i have installed the new rubbers and had the engine run for a while.. then i checked one of the valves to see if the new rubber (umbrella) got punched or something... everything looks fine so i guess/hope that the damage on the old rubbers had nothing to do with height of valves or rocker arm ratio.
(typical was that 8 out of 9 punched rubbers came from the intake valves)

art-corvette

If you haven't changed the rockers yourself, then they are probably the stock ratio. The retainers shouldn't/wouldn't mash the seals like that with stock ratio arms, so it's possible it happened when you(or someone...) romped on it hard, and the rpms got high enough to bounce the valves, or the lifters pumped up too much. Having the adjustment too tight would do it, also, but more so at higher rpms.
Hopefully, it was just a valve adjustment issue, and you now have it taken care of.

yeah.. i hope so Joel.

quote: " ......so it's possible it happened when you(or someone...) romped on it hard....... "

uhhhh i have been thinking it over again.. *embarrassed look*  i think it was me indeed who did it.. with taking off the valvesprings when the retainer didn't get lose i gave a (soft ofcourse) hit  with a hammer on top of the valvespring compressor and while spring was compressed the rubber got squeezed between retainer and head


thankz for your input.. was very helpfull to get valves adjusted again.

art-corvette

art-corvette2007-06-24 14:51:57

[QUOTE=Adams' Apple]Art! Just use the black, umbrella ones, by themselves. Put them on all of the valve stems, intake and exhaust...you'll be fine.

The blue ones pictured are designed to be pressed onto the valve guides, and sometimes that requires machining. They also will rub the valve as it moves up & down, which causes it to wear quicker.
The black, umbrella ones just stick on the valve, and move with it. They will get hard over time, but other than that, they work great.

I can't believe an engine builder would suggest using the o-rings on top of the other seals as "cushions"...[/QUOTE]

Technically, the o-ring style was all that was on them from the factory. The umbreller seals are aftermarket seals. You can use them both, but it's quite redundant, and makes having the problem that Art had more likely.
I've used the umbreller seals by themselves on countless engines over the years, but I've never used the o-rings...ever. I've also used the formed, spring-loaded seals on racing engines, but they have always required some machining of the guides to work/fit properly.

That's just me, tho...maybe others have had different results with different seals...


oh yeah...All small block valve stems were .3410"-.3417", intake and exhaust. Adams' Apple2007-07-10 18:55:15

Thanks for the info Adams' Apple.  It's good to have access to folks with experience in these matters.