4.2 1979 AMC spirit valve cover issues

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   Hello I recently purchased a 79 AMC spirit with an i6... It had been sitting in a garage for 15 years with out being started. I got it going after draining the gas and filling it up with new gas... After a 15 min drive home she died in front of the house... After changing everything from plugs wire distributor cap and wire and ICM with not start I opened up the valve cover and found 5 bent pushrods. Maybe I didn't remove all the old gas... Dunno.. but here's the problem... I can't seem to remove the valve cover due to lack of clearance near the fire wall... Has anyone come across this issue... I have a81 spirit with a plastic cover never had issues. Any help would be great!

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1979amcspirit Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Sep/02/2021 Location: Montreal Status: Offline Points: 109	Post Options Post Reply Quote 1979amcspirit Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 4.2 1979 AMC spirit valve cover issues Posted: Oct/20/2021 at 7:23pm
	Hello I recently purchased a 79 AMC spirit with an i6... It had been sitting in a garage for 15 years with out being started. I got it going after draining the gas and filling it up with new gas... After a 15 min drive home she died in front of the house... After changing everything from plugs wire distributor cap and wire and ICM with not start I opened up the valve cover and found 5 bent pushrods. Maybe I didn't remove all the old gas... Dunno.. but here's the problem... I can't seem to remove the valve cover due to lack of clearance near the fire wall... Has anyone come across this issue... I have a81 spirit with a plastic cover never had issues. Any help would be great!

amcfool1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jun/18/2011 Location: roanoke va Status: Offline Points: 1075	Post Options Post Reply Quote amcfool1 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/20/2021 at 9:46pm
	hi, rotate the motor so the last, #6, valves are at their lowest point, then, work valve cover off towards pass. side. Also helps to remove washer motor plate screws and lift it up a bit. good luck, gz
	george z

1979amcspirit Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Sep/02/2021 Location: Montreal Status: Offline Points: 109	Post Options Post Reply Quote 1979amcspirit Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/21/2021 at 5:45pm
	Hey thanks alot for the information... Still didn't work out... I did a lil research and found a really old post and ended up getting her off by putting a jack under the transmission skid plate where the mount is and jacking it up a few inches... It came out by the hair of a chin. Can start by playing with the stuck valves... On another note does anyone have tricks for stuck valves... Hit em with a brass hammer and they got unstuck but still sticky! Will transmission fluid free these bad boys up?

purple72Gremlin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Charter Member Joined: Jul/01/2007 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 16614	Post Options Post Reply Quote purple72Gremlin Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/21/2021 at 7:59pm
	Pull the head. And thats the only way you will fix it. And drop the gas tank and clean it and seal it.

1979amcspirit Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Sep/02/2021 Location: Montreal Status: Offline Points: 109	Post Options Post Reply Quote 1979amcspirit Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 6:24am
	That is what I plan on doing... However its parked at my work right now and it needs to move before then snow falls. Was gonna put it on a tow truck.. yet it needs to move up in the garage.. was thinking of putting it back together with new rods and just starting it up the get up the small incline then when its in the garage ripping the head off this winter

farna Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19686	Post Options Post Reply Quote farna Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 7:21am
	You can use a wood block and a hammer to loosen those valves. Spray the guides real good with a penetrating oil and let sit 15 minutes or so, then hit. You will need to pull the rockers first, of course. Once the valves move freely it should run fine. Spary the guides while it's running, and you might want to put some Seafoam in the gas tank. HOW LONG it runs is another story. I did this on one and it ran fine for 100-200 miles, then one of the valves stuck again. It was loosened using this method, then another stuck 50-75 miles later. So just to get it home you should be ok, but don't expect to run it long and don't be surprised if a valve sticks before you get home. Luckily this isn't an interference engine, so you'll just be out another pushrod.... or two or three.... Once you get it home take the head off, valves out. Clean the guides and valve stems thoroughly. Good time to replace the valve seals. I'd just take it to a machine shop and get a valve job, have the guides machined for positive seals rather than the factory umbrella seals. You'll be good to go for a while then. Edited by farna - Oct/25/2021 at 7:24am
	Frank Swygert

1979amcspirit Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Sep/02/2021 Location: Montreal Status: Offline Points: 109	Post Options Post Reply Quote 1979amcspirit Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 4:41pm
	I really appreciate all the advice... That is my plan I just need to move it 15 miles to the garage and its parked for the winter.i can't afford to leave it outside in the winter... The car is mint... Been stored for 15 years and never seen a winter(which is rare in Canada)... Would be a shame to let her see one. I will try this weekend and post the results!

FSJunkie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/09/2011 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Status: Offline Points: 4742	Post Options Post Reply Quote FSJunkie Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/26/2021 at 3:55am
	AMC sixes love to stick valves, I do not know why. Starting one that's been sitting for a long time is always risky. The trick is getting the penetrating oil down the valve stem with the valve stem oil deflectors and valve springs in place. I bend a small tube into a "J" that sprays the oil through the valve spring coils and up under the deflector. Then you work the valves with a soft face rubber mallet. The sticky ones make a different sound. You can hear and feel them as they loosen up. Then you Seafoam it, or any other detergent additive of your choice. Put it in the oil and spray it into the carburetor as it runs. Fog it pretty good to get it soaked into the valve guides. Then you run the ever loving piss out of it on the highway. AMC sixes like to be pushed over 70 mph from time to time. They are runners, not putters. A nice blast does them a lot of good.
	1955 Packard 1966 Marlin 1972 Wagoneer 1973 Ambassador 1977 Hornet 1982 Concord D/L 1984 Eagle Limited

farna Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19686	Post Options Post Reply Quote farna Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Oct/26/2021 at 5:45am
	Even after that if it sits a few days the valves may stick again. The one I had stick (it was a 196) did it again after running 10-12 hours on a trip then sitting over night. While doing as FSJunkie suggests will definitely help, I wouldn't trust it in the long term. It's REAL inconvenient to have to pull the valve cover and break a valve loose on a long trip, then worry if it's going to do it again! Luckily the 196 valve cover is easy to pull off and put back on, and no pushrods bent, one just came out (valve stuck open).
	Frank Swygert