FE290 Valve Seating 93 CC DS

[93dscart]

93 Club Car DS with an FE290
I replaced the piston, rings and valves and now I'm trying to seat the valves. This is a new one for me so I'm not exactly sure where to go. I've seen several different ways to do this, from grinding with a tool to lapping with paste.
I think the easiest way would be to lap the valves with paste, but I'm not sure that's the best way. So my question is...
Is lapping with paste going to be enough to seat them properly? If so, what grit pastes should I use?
If it's not the best way, how do I know what tools to get to do this?
Thanks in advance.

[CP241]

You’ll have to clarify, are you talking about lapping the new valves to existing/old seats? Or replacing the valve seats? 2 very different things

If you’re talking about lapping the valves to existing seats then use valve lapping compound (paste). That’s what it’s designed for. It comes in 2 tubes, course and fine. I almost never need to use the course. The fine grit is sufficient 99% of the time.

[93dscart]

Sorry, as I said, this is new to me.
I'm talking about lapping the new valves to the old/existing seats on the head.

[pachanga90]

Make sure the seats are cleaned good,A stiff wire brush or wire cup-brush on a drill works great for cleaning chambers and seats. Carefully clamp the head in a vise,or clamp to a table. Put a few dabs of lapping compound on the valve,I do 4-dabs about 90* apart,insert valve, then rotate it with your fingers,lift,rotate drop,rotate again to spread the compound.Now attach your lapping tool,a dab of spit helps it stick to the valve. Cup your hands on either side of the tool,and oscillate it(like trying to start a fire with a stick). spin it a few times,lift valve,rotate,drop,repeat spinning,I usually do it for about 3-45-seconds total. Then Remove valve,clean seat and valve with solvent,and look at your "Margin", If you see a nice even line on the valve,about middle of the face-area of the seat,you are good,if its uneven,has spots not touched,etc..the seat needs to be cut or replaced. Looking at the seat,you should see the same continuous line,or the hits/misses. When you are done lapping,make sure to wash the head and valves with Brake-Kleen,You dont want lapping compound going thru an engine,its not a good ending. Hope this helps.

[CP241]

Good explanation.

You’ll want a line like this in the middle of the valve.

[93dscart]

Thank you both! That's exactly what I was looking for. Tools will be here Tuesday and I'll get it done.

[buggyAl]

You really don't need any special tools. I use a 3" piece of rubber hose ( old gas line). With the valve in the head, place one end of the hose over the valve stem and the other end in a cordless drill. Set the drill on the lowest-slowest speed and apply compound. Doesn't take much this way and be careful not to over-do it.

[CP241]

Originally Posted by buggyAl

You really don't need any special tools. I use a 3" piece of rubber hose ( old gas line). With the valve in the head, place one end of the hose over the valve stem and the other end in a cordless drill. Set the drill on the lowest-slowest speed and apply compound. Doesn't take much this way and be careful not to over-do it.

I do the same thing but I’ve done a lot of valves. I started to say something about that but it’s really easy to overdo it like that if you haven’t done them before. It’s safer for a first time to do it by hand, and learn/know/feel what you’re doing and then do it with the drill. Just my opinion anyway

[pachanga90]

You really dont want to spin a valve to lap it,it should be oscillated back and forth,so that it seats properly. I use a simple suction-cup tool,but ZIM also makes a hand-crank one,that does the oscillating for you,you just crank it in one direction. Another handy tool thats cheap is the Stens or ZIM Small-Engine Valve Refacer,its about $35 and works great on these valves,if you have one that the face is beat up a little. Hope this helps.