1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW modifications, sugestions, and ideas, official MWO's and unofficial WWII field mods NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.
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kneelhurst
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1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by kneelhurst » Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:23 pm

Hello Folks,

Thought this might be of interest and sorry if this is reposted

History of the 96th Bomb Group
November 1, 1944

"There has always been a overabundance of valve jobs in the shop at this time of the year and the majority of those jobs has been caused by sticking valves in the 1/4 ton Jeep. The conclusion was reached that the exhaust valves were sticking because of a failure of the lubrication system, and in order to combat this a simple method of modification was devised which could correct this situation and which at the same time would not require special tools and excessive time."

"The exhaust valve guide was cut into two pieces and two holes were drilled in the bottom of each guide. When installed a space of about one quarter inch is left to permit the oil to reach the valve stem. No special tools are used and the job can be done in a short time. Quite a few Jeeps have been modified in this manner, and at present there have been no complaints or returns to the shop."

"Another method of combatting this problem was suggested by Lt. Stevens, Automotive Officer, Third Bombardment Division, and has been tried on some of the Divisions vehicles. This idea was to modify the valve stem rather than the guide. Grooves were cut around the valve stem at the top and the bottom of the valve, and longitudinal grooves were cut to connect them. So far this job has held up too, but it is not preferred in the shop, for it takes more than twice as much time to do and must be put on the machine shop shaper."

All the best,
Neal Hurst
Williamsburg, Va


Wolfman
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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by Wolfman » Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:48 am

???????
I have a pretty good imagination but I am having a little problem with this one.
Cutting the guide into two pieces. ???
Like in half length wise ??
That won't work.
Maybe splitting the end that is exposed in the lifter galley, inside the spring and drilling a cross hole through the split halves.
Not splitting the entire guide.
Grinding a groove in the valve stem.
Knurling the guide in reverse.
Grinding on a valve stem doesn't leave me with a warm feeling. Broken valve stem is my first thought.
I am thinking sticky valves in 1944 may have had a lot to do with the quality of the oil back then.
Maintenance comes in second. Keeping the fighters & Bombers in the air came first. Jeeps, when there was a little spare time.
Mike Wolford
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AOPA ( 50 yrs)
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4th Inf. Div. - 5th Inf. Div. - 2nd Armor Div. - CIB

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W. Winget
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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by W. Winget » Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:43 am

More likley they were driven almost to death by late '44 and the issues were showing up after 2 years on the road/field.
Were not made for the "long Term" like an automobile, they were mass produced for quantity not quality.

That said I could see how taking a grinder to the center section of the guide and notching it into the bore, then cleaning it up, driving it in and final reaming, which would leave the center with a place for some oil to reside (if it made it there). Driving in two seperate halves would be an interesting trick and likley resultin the upper half easing back out potentially as there wouldn't be a lot of mechanical grip left.

If they had to use a shaper it meant a lengthwise cut along the stem, and I could see that leaking into the crankcase from the exhaust pressure, likely not a good idea.
V/R W. Winget
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts

kneelhurst
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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by kneelhurst » Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:39 am

You guys know a lot more then I do....just thought I would share when I stumbled on it.

Neal

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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by Wolfman » Wed Jun 16, 2021 4:45 am

It is always interesting to see intel on things that were done during war time to get by.
Parts were used to build new stuff and not always available through normal supply lines for repairs.
When you were on the receiving end and your option was ride or walk, and you had no parts, you got creative.
Mike Wolford
CJ-2A
VEP GPW
Comm./Inst. SEL
AOPA ( 50 yrs)
EAA ( 49 yrs)
4th Inf. Div. - 5th Inf. Div. - 2nd Armor Div. - CIB

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dpcd67
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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by dpcd67 » Thu Jun 17, 2021 10:45 am

None of these mods were approved by anyone at the National level, and none were carried over into the Civilian Jeep use.
So, anything like this is always suspect. Guys are creative but without actual testing, we don't know if any of it actually worked, and after all, they weren't paying for the engines. And this was in the Army Air Corps.
U. S. Army 28 years.
Armor Branch

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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by '42 Peep's Motorpool » Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:40 am

dpcd67 wrote:
Thu Jun 17, 2021 10:45 am
And this was in the Army Air Corps.
Hi, Well to be fair, the Army Air Force (Air Corps was redesignated to Army Air Force in 1941, though people still referred to it unofficially as the Air Corps) had a pretty good history of experience with engine maintenance. A car with a bad engine is an inconvenience, a plane with a bad engine can ruin your day. :wink:

That said, it's true a ton of weird fixes (some practical, some based on misunderstanding of operating principles) were advanced during WWII. Some were ok, some were just terrible, and some were just needless from our perspective 80 years later. But I like hearing about things like this, even if the idea is iffy (I personally would not try this, and don't believe it to be necessary in my opinion anyway) it does at least show that famous G.I. ingenuity to make do with what they had in the field. In the end though, it' was a band-aid fix because they needed to keep them running and did not have the ability to do the job right for lack of time, parts, and personnel in all likelihood.

I don't think Sgt. Half-Mast (of AM) would approve of it at all though :lol:

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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by '42 Peep's Motorpool » Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:44 am

kneelhurst wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:23 pm
Hello Folks,

Thought this might be of interest and sorry if this is reposted

History of the 96th Bomb Group
November 1, 1944

All the best,
Neal Hurst
Williamsburg, Va
Hi Neal, that is pretty cool (though I wouldn't try it in my opinion). Thanks for posting it

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dpcd67
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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by dpcd67 » Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:42 pm

Wheeled vehicle mechanics are not the ones who work on the airplanes and the training is totally different. My Uncle was a mechanic on B17s in England in WW2; they were very different people than the wheeled mechanics. Point is that an Air Force Jeep doesn't have to travel very far, nor under very strenuous conditions; like Army ground unit vehicles have to.
Innovative? Sure; but very misguided nonetheless.
U. S. Army 28 years.
Armor Branch

kneelhurst
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Re: 1944 Sticking Valves Remedy

Post by kneelhurst » Sat Jul 03, 2021 2:28 am

Me either haha

Neal
'42 Peep's Motorpool wrote:
Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:44 am
kneelhurst wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:23 pm
Hello Folks,

Thought this might be of interest and sorry if this is reposted

History of the 96th Bomb Group
November 1, 1944

All the best,
Neal Hurst
Williamsburg, Va
Hi Neal, that is pretty cool (though I wouldn't try it in my opinion). Thanks for posting it


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