Fordfan wrote:
> scott21230@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> It's the 1991-1996 witht he 1.9L engine where the dropped valve seat is
>> a problem.
>
>
> What is the typical mileage for this to occur? Can anything be done to
> prevent it, short of removing the head and reworking the seats? Does it
> happen to a particular seat more than the others? Thanks
Like Fordfan said, it's the 1.9L engine that has this problem.I don't believe I've
seen it happen on one with less than ~50K although I'm sure it could. As far as any
cylinder being more vulnerable, in my experience it would be #1. I've also seen it
happen on #2 and #3, but oddly, not #4. I've never heard the cause for dropped seats,
but overheating makes sense. An older engine with a poorly maintained cooling system
running hotter than normal over time could cause the steel seat to eventually loosen
in the aluminum head.
It can happen quickly. I had a customer drop her vehicle off for a brake job last
summer. I was standing in the driveway when she pulled in and the car was running fine
with no engine noise. When I went to pull it into the bay, it was rattling and running
on about 2 cylinders, I had to push it in. Needless to say she was quite upset and was
sure I did something to her car. She had it towed to another shop.It had dropped an
exhaust seat on #1 and sent debris through the intake into #3 jamming the intake valve
open.
