Thanks again for the helpful forum and Ive gotten the critical details from TAD (Transatlantic Diesels) in fittting the after-market starters and generally restoring my old 4.108. And although it runs great I found an
exhaust valve leak on #1 and pulled the
head and lapped the valves on the first three cylinders. # 4 is perfect and needs no
work.
But years ago in mech
school I learned that engines have valve rotator mechanisms to turn each valve with
engine operation but
Perkins clearly doesnt have this, and if it did, it would be a great improvement. The engines run cool and so they dont need exotic systems and theyre relatively low
RPM. But still it seems like a great modification would be a simple valve rotator mechanism similar to what many other
engine designs employ to prevent uneven wear and leaking, especially in the
exhaust valves where I found my slight leak just causing a low RMP miss and a lot of oily carbon, but I look forward to having this corrected after 600 hours of operating this way.
And after having it all apart now also planning very regular de-carbonizing routine, and/or finding the cleanest burning
fuel possible. Maybe a kerosene/biodiesel blend.
Thanks again for any engine guru insights! I know there are some VERY knowledgeable motor-heads out there.