Cool video. To test for leaks (or lack thereof) you should use a fluid with low surface tension, like ethanol, methanol, or better yet, kerosene which is not very volatile, or "lamp petrol" (aka naphta, "camp fuel", "white gas", or "Coleman fuel") available in most hardware stores. Water will not flow through very small gaps due to its high surface tension, so your test would not detect small leaks.
i use 120 psi air compressor on the ports while there is water in the combustion chamber if there is any small bubble there is leakage and i lap it again
The drill with the fuel hose works amazing. I mean you could literally go for a few seconds in fwd, push out, put it in reverse for 5 seconds an youre done. Now i did 30-60 seoconds per valve but it goes insanely fast.
I just replaced a burnt valve and lapped in a replacement. If you see a few tinny bubbles around the valve but the water does not show a noticeable drop in an hour world you say that is acceptable? It's my wife's 1999 Lexus RX 300 and I'm wanting to lap all the valves but it is a V6 with 391k so it's would seem counter to the other side.
@@shimon2476 thanks. All is well a month latter. I'm still pushing my wife to buy another suv but we may wait it out because the new and used car market is still crazy.
Very nice description on how to test a valve job, I’m going to do my first valve job this month. How can you tell if valves are bent? By just looking at them they appear fine but doing the water test they leak, even the ones I left the springs on.
My valve job went excellent! Thanks to videos like these. My compression went from an average of 80 on each cylinder to 120. When I drive my 96 ram I can tell I have more power too.
paint thinner or naptha works well for me. after lapping i clean and assemble the heads;then put the thinner in the ports covering the valves.if any leak,then disassemble and lap more. water might end up rusting or pitting things, and thinner penetrates better jmo.
The only correct way is to use a vacuum gauge ! I often show people who think their heads are the best on the market how bad they really are, I have had a head on the bench for a few hours full of paraffin with no leaks ! until I add the vacuum gauge it just pulls the paraffin straight through the seat areas and drops down to low or medium at best, all my heads are only released once I get in the top are of the gauge which is about 95% the best head done like that above is going to be 40% which is poor to say the least.
@@danielslocum7169 I do say so, and that is because I use methods that can be recorded easily and give the best results, it's why F1 use the same process, I'm just saying that you could do better but it's your choice :)
@@livefree6878 currently lapped 2 valves and I believe I may have over lapped them. I did it by hand each for another 10 minutes and did a leak down with water, both of them were leaking. Got frustrated 😂 and used a drill going one way and another and now resulted in both of them leaking even more. I believe I may have over lapped them. Any suggestions?
Compound grit 400then 600 versus 200......is from Tests shows proper Finality of Seal to Valve MATING/STABILITY AND what we call LONGEVITY..we also show particularly in competition titanium valve stability especially ASWELL for civil applications of temperature problematic engines or TEMPERMENTALS.😊
Paraffin is thinner and I have seen the results with thinners ! I can guarantee a vacuum tester will show it to leak even after it appeared ok with paraffin!
Old video, I know, but FYI: test with rubbing alcohol, not water. Rubbing alcohol has a much lower viscosity and surface tension than water, so it will permeate and leak through much smaller gaps than water will.
I was thinking about using rubbing alcohol too but won't the leaked alcohol evaporate too fast? Just wondering since that I may use rubbing alcohol vs water.
@Wi1dCatAZ if it's a super slow leak, like one drop leaks out every 30 seconds or so gets past the valves, then maybe, but if the leak is that slow, I doubt water would leak out at all. When I used alcohol to test mine, it had what I would consider a small-ist leak, and it works fine and didn't evaporate too fast. Some steps you could take to help the alcohol test would be to do the test in an area without much of a breeze, as that'll help slow the evaporation. Also, you could do both an alcohol and a water test if you really wanted, as it doesn't take long to do either test once the cylinder head is off the vehicle.
I did something similar when doing the Briggs, but used paint thinner rather than water. Won't cause rust.... and you can pour it back into the jug afterwards.
