Replacement of valve seats

[Lisa P]

Here I go again, asking for advice.  Has anyone replaced the valve seats in their Kaiser 6-226 engine?  I have read that the L-Head motors referenced in the Continental Motor Manual pdf found online at the Wisonsin Motor site are virtually the same as what is in the Kaiser.  On page 54 of the online manual there is a photograph of someone using a hand tool to remove a valve seat insert.  This is the tool I am looking for.  Without that tool, any other way to get them out without taking the motor or block to a machine shop? 

[Fid]

Most people who have owned a 226 have replaced valve seats in them. Any machine shop should be able to do it.

[pnw_oldmags]

How can you tell (without a tear down) whether your engine has had the valve seats replaced??

[ken taplin]

Valve seat repacement is best left to a machine shop. You didn't mean valve guides did you?

[joefrazer]

The best way to check is to pull the head. It is possible to peek in thru the spark plug hole and look but the logistics of getting to the back ones makes it tough.
The only way to check for replaced guides is to pull the head and remove a valve or two and check for wear.

[pnw_oldmags]

I hate to pull the head as the engine was "rebuilt" twenty years ago and has less than 1000 miles on it.  The previous owner does not remember if he had the harden valve seats installed at the time.

[Lisa P]

I have the engine apart as it was seized when I first got the car.  Currently the head is off, valves have been ground, new springs are on the bench and we have replaced some of the valve guides that were out of spec.  My mechanic said that in the past he has welded a bead on the seats and as they shrink, they pop out.  What he wanted me to double check was if in fact they are removable (the shop manual says they are removed with a specific tool)-this is something that we are trying to do with the engine in the car as the seats that need to be replaced are readily accessible.  I am aware that a machine/engine shop can do all this however, I am interested in learning how to rebuild the engine and my mechanic (40+ yrs of experience) has the tool to grind the seats once they have been replaced, he just wants to be sure that they are removable and not integral.

[Burt]

I don't think KF used removable valve seats.

[Fid]

They most certainly did. It required a machinist remove them, if that's what you're refering to by 'non-removeable', but I've done enough valve jobs on KF products and I've had new seats installed many times.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

When Phillips Petroluem did their initial engine tests with unleaded gas in the late 1970's, they found that without the lead, valve seat recession took place.  They also found that serious deterioration didn't happen until the engine ran above 3,800 rpm, notably higher than the limit on the K-F 226 let alone what it would run at in the range of 60-70 mph.  While hardened valve seats would be the best approach, for the time being it should not affect engine performance that much, especially if you put in any gas additive that incorporates the PowerShield (trade name) compound made by Lubrizol here in Cleveland. 

If the engine was rebuilt 20 years ago and has only 1000 miles on it, You might want to tear it down to inspect the internals as lack of use can be just as damaging as high mileage