spray a little PB and call it good.

If the plug looks like it’s new out of the box and the others all have color of some kind, that would be a reason to investigate further.

I would guess that happened in storage. Water entered and picked the lowest point to sit.

Once you get the motor buttoned back up and before you fire it fill the cooling system with just water a do a pressure test, just for peace of mind, but there's one thing for , the fact that I will bet that that cylinder does not show cranking compression as good as the rest due to seat pitting!

"I'd bet that is just condensation and surface rust. I would just go in there with an oily finger or spray a little PB and call it good. "

Yeh. what could go wrong??
Good catch. You gotta pull the head & look around.

Thanks guys. I haven't removed the spark plug yet and was waiting the drain the oil until after I have cleaned and put the engine back together. Should I fill this with anything and let it sit, and then take the plug out and turn the motor over by hand to drain it all out?

Well one thing you can do is tilt the motor so that you can fill that port up with light oil like WD-40, then roll up paper towel and slip it into the plug hole with the piston at TDC, if the in 10 minutes the towel shows signs of being wet from oil then that cylinder will be a problem if a valve job is not done to atleast that cylinder.

But who knows, if you do have a issue with seepage then a long lapping session and a new Intake valve may clear things up for you.

What I have done in the passed in a pinch lapping wise is to make a sleeve to fit around the top stem of the valve ( if your not getting a new valve) and then spin the valve loaded with lapping coumpound with a drill while pulling the drill back towards you.

Doing such for 5 to 8 minutes should get a halfway decent seal back between the valve and seat such that it will be no worse off then the seal of the other 15 valves in both heads.

If you start out to do this job and the valve will not pass down thru the top of the valve guide, then don't force it other wise you will scratch up the inside of the valve guide and have a whole new problem to deal with.

If valve will not come out it due to either a nick at the top of the keeper groove, or a peened over edge at the top of the valve you will have to sand or grind it off.

If the nick is at the top of the keeper groove then the valve should get replaced, if there is just a minor lip on the top of the valve it can be polished over and reused.

Either way the minor unstructiin

you're pretty far in already. i would pull the head and take the valve out. clean, inspect, and reinstall.

I pulled the plugs on cylinder #2 (the rusted valve) and cylinder #4 (normal like all the other valves)

I took several photos but I couldn't get the camera to get the full color. There's a slight orange tint on each of the porcelain pieces, but other than that I don't note a huge difference between the two. I also don't know hhttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7790cab2_b.jpgow to read plugs.

I don't know what your expecting the plug to show you if that Intake valve was closed when whatever level of moisture got in there.

To repeat again, the question here that needs to get a answer is if that valve will still seal on its seat good!

Would soaking in WD-40 be the recommended cleaner for this issue? Before I turn the engine over by hand to see if the valve is stuck it seems like it would be a good idea to attempt to clear the valve as much as possible. I will try the above mentioned suggestion of inserting something in the spark plug hole to see if it leaks out. Also, once the valve has been cleaned, I assume I would need to get inside with a small vacuum attachment and clean as much of the debris out as possible


I'm not expecting or not expecting to show me anything. This is an area I don't have much experience and do not know what I do not know, so I'm checking with those that have more experience to possibly see things which I may not have an understanding. I am just showing this as stated earlier in the thread, it may reveal things to those that have more experience than myself.

Vetteman to be honest I would pull that head. So ething is messed up and you will want to get to the bottom of it. That valve looks pretty bad. You are only a handful of bolts away from peace of mind.

"I" would be looking for rust on the cylinder walls--perhaps by dropping a videoscope into the plug-hole. And test the cooling system with a pressure-tester for cracks in the head, or an intake gasket leak that could have wet the valve.

No rust on the cylinder wall? No coolant leaks? Wipe off the obvious sludge from the valve, fire the engine, when it's at operating temp, shut it down and perform a leakdown test.

Either the valve seals and you're fine...or the valve leaks and the head comes off. If there's rust in the cylinder, the head comes off. Maybe the engine comes out.

Sure looks like a lot of buildup for 8k miles after a rebuild. Valve certainly not surface rust from what I can see. I bet you pull it apart and it has original parts still in it.
Or the rebuild was poor.
With luck I’m wrong.
Good luck

I would pressure test the cooling system first. If it holds pressure and doesn't leak into the suspect port, then pull the head and inspect the valve, combustion chamber and bore/rings for more rust. If only the valve and seat are affected, lapping in a new valve with a drill may do the trick if pitting isn't too deep. You can verify any leakage at the seat by filling the chamber with mineral spirits and watching for bubbles forming from around the seat and a wet port.

I think you're going to destroy the guide trying to get the rusty valve out. Use a Dremel with a small, soft wire wheel to clean the stem as much as you can and lube it good before attempting to remove the valve. Remove it with a slow back and forth twisting motion.