[alfa] Re: V6 valve guides

["Rich Wagner" <drsavage@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave:

>The wife's 164 needs a head gasket job and has about 120,000 miles on it. 
>It burns a little oil and puffs a bit a WOT.  I hate the idea of going
>through all the work of pulling the heads and not doing seals and guides
>but can't have the car off the road long enough to send the heads out.  I
>don't trust any of  the local shops to do this.  Can it be done relatively
>well with typical tools?
 
Replacing guides requires machine tools that most home mechanics don't own,
including a press and a boring mill.  Also, the tolerance requirements for
alignment and concentricity of the new guide are best handled by an
experienced machinist.  Most decent machine shops can handle this kind of
work without a problem.  Most home mechanics can't.

That said, are you SURE you need new guides?  There is only one way to
tell.  Measure them.  (Email me if you'd like to know how.)  It's entirely
possible that the guides on that engine are still within spec.  Really.  I
recently rebuilt an engine with 210,000 miles on it (Mitsubishi, not Alfa)
and found the guides to be at NEW spec.  Don't jump to conclusions without
good data.  It's entirely possible (even likely) that your seals are
leaking, and they are cheap and easy to replace.  Take some time to measure
things, and you may find that new seals are all that is required.

And of course, while the heads are off, you should take the opportunity to
replace the seals (regardless of their condition) and lap the valves.  Be
sure to keep each valve, its springs and keepers together, and used in the
same guide.  Lapping will make a valve lash adjustment necessary after the
head has been reinstalled.  You'll be impressed with how nicely the engine
runs after you're done.


Rich Wagner
Montrose, CO
'82 GTV6 Balocco
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided