I am still struggling with this 1961 292 which bent both pushrods of cylinder #7. This is a low mile engine which was rebuilt about 10 years ago but sat around in a garage until recently. It is real clean inside without a speck of grease and the oil is clean. It ran great the first 8-10 tmes I fired it up but then it suddenly started running rough and missing. I determined that #7 was not firing so I pulled the valve cover and discovered 2 bent pushrods, one of which had gone down in the valley. I fished it out and today I installed 2 new pushrods. I set the lash to .19 and then cranked the engine over with the valve cover still off and the distributor disconnected. One valve on #7 worked correctly but the rocker and valve spring on the valve with the pushrod which had landed in the valley never moved at all and it immediately bent the new pushrod which almost went down in the valley again. The only explanation I can think of for this is that I have a valve on #7 which is completely stuck and immovable. Does anyone have a remedy for this short of pulling the head? Thanks, Alan

I tapped gently on the valve stem with the rocker removed and it didn't move at first. However, after a few more gentle taps, the spring depressed and now the valve is stuck in the open position! Do I have to take the keeper and the valve spring off in order to squirt Mystery Oil or WD-40 under the rubber seal? And if I remove the keeper and spring, don't I risk having the valve fall inside the cylinder? Thanks, Alan

Pour some solevent aroung the valve. I use Marvel Mystery Oil. Let it soak overnight then gife the top of the valve a whack with a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer. When these engine sit for a while the valve stems can get seized up on the valve guides. Don't hit it too hard but a decent whack should free the valve up. Once you can see it moving try another push rod. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

But won't the valve stem seal prevent the Mystery Oil from seeping in around the valve guides? Also, now that the valve is stuck down what is the best way to grab onto it to work it in and out in order to free it up? Alan

Using a spray lube may allow enough lube to get under the valve seal.  Short of pulling the head, you can try to lever up the valve spring and remove the retainer so you can get to the top of the guide to get some lube at it directly.  Rotating the engine so the piston is at the top of the bore will reduce the risk of the valve dropping completely out of the head.

 

The root cause for this has yet to be determined.  While the guides being on the tight side could be part of the problem and especially if the guides themselves are still iron, old fuel is typically the culprit in these cases.  After running for a bit, old fuel will leave a varnish or gummy deposit between the stem and the guide and will stick the valve within the guide once the engine cools.  This particular scenario happens more on the intake valves than the exhaust.  If the fuel is old (over ninety days) or smells bad, it needs to be changed out with fresh fuel before running the engine again.

 

My recommendation for vehicles that are not run very often is to always keep premium fuel (contains no ethanol) in the tank and keep the fuel level on the low side.  By keeping fuel levels low, the fuel within the tank can be turned over more frequently although not many miles are being driven.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Ted did not mention fuel stabilizer as a viable option here, so I was wondering if anyone has experience with it or cares to comment on it's reliability? Thanks



Tom from the chiggerfarm located in the beautiful Heart of Central Texas

When you cannot dazzle others with your brilliance, baffle them with bullcorn!

The only way that I have been able to keep my small engines, lawn mower, chain saw, weed eater, generator ect running the last couple of years is to use Sea Foam or some other stabilizer in the gas. The ethanol will eat up rubber products in a matter of weeks. I think if I were storing a car for more than a month I would use an additive or as Ted stated us a non blended fuel if you can find it.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

Doesn't that depend on the fuel brand/station location? I had always heard ethanol is sometimes used as an octane booster. Website listing of ethanol-free gas outlets becoming shorter, I notice.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

It’s a relatively easy and a two minute check to verify exactly how much ethanol is in a given gasoline.  While I’ve found an excess of the labeled amounts of ethanol in the lower octane grades of pump gasoline, I don’t find any in the premium gasoline being sold in my area.  While it’s suppose to be a country wide mandate to not have any ethanol in premium gasoline, all I can verify for fact is it’s not in premium gasoline in my area.  I do end up doing frequent checks on my end to verify this simply due to using a considerable amount of pump gasoline on the dyno.  I get very constant results on the ~10% ethanol in 87 and 89 octane fuels but absolutely none in the 92-93 octane gasoline.

 

Here’s a picture of a commercially available ethanol tester but a tester can be made out of any kind of clear tube that’s gasoline compatible.

 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I did a check the premium from a local station a couple weeks ago. It was about 5%. I use premium in everything. Maybe that's why I haven't experienced the same problems others have with ethanol. I've had 0 problems with it.

You can pick up ethanol free gas at lawn related stores. You can even order pales or barrels if you wish. It costs more than the stuff at the pump, though.


Lawrenceville, GA