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. Replacing valve seats is one of the basic jobs that is often necessary when rebuilding aluminum or cast iron heads with cracked, damaged or badly worn seats. But there is a lot more to replacing a valve seat than prying out the old one and driving in a new one. If the head is cast iron with integral seats, the head has to be machined to replace the seat (sometimes called installing a "false" seat). And if the head is aluminum, the seat counterbore may have to be machined to accept an oversize seat if the bore is loose, deformed or damaged. Either way, a machinist has to figure the amount of interference that is required for the new seat before cutting the head on a seat-and-guide machine. He also has to decide what type of seat to install. Replacing a seat, therefore, involves a number of decisions and steps, all of which affect the outcome of the repair job. As you might have guessed, we encountered differing opinions about the right way and wrong way to replace valve seats while researching this article, particularly with respect to the amount of interference fit that is required to retain seats in aluminum heads. A common fear expressed by many engine rebuilders is concern over the possibility of seats falling out, particularly in aluminum heads where the difference in coefficients of thermal expansion between the head and seats can cause seats to loosen if the head overheats. Consequently, engine rebuilders expressed differing views on whether or not locking compound and/or peening or staking should be used as "insurance" when installing seats in aluminum heads. One point everyone does seem to agree upon is that valve seats play a critical role in the longevity of the valves. The seats draw heat away from the valves and conduct it into the cylinder head. This provides most of the cooling that the valves receive and is absolutely critical with exhaust valves. Anything that interferes with the seat's ability to cool the valves (such as a loose fit or deposits between the seat and its counterbore) can lead to premature valve failure and expensive comebacks. The seat alloy and hardness must also be matched to the application and compatible with the type of valves that are installed in the engine. Again, we found differences of opinion regarding the selection and use of various seat materials. To better understand the issues behind the differing opinions regarding valve seat replacement, let's start with the seats themselves and why they fail.
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are either cracked or too worn to be reground or remachined. Seats can crack from thermal stress (engine overheating usually), thermal shock (a sudden and rapid change in operating temperature), or mechanical stress (detonation, excessive valve lash that results in severe pounding, etc.). A small amount of valve recession results from normal high mileage wear, but it can also occur when unleaded gasoline or a "dry" fuel such as propane or natural gas is used in an engine that is not equipped with hard seats. Recession takes place when the seats get hot and microscopic welds form between the valve face and seat. Every time the valve opens, tiny chunks of metal are torn away and blown out the exhaust. Over time, the seat is gradually eaten away and the valve slowly sinks deeper and deeper into the head. Eventually the lash in the valvetrain closes up and prevents the valve from seating. This causes the valve to overheat and burn. Compression is lost and the engine is diagnosed as having a "bad valve." The seat also has to be replaced, but it many instances it may not be recognized as the underlying cause of the valve failure. As a rule, a seat should be replaced if the specified installed valve height cannot be achieved without excessive grinding of the valve stem tip (less than .030 in.), or if the specified installed spring height cannot be achieved using a .060 in. spring shim. This applies to integral valve seats as well as nonintegral seats. The only other alternative to replacing the seat is to install an aftermarket valve that has an oversized head (.030 in.). This type of valve rides higher on the seat to compensate for excessive seat wear or machining, and can eliminate the need to replace the seat. A seat may also have to be replaced if it is loose or if the cylinder head is cracked and requires welding in the combustion chamber area (the seats should be removed prior to welding). One way to check a seat for looseness is to hold your finger on one side of the seat while tapping the other side with a hammer. If you feel movement, the seat is loose and should come out (so it does not fall out later!). The seats in an aluminum head may also loosen or fall out when the head is being cleaned in a bake oven or preheated in an oven for straightening. The same thing can happen to the guides. Whether or not this occurs depends on the amount of interference fit between the seats and head. The less the interference, the more likely the seats are to loosen and fall out when the head is baked. If you do not want the seats to fall out, turn the head upside down or stake the seats prior to baking.
