brassplyer

Ran across this - a customer has a problem with one valve showing obvious signs of leaking. Shop owner takes video that he's obviously convinced is proof that there's nothing wrong with his shop's work. He seems knowledgeable and experienced and offers to pay the customer for their time in removing the head - clearly he wants to do right by his customers but this customer is adamant that there's a problem with the valve job.

Is he without a doubt correct or could there still be an issue with the process his shop is responsible for?

69L88

For me, the fact that he videotaped the whole process of checking the #3 valves (in addition to all of the other work he said he did), including refunding all monies, indicates to me the customer was a PITA and nothing he attempted to do to satisfy said customer, shows he did nothing wrong. Look at his shop equipment - he has made a massive investment in equipment to do these jobs correctly. He is clearly a businessman who believes in customer service. Check his reviews.

n2h2o2

I only watched up to the point he was starting to remove the valve, but it is obvious the valve job was good.
The suspects would be a leaky valve stem seal or bad valve guide knurls.
HOWEVER, the customer stated that it failed compression test.
This would indicate to me the rocker was over tightened, which would prevent the valve from seating completely.
This back pressure from the exhaust MAY have blown out the valve guide seal, which accounts for the burnt oil. on the valve...
Just a guess...

Somebody else may draw a different conclusion....

Devereaux

Personally, I think the fact it was only one cylinder in question and that cylinder valves checked out to be properly done would imply that there was a different issue than the valves. The guy proposed possible causes. I would add cam issues as a more unlikely but possible cause. Or bad injection settings. Or local ignition issues. BUT NOT THE VALVES. That ought to be obvious from the video. Customer is foolish to continue to claim something refuted by facts.

lars

Is this "customer" you...?

brassplyer

No - just a video I ran across that piqued my curiosity and looking to fill in one of the many holes in my auto tech awareness.

lars

The shop owner is dealing with an *** of a customer who is clearly incompetent, causing his own problems, and then wanting to blame others for being an idiot. Someone needs to tell him to put the wrench down and back away from the vehicle.

Capt. Shark

sage

Buccaneer

I feel the shop owners pain and have customers like that from time to time, only on different subjects. You can prove without a shadow of a doubt that your work or part is good and they will argue. Ugh! You just have to right it off to make things right for the customer like he did by paying for everything. Unfortunately, the customer was still not happy. Replace the lifter or check the setting...

sleepchamber

This shop is down the road from where I live. Very busy shop around here. His videos are quite informative and entertaining as well.

7t9l82

People like that drive up costs for other people. As if we don't have others screwing us already.

REELAV8R

Nothing wrong with the seal on that valve.

67:72

The another test I thought he'd pull out is one to test ability of the valves to hold vacuum. Molecules of "air" are quite a bit smaller than molecules of mineral spirits but I don't know that that's a meaningful statement when testing valve seat & guide sealing.

JAMSI (Jim's Automotive) seat and valve work videos usually show him testing the seal with a vacuum setup: (The vid link is supposed to begin at 9:00 minutes but isn't - jump to that time if you only want to see the vacuum test.)

67:72

I have to watch his videos on 1.5x speed just to move the dialog along!

calwldlife

so why are the valves in #3 not on their "seats"?

Ratboy

I'm not convinced his leakage test is valid. Big difference between compressed air and gravity bleed. Starting at about 11:00, there is a closeup of the valve, at 11:04 there seems to be some pitting right at the sealing surface, and it does look kinda thin. I myself would not leave that. I prefer a more consistent, wider sealing surface all the way around. But it might look better to the naked eye. You cant argue with the guys experience, and his willingness to make it right. His questions are also valid - without building the rest of the valve train, who knows what they might have goofed.

Stormin_Normin

The valves were sealed fine, that’s a legitimate test. The customer had a lifter issue, bad or miss adjusted not a valve issue. Any decent mechanic would have caught that. That guy talks a bit slow but seems to know his chit.

lionelhutz

Almost sounds like someone wanted a different set of heads without paying for them.

Devereaux

Yeah, doesn't it. That kind of bad behavior seems to be prevelant in too many places - like restaurants, where they eat 3/4 of the meal, then claim it's bad.

Lt.Mike

lol, I just went back and changed the play back speed to 1.5… made him sound like hes from the north .
Seriously I wouldn’t hesitate to send him work.