I was playing around with my old cylinder heads. If I looked into the intake port and help a flouresent light behine the closed valve I could see a gap and light.
Does that mean these heads were no good? The engine ran before I took these heads apart. I did not have the valve springs installed.
pretty much, yeah. If you can see light around a valve and it is fully closed, that means either the valve or head (or likely both, if it was run for any length of time in that condition) is toast.
Are you sure the valve was fully seated? were you seeing light around just one spot or the whole circumference of the valve?
BTW I'm not being hard on you, the only way you learn this stuff is to get your hands greasy. (or carbony, as the case may be.)
nate
I have gotten my hands greasy! Just ask my wife!
It was in one spot and if I twist the valve I could change the spot I see light.
Burnt.
is no good. Valve is burnt. Can't say whether the seat is damaged or not.
nate
But, you should know that engines can run with remarkably leaky valves for an awful long time before they finally die.
--scott
Why do I suddenly get a vision of black hand-prints on the back of a white skirt.... :-)
That sounds like a warped valve to me. If you were to run it longer, it would probably turn into a BURNED valve....
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