Does anyone do their own valve jobs?

[mattfranklin]

In my area (Nor Cal about 40 miles from Silicon Valley) valve jobs seem to be almost as expensive as the equipment to do it myself.

To do the guides the Goodson kit is about $400:
https://goodson.com/products/cl-343-master-tool-set

And about the same again for the stones, pilots, and stone holders to do the seats. (And I've seen the stone truing tool for $150 used on eBay.)

I'd love to learn how to do it myself.

Am I missing anything here?

I wouldn't have to invest in the hyper-expensive production shop stuff like a Serti, because I have the time to spend with the stones and do it better.

[truckster]

I've ground my own valves before, but I was able to get my hands on a old set of stones. And if I'm reading your post correctly, you're talking about a thousand dollars in equipment. I think you could send your heads out and get them totally reworked for less than that.

[mongocanfly]

^^^^agreed^^^^...unless you've got heads laying around to practice on and piles of heads to grind I don't know if you'd ever break even..its not that hard to do..I havnt done any since shop class way way back along time ago..

[68gmsee]

There's a lot more to reworking the heads than just lapping the valves and seats. You have to have hydraulic press in case valve guides need to be replaced, resurfacing machines in case heads are warped, magnafluxing equipment to check for hairline cracks and proper heating and grinding tools to replace badly pitted seats.

Now, I will say that back in my youth I did try to lap the valves with the old hand held suction tool and grinding compound like my uncles used to do it. I gave up after a couple of valves.

[cg285]

to answer the original question - yes.
by the way lapping is for checking not for fixing.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by cg285

to answer the original question - yes.
by the way lapping is for checking not for fixing.

Maybe the proper term I should have used is machining rather than lapping the seats.

I will say that in the old days -and even these days -lapping was done to remove pitted surfaces and smooth the valve seats and not just for checking the mating surfaces.

[truckster]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

Maybe the proper term I should have used is machining rather than lapping the seats.

I will say that in the old days -and even these days -lapping was done to remove pitted surfaces and smooth the valve seats and not just for checking the mating surfaces.

Yep, after grinding the valves you had to lap them by hand. Grinding would leave a somewhat rough surface, and lapping was to smooth that surface and get the best possible seal between the valve and seat.

[B. W.]

I'v cut my own seats & installed / reamed guides. The goodson tool you link to installs liners not guides. The liners fit inside the old guides after they have been enlarged. I'd rather replace the guides.

Neway sells seat cutter kits that use carbide cutters not stones. they do a quality job & you can even do them by hand ( takes time)

I have a machine shop check for cracks, deck the head (if needed) & if the head has integral guides (cast iron) I have them do guides also.

Cutting seats is fun & you get to set the contact area right where you want it. That is the real "money" part of the valve job IMO.

[PGSigns]

Not going to beat with stones what a Serdi or other valve seat cutter can do when used. It not only can cut all the angles at once it also can repeat the depth of the seat. Next what are you going to use to do the valves?
Jimmy

[mattfranklin]

Great comments, guys. I appreciate that. I'm leaning toward the Goodson bronze liner kit.

[cg285]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

Great comments, guys. I appreciate that. I'm leaning toward the Goodson bronze liner kit.

i have goodson (or acme - i forget) liner tools. i have found they are good for about 30k +- miles unless you get the stem clearance PERFECT - by honing, after you get close by reaming or broaching, which is a pita. (be careful broaching or you will need to tool up to replace the guides you broke)

anymore i prefer to either knurl or replace the guides as opposed to the liners. knurling lasts longer than you would think assuming the guides are within the limits to knurl. tooling is cheaper and the operation is quicker.

[cg285]

another thing, magnaflux equipment is inexpensive but not really necessary. although i do that i can't remember finding a crack with magnaflux that couldn't be seen with a properly cleaned head.

cracks do occur where you can't see or magnaflux that's why there are pressure testers. an examination of the block/head and common sense helps there.

[mattfranklin]

Originally Posted by cg285

i have goodson (or acme - i forget) liner tools. i have found they are good for about 30k +- miles unless you get the stem clearance PERFECT - by honing, after you get close by reaming or broaching, which is a pita. (be careful broaching or you will need to tool up to replace the guides you broke)

anymore i prefer to either knurl or replace the guides as opposed to the liners. knurling lasts longer than you would think assuming the guides are within the limits to knurl. tooling is cheaper and the operation is quicker.

Thanks! For a small block Chevy what size/brand/model of reamer would you get? Like a 0.343 from Goodson, carbide or not? Can I drive it with my drill or would I need an adapter?

[cg285]

reamer or knurler? either way you match it to your valve stem size. they will come with the correct clearance.
you should get the three sided adapter with the square hole to drive it with a slow 1/2" drill. there are drill speed reducers also

[cg285]

i just looked at goodson guide knurling arbor. they appear to not use a burnisher. not sure i like that. my older ones were the knurl tool followed by a burnisher tool. my newer ones (still old) have the knurl and burnisher on one tool. i would WAY prefer to burnish opposed to reaming.
you might call goodson and ask

[mattfranklin]

Just to close the loop on this one, I found a machine shop I really like. Morgan's Machine and Marine in Walnut Creek, CA. The owner, Tim Morgan, has been doing things since 1966. Super high quality work and he's a real stickler for using quality parts. I'm very glad I found the place.

[GRX]

That expensive? Depends what you mean by "valve job". Most time doing a set of heads correctly means far more than just seats and valve faces. Cleaned and wet magnafluxed? Worn guides? Worn valve stems? Worn keepers & grooves? Worn out springs? Bad rocker studs? .... it can really add up. No heads with good amount of miles on them need nothing.
If I am to stand behind my work and offer guarantees, things must be done right. Now, if someone simply wants valve faces and seats done on a pair of v8 heads, it is under $100. Maybe a bit more with seals depending on type. And no guarantee is written on the receipt.