Posted by David Sherman [172.68.23.45] on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 21:50:53 :
Last winter I posted about trying to get an exhaust valve on the sno-cat unstuck. Since then I've periodically sprayed penetrating oil up from the bottom and down from the top (through the spark plug hole) as best I can, and I've pried on the spring with big screwdrivers and picklefork, but no luck. Now that the weather is decent, it looks like it's time to pull the head.
First of all, any tips for getting the valve back down without bending it or buggering up the stem or guide? If I have to replace the valve, I'll need to pull the manifold to get the valve spring compressor in there, and its nuts look pretty badly rusted. This is the kind of project that can grow quickly, like if I break an exhaust stud. So, I'd rather not go there.
Also, 251 head gaskets have gotten rather scarce and expensive these days, so what do you think of re-using the old one, spraying it with copper coat? It should be a copper gasket so it seems to me copper coat should be okay on it. Or just put it back in "dry"?
Thanks.
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