A very sad thing indeed! Must see to believe.

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 10:53 AM

Hello all,
I have a very sad tale to tell. The head of a SS valve popped off the stem and bounced around inside of the cylinder for about a second then punched itself right through the piston. So take a look at the pix and let me know what you think, have you ever heard of this before? The head rebuild has about 200 miles on it. Time to start over I guess.

The Chief · 03-21-10, 11:23 AM

What make were the valves?

Were they 1 piece?

Are you sure the valve guide wasnt worn or bent before the valve failed?

I remember reading in a Hotrod about a ford motor that failed on the dyno and they traced it back to a bent valve guide that caused the valve to stick and be collected by the piston before causing catastrophic failure resulting in a rod through the block

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 11:36 AM

The valves are Ferrea Part# F5066. Like I said the heads had just been fully gone thru by a real good head guy, been in the biz since the early 60s does a LOT of race heads for other shops and such.

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 11:54 AM

OK here are the pix in the right location and everything. I told you I only know 2 things.

Scruffy · 03-21-10, 12:03 PM

Are the valves new?

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 12:07 PM

So since I have to start all over it is going to be a 468cid stroker. Going with KB pistons, forged crank 4.25 stroke, H-rods, opening up the KRE heads, sticking with the Comp Cams 51-224-4, I do not know if I am going to stick with the 1.52 or go with the 1.65 rockers (both are roller tip) I will wait to see how things are looking and after it is all checked for clearance and see what it likes best. Being at this altitude really helps and hurts at the same time. I need to take into account the hp loss in the drive train. A 2004r is on its way from Bow tie overdrives. Since the 200 is smaller than the 700 I should lose less. I am thinking about 17% loss total from drive train.

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scruffy

Are the valves new?

The heads had all new parts put in them. And like I said they only had about 200 miles on them. The whole motor was done at that time so It was not even broken in yet and it was being driven very lightly. The valve popped off at an idle, around 1k RPM.

The Chief · 03-21-10, 12:17 PM

I would get a second opinion, get the valve guides checked and then i would talk to the valve manufacturer. They may have had a production fault

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chief

I would get a second opinion, get the valve guides checked and then i would talk to the valve manufacturer. They may have had a production fault

I contacted the distributer and he said one in about 10k or so has an issue of some sort, then some guy named "Guss" the rep for Ferrea said "this is the first I have ever heard of such a thing" so it turned into the avoiding culpability B.S. No one is willing to help so they are all pointing the finger at the next guy, ya know?

Scruffy · 03-21-10, 12:58 PM

take it back to the engine builder....I would, something ain't right there. I redid an engine for an oval track racer last year an the valve stem tip broke..he didn't want shit magnafluxed...so it was my fault.

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 01:04 PM

I am going to speak with the head guy tomorrow and see what he has to say. I am guessing his response will be T.F.B. but I will see.

Scruffy · 03-21-10, 01:53 PM

well he has a reputation to protect, if he was wise he would take both heads back an go through them again..called covering your ass. If nothing is wrong its a faulty valve, shit does happen. If I were him I would at least offer to fix things up for ya for the cost of new parts..

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scruffy

well he has a reputation to protect, if he was wise he would take both heads back an go through them again..called covering your ass. If nothing is wrong its a faulty valve, shit does happen. If I were him I would at least offer to fix things up for ya for the cost of new parts..

I hope that is the way it goes. The distributor has sent me a replacement valve. I just hope the head can be saved. It looks pretty bad.

Scruffy · 03-21-10, 02:19 PM

hope it works out for ya...keep us posted

GR8_BA_TA · 03-21-10, 02:30 PM

I don't plan on using these heads (#13s) for the rebuild but it would be nice to salvage them if possible ya know? They are getting harder to find every day.