Some have success using a simple pry bar to pop the seats loose (if there is enough of an edge under the seat for the bar to grab). But using a pry bar runs the risk of damaging the counterbore.
Seats can also be removed if the underside of the seats are accessible through the valve ports by using a long punch to knock them out. But again, care must be taken not to damage the counterbore.
Cast iron seats in aluminum heads are also being removed by using a die grinder to cut through the seat. This relieves pressure and allows the seat to be easily removed. The danger with this technique, however, is grinding all the way through the seat and into the head. One slip can create a gouge that can be expensive to fix.
Another technique to remove soft cast iron seats in aluminum heads is to cut them out. A cutter that is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the seat is used to machine away most of the seat. If the thin shell that is left does not break loose and spin with the cutter (which can chew up the counterbore if you are not careful!), it can be easily pried out. This technique does not work very well on hard seats, though, because the seats are about as hard as the cutter.
To remove hard seats, you can arc weld a bead all the way around on the seat. As the bead cools, it shrinks and loosens the seat.
Another trick that is sometimes used to remove a hard seat is to insert a valve that is somewhat smaller than the seat in the head and then weld the valve to the seat. The valve stem can then be used like a driver to push out the seat. Specialty tools are also available from various suppliers for extracting seats. Diesel Cast Welding of Blane, MN (612-780-5940) makes a tool that uses a collet to remove bridge pins from diesel heads and rocker studs from 350 Chevy
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engines. The same tool also has the potential for easily pulling valve seats out of aluminum heads. Though not a tool for removing seats, the "Seat Ring Factory" by the K.O. Lee Company, Aberdeen, SD (800-874-9215) is a lathe for making your own seats from semi-finished nickel alloy rings ranging in size from 5/8 in. (16 mm) ID to 2-1/4 in. (57 mm) OD, and 13/32 to 1/2 in. deep.
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A HARD SUBJECT
There are two schools of thought on the subject of hardness. One equates hardness with quality. The other recognizes the importance of hardness but realizes that other factors are just as important. The hard schoolers say things like you need a seat with a hardness of Rockwell C 37 to 45 for unleaded fuel, and 40 to 50 Rc for propane, natural gas and high compression/turbo applications. But Joe Keon Jr. of Martin-Wells, which is one of two companies in the U.S. that manufacturers valve seats (L.E. Jones being the other), toughness and durability are better measures of quality. Keon emphasizes the metallurgical aspects of selecting a seat material.
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Keon said the first hard material that was used for industrial valve seats was stellite #3 (cobalt with 30% chrome, 12% tungsten and 2.5% carbon). The seats were made by welding stellite onto a tool steel base material. "In those days they did not think about heat transfer. All they wanted was a seat platform that was as hard as possible. The next step in the evolution of seat materials was to synthesize hardness. By heat treating tool steel, seat hardness could be increased to Rc 43. But if a heat treated seat is subjected to overheating, you get grain inversion and the molecules return to their original position. You lose that hardness. "Forty years ago we came up with our Well-Tite formula that achieves the same wearability of a 52 Rockwell C stellite type of product but with a hardness of only 35 to 37. And it does a far better job of dissipating heat. The Well-Tite alloy contains 42% nickel, which sucks the heat away from the valve. It has 10 to 12% chrome for oxidation, and 7% moly for toughness. We also found that our formula produces an oxide layer that works up to the surface through a chemical action and acts like a lubricant to prolong valve life." Keon said Well-Tite seats are not heat treated, but are machined and sold "as cast." He says this allows them to handle high temperatures without danger of grain inversion. He also said the unique Well-Tite ally has an excellent memory characteristic that allows a seat to return to its original size after heating without distortion, which means the seats will not loosen or fall out if an engine overheats. Keon said rebuilders should be especially careful about the quality of the seats they buy. He said many offshore suppliers are less than thorough about their quality control measures, yet charge as much for cast iron seats as ones that contain superior alloys.
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