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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Sticking valve.

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Discussion Topic: Sticking valve.

Gary M.

02-19-2025 @ 4:26 PM

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Hi Guys,
My 1939 Standard 85 hp has a sticky valve. The few times that it got unstuck while i was driving made a great improvement in power.
Short of rebuilding the engine,i am looking for a method of unsticking the valve .
I've tried motor flush and seafoam but none seem to work. Anyone got any tricks up their sleeve?
Thanks...

40cpe

02-19-2025 @ 5:36 PM

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You will get several suggestions. Marvel Mystery Oil (1 qt) with an oil change and as directed in the fuel.

Gary M.

02-19-2025 @ 7:15 PM

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I have actually poured marvel down the carb while running at high rpm until the engine stalled. It didn't help but ill try it in the oil and the gas tank. Back in the 70s before all the emissions on engines, i worjed in a service station. Marvel was the prime engine saver for our taxi cab customers!

JayChicago

02-20-2025 @ 9:27 AM

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My '40 came to me with an intermittent miss from a sticking valve. (car had seen little usage by previous owner) Tried different things as you have with no results, including Marvel Mystery Oil in the oil. As expected, snake oil treatments were not going to solve my problem. Then one day I added MMO to the fuel tank. The miss disappeared immediately! Gone on the first drive! So now I am a born-again believer. Sometimes (rarely) a chemical additive can actually fix a problem. I now add MMO with each fill-up, cuz the car still spends most of its life just sitting still in the garage.

Edit: I had tried flooding with Seafoam down the carb a couple times. Don't know why MMO in the tank worked when Seafoam down the carb did not.

This message was edited by JayChicago on 2-20-25 @ 10:19 AM

Gary M.

02-20-2025 @ 3:41 PM

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What is the ratio of mmo to fuel ?
Thanks...

JayChicago

02-20-2025 @ 4:16 PM

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I just followed the directions on the bottle.

40 Coupe

02-22-2025 @ 5:03 AM

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A compression check can tell you what cylinder and removing the plug and turning the engine over can show you the sticking valve. With the valve open you can direct MMO directly under the valve to the guide.

Drbrown

02-23-2025 @ 7:41 AM

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Sticky valves are often associated with engines that don't have their oil changed enough and/or that sit too much. My '47 had a sticky valve when purchased. As said, changed oil and included a Qt of MMO. Cleared up pretty quickly. Also added some to the gasoline. Per directions it can be poured into the carb but like other products of that nature any benefit is likely short lived. A vacuum gage can also show presence of a sticky valve, although not which one.

37RAGTOPMAN

02-23-2025 @ 8:13 AM

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You may have a broken or cracked valve spring,
if the engine had work done on it, the machanic may have use foreign made parts,
if this keeps on happening,
remove the intake and inspect the valves and valve spring, on of the guides might have slipped ?
anything is possible
if you used MMO and that did not repair the problem, it is somewhere else,
I used MMO on mnay engine and it always, fixed the problem,
had one where the valve springs were the problem, one was broken, they were foreign made and were too long,
the when compressed cracked, if the engine was used at high RPM
My 2 cents 37 Ragtopman, Maine

Gary M.

02-25-2025 @ 11:04 AM

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The engine has never been rebuilt, only had the head gaskets changed many years ago. The stickey valve does release sometimes and when it does, the car takes off ! Car show season is coming soon so I'll try mmo in the oil and the tank and see if it improves.
Thanks again.

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