I’ve had really good luck with this water test. I find that if it holds water then when I put the springs on it saves a lot of time. Putting it all back together to find out there’s a leak is not much fun
need compression test to check for leaks not water put a spoon of mtr oil in spark plug hole take comp test if oil helps its the ring no help its the valves leaking
Id say if it held water your good. He said he does a final test with the springs and retainers on. Or do like he said and add the water again and blow compressed air into the head and look for bubbles.
by adding water if it leaks it could be either rings or valves that is not a vali d test -----before you start take comp test then add i spoon mtr oil to spsrk plug hole retake comp test if it helps its is the rings need replacing if no help its the valves leaking ----this a standard test for ages.
I have. And it’s about the density of fuel vs water. Not that water won’t work in this application but if you want to truly get as close to “air tight” as possible, use fuel. Something can be water tight but not air tight. Gasoline is just closer to the later. Try this... take a shot glass of water, cup your hand as tight as you can and pour the water in your palm then tilt your hand to where the water goes over your fingers. Try to keep as much in as you can. Now dry your hand and try the same with a shot of gasoline. You may find different results than I but I’d be willing to bet otherwise lol
Gasoline molecules are smaller than water molecules. Gas will seep through where water won't. Gasoline being an oil based product, doesn't have the same surface tension as water does. Brake clean also works.
@@livefree6878 Low surface tension! Kerosene is the best with 1/3 the tension and low volatility. Solvents (acetone, ethanol, methanol, xylol, toluene) also all works much better than water for the same reason.
ya finding out everyones like assholes that all sit in there little corners giving there two cent hack on .do ya thing man your way good info.and id bet most of them could not tell ya where a spark plug was located
Well if you had a brain you would understand that just because you make a UA-cam video doesn’t mean your an expert lol thousands of people that know what there doing can and will comment from there couch and tell you if it’s right or wrong you cupcakes get so offended when your told to do something the right way and there is people like myself that don’t give a shit about your feelings so man up and except something when you do it wrong. It’s not that hard to listen and learn.
@@kailuafrog yeah you can sounds and feel are just faster and different.... same BASIC technique just mechanized for speed...16 unseated valves suck exponentially after about the 4th one.....JS
@@kailuafrog my dad was a master mechanic for ford motor company for 38 years... he taught me how to do valves...so .... dont know how much more professional ya need..I went to college for 4 years .... worked with my dad in his garage ... then went to mining and turing wrenches there... I'm not a "PRO" I've just been doing some form of wrench work my whole life..... and it works extremely well ... I NEVER GO TO A "MECHANIC" and everything with a piston of mine runs well.. so I'm doin something right!? JS
@@weasespieces1029 Good it works for you. But the argument that you did it for years and so did your dad is not necessarily a valid one. There are plenty of mechanics in the wild that have been performing terrible jobs all their lives, I bet you encountered some yourself :-)
why would you use water? oil maybe. but what happens in the running engine while under a vacuum? or a wot full load. you would be better off fashioning a plate that sealed each runner off and allowed you to pressurize each one. because even if you have a good seal at the seat what about the valve stem? pros measure all this stuff, and account for oil film on the valve stem. but making a plate that would seal each port off, and allow you to put 50 psi of air pressure with the valve springs installed would tell you more. for the diy guy that might be better. it would also tell you if the heads runners were cracked into the water jackets.
For real cut yo nails!!! Great info and clearly described for sure but for real you gotta clean yo clothes if showing torso, shave face or comb beard and hair if showing face and cut and clean nails if showing hands. These vids will last forever.
@@darrellsomers5427 You are funny 🤣 I use a MIRA valve seat cutter and a J&S valve grinder these are amongst the best money can buy and yet I always lap in my valves with diamond paste to get the best results 👍
Cool video. To test for leaks (or lack thereof) you should use a fluid with low surface tension, like ethanol, methanol, or better yet, kerosene which is not very volatile, or "lamp petrol" (aka naphta, "camp fuel", "white gas", or "Coleman fuel") available in most hardware stores. Water will not flow through very small gaps due to its high surface tension, so your test would not detect small leaks.
i use 120 psi air compressor on the ports while there is water in the combustion chamber if there is any small bubble there is leakage and i lap it again
@@giwtwm good . saves time
@@giwtwm do you have the valve springs in while doing it this way?
