There’s nothing more frustrating than having a failure in your diesel engine without knowing why.
We’re here to help! In this post, we’re taking you through your valve guides and what can cause them to fail. As with many diesel engine components, it’s possible to help prevent some valve guide problems through proper diesel engine maintenance habits. Check out the failures below and tips for keeping your engine in its best shape! How Poor Maintenance Can Cause Valve Guide Wear A major problem you’ll see with valve guides is wear. Excessive wear can spell disaster for them. Where Can You See Wear? We’ve seen instances where the wear on your valve guides occurs in the lowest parts of the valve guide, closest to the valve head. You might also notice heat discoloration on the lower part of the valve guide, likely from excessive heat. It’s likely that in these circumstances, the excessive wear was caused by improperly set valve bridges and maintenance issues. Valve Wear From Poor Adjustment On some valves, you’ll see wear on the valve seat. Sometimes the wear is mild, but in other cases, you’ll see much more severe wear. Often, this is from poorly adjusted valves. About Valve Seat Wear Valve seat wear can reduce lash and affect when the valve opens and closes. This can also end up impacting the timing. You might also notice effects on scavenging, valve overlap, and both valve and valve seat cooling. If you have a lack of proper scavenging, you can also get excessive heat buildup in the exhaust ports, which can damage the valve guides. If you see variation in the wear between two valves sharing a common crosshead, you might get side loading of the valves and wear in the valve stems. You should inspect your cross heads before they’re installed to check for wear and orientation. Highway & Heavy Parts Can Help! Are you having trouble with your valves or valve guides? Give us a call! Our team of experts is here to help you solve your diesel engine problems. One of our ASE Certified Technicians can help you root cause your issue and make sure you’re getting the parts you need to get the repair done correctly the first time. From diagnosis through delivery, we’re Highway & Heavy Parts!Related Articles: VALVES FAILURE ANALYSIS
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