Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks
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My ‘54 210 has ‘54 235 block with later 848 head. Cylinders 2 and 3 recently lost compression due to blown head gasket. There has always been some smoke at idle, so I decided to inspect and/or replace the valve stem seals. In the process, I noticed cracks on the exterior of some valve guides. The interior of the valve guides appears ok.
Is this typical and something that warrants immediate replacement?
@drtyler Dane, It is hard for me to figure why valve guides would be cracked. Now that the head is off, it would be a good time to install new ones just to be sure you are good for the long haul. I like to gather my own parts and take them with me to the machine shop. It will save money and time. You can probably find NOS guides on eBay for a good price. Let me know if you need help with part numbers for your search.
Mike
Many Miles of Happy Motoring
3469 Posts on Old VCCA Chat
@35mike Thanks Mike!
Further inspection this morning - there are bronze inserts/liners in each valve guide. My guess - and its only a guess - the shop that “rebuilt” the head in 2010 machined the existing guides to accept the bronze inserts. Maybe the guides were cracked already or he chose not to remove them to avoid damaging the head. Or perhaps the process of drilling the guides caused them to crack?
I like your idea to replace them all now while head is removed. I have the intake and exhaust valve guide part numbers from the -57 parts book, so its time to check ebay.
thank you!
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