DRY RUN
When I was an apprentice our foreman never turned away anyone who wanted to have a look at a workshop manual. He reasoned that if anybody needed a manual he would be likely to make a serious mistake and the workshop would eventually get the job anyway. He was seldom wrong.
I’ve followed in his footsteps, so when Rooikoos Venter, a local Morris Minor fanatic, wanted to borrow our manual for the overhead-valve 1 000 model (yes, we have a good selection of old manuals) I gladly lent it to him. I did not expect to see his car in our workshop because he is very capable, but it turned up a week later – at the end of a tow-rope.
“The engine only ran for a short while, and then it bent some of the pushrods. I’m demoralised enough to hand the overhaul over to you,” the crestfallen owner said.
Hennie examined the engine, and discovered that the pushrods were bent because two valves had seized. Before stripping the cylinder head he ‘phoned Rooikoos and asked if he had remembered to lubricate the valve stems before assembly. His reply that he didn’t know he had to, solved the mystery.
Hennie repaired the cylinder head by reaming the guides to a slightly bigger diameter and cleaning up the stems. Rooikoos was only going to use the car on special occasions, so the slight extra clearance would not matter while the valve stem seals were in a good condition.
Valve stems get so little lubrication that many new engines are assembled with a special valve stem lubricant to tide them over until some oil manages to get there.
