Jaeger Restoration

Last update: 5/24/00

When I bought my Jaeger, the engine was in original condition (barn fresh!), and had had nothing done to is since it came off of the cement mixer that it ran for years. It is heavily coated with grease, cement and sand. It was missing the magneto (a WICO 'EK') and related trip mechanism, and the exhaust valve was solidly frozen in the head. Upon closer inspection after getting it home, I also discovered that the head was cracked from being frozen. The crack does not interfere with the combustion chamber, just the water jacket. Mechanically the engine appears to be in good condition. Compression is good, bearings are tight, gears are in good condition.

Shortly after I got it home I was turning the engine over slowly being careful not to go too far because of the frozen valve (if I turned it completely around the cam would actuate the exhaust rocker against the valve). Well, careful as I was, the weight of the flywheels took it too far and just as I grabbed them I heard a *clink*, and the exhaust rocker broke in two, seemingly as easy as a toothpick breaking. I was just sick... Well, not much to do so I removed the rocker from the engine, clamped it together in the vise, ground a groove where the crack was and brazed it back together. Here's a picture of the rocker after I cleaned up the braze. Not bad if I don't say so myself...

The engine sat all winter (1999-2000) with penetrating oil on the exhaust valve. I even stood the engine up on end (flywheels down) and poured the exhaust full of penetrating oil. This spring (2000) I decided that it was time for that valve to come out! Even after all the penetrating oil treatment, the valve was still tight as a drum. Time for more agressive methods! After asking for and receiving much advice from the Smokstak (internet engine discussion board) I decided on the heat and large hammer method! I heated the head around the valve with my acetalene torch and took a big hammer to the valve stem. To keep the pin hole in the end of the valve from crushing, I put a hardened steel punch through the hole. After the second very hard hit with the hammer the valve moved! I applied more penetrating oil, and continued to rap on the stem. The valve moved about 1/2 inch then stopped dead. I assumed that it had hit something in the cylinder so I stopped. The valve was still very tight in the head and at that point I decided that the head had to come off to finish the job. Fortunately, the head bolts came loose very easily and in no time I had the head in the vise. The end of the valve stem had mushroomed badly and there was no way it was going through the guide so I cut it off as close as I could get to the head. Then I took a punch and started driving the valve through. Just as the end of the valve got to the guide, the valve split, cracking the guide. Arrrrggggg. Well, now I KNEW the valve could not go through the head so I would have to cut the other end off and drive the stem through from the back. The valves on this engine are two piece. The head is seperate from the stem and is held on the stem by peaning the end of the stem over onto the head after assembly of the two pieces. Therefore, I simply ground off the peaned area and twisted the head off the stem. Then I rapped the valve through the opposite way and finally had the valve out.

The now headless engine. There is about 2-1/2 to 3 inches of dead space in the cylinder when the piston is at TDC (as it is shown here). Compression ratio must be about 3 or 4 to 1!

Here's what's left of the valve when I finally got it out...

Since the head needed more work than I had the correct tools for I decided to send it to an expert for repair. After talking with Anthony at Hit&Miss Enterprises and relating the problems I had, he said that they could fix it with no problem. I also decided to have them repair the crack as long as they had it. I sent the head off andabout 2-1/2 weeks later called to make sure they had gotten it and ask when I could expect it back. The answer was that it was already done and on it's way back! Here's what it looked like after repair. They did a really nice job repairing the crack as well as replacing the broken valve guide.

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