Posted by David Sherman [172.71.147.182] on Wednesday, January 03, 2024 at 17:07:46 :
I got the Snow-Cat running. Not sure what exactly was the problem other than just having sat for a long time. Blew lots of junk out the smokestack. The fuel pump is a mess of crud and goo inside, which is disappointing because I rebuilt it when I got the machine, using what was claimed to be "ethanol-resistant" rubber (Then & Now kit), but it's a total mess. Not sure what to do about that. I'll put on whatever they sell these days, which will require changing the plumbing around, but hopefully it will work. For now, I discovered that when the fuel tank is full to the top, it will gravity-feed into the carburetor with maybe an inch to spare, and that was enough to keep it running and get it warmed up. About half the gas in the tank is fresh and about half is stale. It seems to burn, anyway.
The problem is #6 exhaust valve is stuck. I let it idle and get good and warm hoping it will unstick itself but it hasn't. I can't see the valves through the spark plug hole so I don't think knocking it down from the top is an option. Any other good ideas short of pulling the head? Any way to tap, pry, or pull it down from the bottom? Glad I happened to leave the tappet covers off or I wouldn't have noticed since the engine doesn't sound bad the way it is. For all I know maybe the valve has been stuck all along and I never noticed I was only running on 5 cylinders. Anyway, looking for anything easy to try before I remove the hydraulic tank and pull the head. I looked closely and all the other valves are going up and down and rotating like they should.
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