All the signs point to valve trouble broken or bent im not sure on my 80 inch shovel. Ive never taken the top end off before. Anyone have any tips or instructions to make this job easier? I have a factory service manual but since following the factory manual's instructions are what got me into this trouble anyway I thought I might want to get some outside advice(hd manual said nothing about waiting for the hyd lifters to bleed down as I learned afterward. I also learned that a clothespin works better to hold up the pushrod tubes than a wire does) Do I have to change the head gaskets, valve guides, seals, etc with the valves or can I just take the valves out and replace them and put everything else back together without causing further damage?

 

Hard sayin' not knowin'. How long did it run? What kind of noises did it make? Does it still turn over?

Get the gas tanks off, remove your pushrods,pull the off the intake manifoldand the exhaust pipes. Remove the head bolts, give the heads a gentle knock with a rubber mallet to getem loose, pullem outand see what you've got.

You'll at the least need new head gaskets, probablyvalves,could ultimatelyturn into a top end job with new heads andpistons too. Valves and pistons coming together can make a mess.

BTW to speed the bleed down process next time, pull the hydraulic check valve assembly(where the pushrod seats) out of the lifter body. The top section maypull outfirst (keep things in order as they're matched sets), get the bottom part out too.Poke a small piece of wire in the little tube sticking out of the bottom. That will open the check valve and let the oilout. Put it back into the lifter bodyand you can adjust them without waiting for bleed down.

 

Above reads correct. I will add after both parts of the lifter ***. are out and drained, I 'wash' both pieces with WD-40. I do this to get any heavy oil off and out.

 

You may want to invest $20 or $30 dollars in a maintenance video.

There are some pretty good ones on the web. Some sites show a teaser

video example of what they cover. If you need some sites email me.