Twin Cam cylinder head

[ardee_selby]

They are a press fit into the guide using a special tool that inserts into the liner. They are used because they are cheaper and I presume quicker to fit than new guides.

See the link below for some details - made in the USA
http://klineind.com/Valve-Guide-Liner-R-System.html

cheers
Rohan

Rohan,

Thanks. I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned on here before now.

Regards - Richard

[brettfcars]

Interesting process !

I thought I would show this link, not relevant to re-lining valve guides, but another way to refurbish a lotus head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nyt_peHnQo

Brett

[elansprint71]

Putting inserts in valve guides is a relatively common overhaul technique. In Australia at least they are called K-line inserts. The guide is reamed the K-line insert installed and then the insert reamed to size.

Given the close tolerances required and no oil seals on a twin cam it would have to be done very carefully by a competent shop to get acceptable results. The short length of the twin cam guides and the relative softness of the inserts also means a shorter life than a new guide.

cheers
Rohan

How does one ensure that a reamer is correctly aligned in a worn valve guide?
How thick are these liners?
What are they made of?
If the reamer was not correctly aligned in the first place, presumably it would take quite a bit of grinding to get the valve to seat correctly and, if incorrectly aligned, how does this affect valve timing?

Why would anyone bother? Like RD I'm surprised that this has not cropped up before.

[rgh0]

All legitimate questions and highlights the challenges in doing a good quality job of inserting them - which is why I dont use the K-line approach and prefer new guides - but lots of people do use them with success - but I have not seen it done a lot in twin cams

cheers
Rohan

[jpt]

K line inserts were mentioned here previously:
http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/elan-f15/head-off-job-looming-distilled-wisdom-sought-t12499-15.html

Jon

[rgh0]

I had totally forgotten that I had posted previously on K-lone inserts -- nice to at least be consistent in what I said 8 years apart

cheers
Rohan

[ardee_selby]

K line inserts were mentioned here previously:
http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/elan-f15/head-off-job-looming-distilled-wisdom-sought-t12499-15.html

Jon

Thanks Jon.

Well, it seems "steveww" had approx four years with them (and ~ 12000 miles) with nothing bad to report.

So, Gizze we're back to the spring seating...?

Cheers - Richard

[Gizze]

Sorry fellas, got caught up with of all things, work!
I'll see if I can get some pictures, good to hear that someone made 12,000 miles from the same - at this rate that'll take me a lifetime. I've had the car 6 years and done approx 75 miles. Still love the car though!

[Gizze]

Hi,
I've tried taking some photos with very little success - clearly photography isn't one of my talents, hopefully i'll make a better job of the head rebuild. In essence the actual insert looks quite thin however, maybe a third of the overall thickness of the actual guide overall, and the overall length of the insert matches that of the original valve guide.
So, now just wrestling my gallery plugs out - strange that the plugs have a square blind hole in them rather than a conventional hexagon - spent a happy hour grinding and filing a bit of bar to get something to fit!

[sevenhead]

K-Lines are used all the time on iron heads that have integral guides, ie., Ford engines.