@@kolourblind3124 no my finger pressing down on the valve should be enough to seal it even without the valve springs
@@giwtwm thanks!
Your video removes the intimidation from the lapping process; thank you for the advice and method.
It's actually relaxing doing valves. I turn on some tunes, and lap away for hours.
GREAT CAMERA work and meticulous explanations...glad to hear the comparitive between hand and drill, and mention of "feel."
Thanks for giving us the idea. I never thought of a leak test this way. Good detail instructions by the way.
The drill with the fuel hose works amazing. I mean you could literally go for a few seconds in fwd, push out, put it in reverse for 5 seconds an youre done. Now i did 30-60 seoconds per valve but it goes insanely fast.
Should you have the springs and retainers installed
Very helpful, thank you for your quick video.
Good test.good job
I just replaced a burnt valve and lapped in a replacement. If you see a few tinny bubbles around the valve but the water does not show a noticeable drop in an hour world you say that is acceptable? It's my wife's 1999 Lexus RX 300 and I'm wanting to lap all the valves but it is a V6 with 391k so it's would seem counter to the other side.
That's ok when the spring goes on its higher spring tension will seal it
@@shimon2476 thanks. All is well a month latter. I'm still pushing my wife to buy another suv but we may wait it out because the new and used car market is still crazy.
@@24hourgmtchannel64 ahh glad to hear understood
Are the springs installed for the test?
Such a great video, thanks!
Enjoyed your video, very well detailed, great info. Best video iv seen out there on the subject.
Great video, thanks mate.
What was the condition before this? Were the valves not passing the water test before lapping them?
Very nice description on how to test a valve job, I’m going to do my first valve job this month. How can you tell if valves are bent? By just looking at them they appear fine but doing the water test they leak, even the ones I left the springs on.
How'd the valve job go? This kind of stuff is really neat. Would like to get more into machining.
My valve job went excellent! Thanks to videos like these. My compression went from an average of 80 on each cylinder to 120. When I drive my 96 ram I can tell I have more power too.
Do you have to use water for the test
Nice video bud👍
paint thinner or naptha works well for me. after lapping i clean and assemble the heads;then put the thinner in the ports covering the valves.if any leak,then disassemble and lap more. water might end up rusting or pitting things, and thinner penetrates better jmo.
I use thinner too
The only correct way is to use a vacuum gauge ! I often show people who think their heads are the best on the market how bad they really are, I have had a head on the bench for a few hours full of paraffin with no leaks ! until I add the vacuum gauge it just pulls the paraffin straight through the seat areas and drops down to low or medium at best, all my heads are only released once I get in the top are of the gauge which is about 95% the best head done like that above is going to be 40% which is poor to say the least.
@@martinfidel7086 if you say so....... nevertheless, i get good steady vacuum readings once the engine is running and excellent performance as well.
@@danielslocum7169 I do say so, and that is because I use methods that can be recorded easily and give the best results, it's why F1 use the same process, I'm just saying that you could do better but it's your choice :)
@@martinfidel7086 if and when i think i have a problem,i will certainly address it; thanks.
At 3500 rpm how long do you think that valve is closed? I think an hour is way over kill. Also that water is not under compression.
why you can't add water from the exhaust to check the exhaust leak? why adding water on top of the valves?
Nice video
Are those "Lee Past On" nails?
Great video! If you were to have water leak out. How would you go about figuring out which valve isn't seating perfectly?
The water will leak from the other side, you could place some thing like toilet paper into each chamber‘s., Hope this answer helps👍
@@livefree6878 currently lapped 2 valves and I believe I may have over lapped them. I did it by hand each for another 10 minutes and did a leak down with water, both of them were leaking. Got frustrated 😂 and used a drill going one way and another and now resulted in both of them leaking even more. I believe I may have over lapped them. Any suggestions?
Compound grit 400then 600 versus 200......is from Tests shows proper Finality of Seal to Valve MATING/STABILITY AND what we call LONGEVITY..we also show particularly in competition titanium valve stability especially ASWELL for civil applications of temperature problematic engines or TEMPERMENTALS.😊
Try diesel fuel that works better if it doesn’t leak diesel fuel it won’t leak, Diesel fuel is thinner than water.
