Thread: chevelle 383 bent valves

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A compression tester or a good ol thumb over the spark plug hole will tell real quick if the valves are bent ,you will get no presuure or very litlle pressure.The readings may be wildly different from one cylinder to the next also.

I recently had a similar experience, and my valves were clipping the top edge of the valve relief pocket on the piston. I too thought that my rockers were not adjusted properly, then thought it was a header leak, then thought it was a bad lifter and proceeded to dissassemble the motor. I only pulled the head on a whim and discovered what the REAL noise was. I hope you do not have the same problem but...

BEFORE YOU RUN IT TOO MUCH MORE...Do what ShawnLee suggested (probably easiest) or pull a valve cover, fire it up at a low idle, and use a short wood dowel (14" piece of broom stick) on each rocker stud and it will be VERY EASY to hear where and which ones are making the most noise.

You could also throw a vacuum gauge on there while its running...your vacuum will be all over the place if you bent your valves (like I did, I also had worn valve guides though).