> If I lost a valve seat I don't think I am going to be able to afford to
> have it fixed.
My first thought is that, yes, you may have dropped a valve seat.
But if that's the case, it may not be all that serious/expensive.
Pop the cam cover, pull the plugs (to make turning it over easier),
stick a big ratchet on the crank pulley bolt and have Irene gently
rotate the engine by hand. You want to watch the #3 valve stems
very closely; when off-lobe they should both be at the same height.
Compare them against each other and see if one seems to have
more travel than the other. If a seat dropped, it's holding the valve
open and you should be able to note that the stem is lower in it's
'closed' position and doesn't move as far when being operated.
Actually, try this check. It's quick, easy, and informative:
Turn the engine to TDC compression stroke #3 and
apply air pressure (not a lot, just a few PSI) via the spark plug hole.
Using a rubber hose, listen for hissing at (1) carb throat, (2) exhaust,
(3) #2 and #4 spark plug holes. This should quickly tell you if you have
(1) bad intake valve (dropped seat or maybe burned valve), (2) bad
exhaust valve, or (3) blown head gasket. Oh yeah - (4) crankcase
breather (or oil filler cap) to see if you've got seriously bad rings or
a hole in a piston.
If it's a valve seat or head gasket issue, you just need some gaskets
(dealer items, probably about $50 for all) and some time. You can
repeen the seat and lap the valve yourself (shadetree quality) or find a
machine shop willing to just touch up this one. If it's a burned valve,
then you probably need a valve job as the others are probably bad too.
I really doubt it's a burned valve, though. I would certainly look for a
shop willing to do the minimal work, as you do not want them to talk you
into a surfacing job unless it's absolutely totally completely
unavoidable.
-- John
John F Sandhoff sandhoff@csus.edu Sacramento, CA
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