Paraffin is thinner and I have seen the results with thinners ! I can guarantee a vacuum tester will show it to leak even after it appeared ok with paraffin!
Perfect
Old video, I know, but FYI: test with rubbing alcohol, not water. Rubbing alcohol has a much lower viscosity and surface tension than water, so it will permeate and leak through much smaller gaps than water will.
I will definitely be using rubbing alcohol next time, thank you👍
I was thinking about using rubbing alcohol too but won't the leaked alcohol evaporate too fast? Just wondering since that I may use rubbing alcohol vs water.
@Wi1dCatAZ if it's a super slow leak, like one drop leaks out every 30 seconds or so gets past the valves, then maybe, but if the leak is that slow, I doubt water would leak out at all. When I used alcohol to test mine, it had what I would consider a small-ist leak, and it works fine and didn't evaporate too fast. Some steps you could take to help the alcohol test would be to do the test in an area without much of a breeze, as that'll help slow the evaporation. Also, you could do both an alcohol and a water test if you really wanted, as it doesn't take long to do either test once the cylinder head is off the vehicle.
I did something similar when doing the Briggs, but used paint thinner rather than water. Won't cause rust.... and you can pour it back into the jug afterwards.
You sprayed your cylinder seat with kerosene but won't that wash the compound down into the valve guide.
Pretty sure he'll be giving the head a good cleaning before refitting.
Good Job
I’ve had really good luck with this water test. I find that if it holds water then when I put the springs on it saves a lot of time. Putting it all back together to find out there’s a leak is not much fun
How much should brand new valves be lapped when installing into used cylinder head?
Till you have a even dull gray color on both valve and valve seat.
Good
need compression test to check for leaks not water put a spoon of mtr oil in spark plug hole take comp test if oil helps its the ring no help its the valves leaking
I've done this and left rings on my valves how can i rectify this ?
Id say if it held water your good. He said he does a final test with the springs and retainers on. Or do like he said and add the water again and blow compressed air into the head and look for bubbles.
Did you use a drill?
No compound materials can replace a valve job .If your seats are not good you end up just ruin your valves .Lapping is last step in a calve job
Instead of water can't you use light
Great video!! I will try this now
Buy a nail clipper and use it, bro.
Stop calling people 'bro', Miss Fussy.
by adding water if it leaks it could be either rings or valves that is not a vali d test -----before you start take comp test then add i spoon mtr oil to spsrk plug hole retake comp test if it helps its is the rings need replacing if no help its the valves leaking ----this a standard test for ages.
Only testing the head here, and doing it much better than if it were on the block.
thats great advice!!!!!
Using a fluid to check the valves are sealing IS a valid test after lapping.
agreed, n i like usin rubbing alcohol
He sure does!
I’d personally use gasoline instead of water. Gasoline will find more gaps than water
Interesting, Have you ever tried it, I’m game I’ll give it a try. Just out of curiosity why do you think it would find leaks better than water.
I have. And it’s about the density of fuel vs water. Not that water won’t work in this application but if you want to truly get as close to “air tight” as possible, use fuel. Something can be water tight but not air tight. Gasoline is just closer to the later. Try this... take a shot glass of water, cup your hand as tight as you can and pour the water in your palm then tilt your hand to where the water goes over your fingers. Try to keep as much in as you can. Now dry your hand and try the same with a shot of gasoline. You may find different results than I but I’d be willing to bet otherwise lol
@@aaronfowler5477 ive herd of people using coolant and lacker thinner aswell but never tried it personally
Gasoline molecules are smaller than water molecules. Gas will seep through where water won't. Gasoline being an oil based product, doesn't have the same surface tension as water does. Brake clean also works.
@@livefree6878 Low surface tension! Kerosene is the best with 1/3 the tension and low volatility. Solvents (acetone, ethanol, methanol, xylol, toluene) also all works much better than water for the same reason.
ya finding out everyones like assholes that all sit in there little corners giving there two cent hack on .do ya thing man your way good info.and id bet most of them could not tell ya where a spark plug was located
They put it where he did for the test! Lol
Well if you had a brain you would understand that just because you make a UA-cam video doesn’t mean your an expert lol thousands of people that know what there doing can and will comment from there couch and tell you if it’s right or wrong you cupcakes get so offended when your told to do something the right way and there is people like myself that don’t give a shit about your feelings so man up and except something when you do it wrong. It’s not that hard to listen and learn.
I take brake cleaner for testing.
Dont test with water, it has to much surface tension, test with alcohol which will seep through a smaller space . Hope this helps .
PB blaster.
Giant ninja nails
Why does no one chuck the valve stem in a drill??
I've ALWAYS chucked the valve stamina a drill and pulled them in to lap... super quick and easy
Because you can't feel, and hear when you're done
@@kailuafrog yeah you can sounds and feel are just faster and different.... same BASIC technique just mechanized for speed...16 unseated valves suck exponentially after about the 4th one.....JS
@@weasespieces1029 Do what you want but I recommend listening to pros...
@@kailuafrog my dad was a master mechanic for ford motor company for 38 years... he taught me how to do valves...so
.... dont know how much more professional ya need..I went to college for 4 years .... worked with my dad in his garage ... then went to mining and turing wrenches there...
I'm not a "PRO" I've just been doing some form of wrench work my whole life..... and it works extremely well ...
I NEVER GO TO A "MECHANIC"
and everything with a piston of mine runs well.. so I'm doin something right!?
JS
@@weasespieces1029 Good it works for you. But the argument that you did it for years and so did your dad is not necessarily a valid one. There are plenty of mechanics in the wild that have been performing terrible jobs all their lives, I bet you encountered some yourself :-)
You should use alcohol instead of water
found out spraying a can of the heated paint right down the inside of the header helps keep the heat coming to the outside keeping it somewhat cooler
why would you use water? oil maybe. but what happens in the running engine while under a vacuum? or a wot full load. you would be better off fashioning a plate that sealed each runner off and allowed you to pressurize each one. because even if you have a good seal at the seat what about the valve stem?
pros measure all this stuff, and account for oil film on the valve stem. but making a plate that would seal each port off, and allow you to put 50 psi of air pressure with the valve springs installed would tell you more. for the diy guy that might be better. it would also tell you if the heads runners were cracked into the water jackets.
This is where a vacuum gauge wins every time ! Use the correct tools are create a botch job it's a choice
you need fingernail trimmers
Now all i can see are weird fingernails.... thanks. :/
For real cut yo nails!!! Great info and clearly described for sure but for real you gotta clean yo clothes if showing torso, shave face or comb beard and hair if showing face and cut and clean nails if showing hands. These vids will last forever.
So will your comment making you look like an absolute knob for ever. WTF is your problem? Nothing better do do?
Don't break a nail!!!
don't use that tool. It's shit. use a CNC collet and grab it from the other side with your hand. Don't use a drill.
Stop using water…. Why do people think this is a good idea … use kerosene or something other than the one thing that literally creates surface rust
Calm down Dorothy. Wipe the water off straight away after and no rust. Plus the head's alloy anyway.
Wtf is with those fingernails bro
My goodness, a health and beauty bro!
Cut your nails bro
Dude...clip your fingernails....PLEASE!
Don't waste your time and $ lapping doesnt do the job of cutting the valve and seat ,if your going to do it do it right
What's the right way to do it??
Take it to a machine shop and have the valves and seats cut if you don't have the right tools to do it at home
@@darrellsomers5427 You are funny 🤣 I use a MIRA valve seat cutter and a J&S valve grinder these are amongst the best money can buy and yet I always lap in my valves with diamond paste to get the best results 👍
@@darrellsomers5427lol the comment of a thieving mechanic or machinist. Ya people at home don’t know how to do anything right. Lmao
@@darrellsomers5427
Why would you cut the seats if you only need to lap the valves in?
Bro screwed his plug in revers used water on a cylinder head and took his sock off to dry up the water just about everything you should not do.
Wtf😂
Shut up and get in the sea.