Damn, and I knew better too!
Well guys, I hang my head low in shame today as I write the following. I set out to do some more mods to the Condor today and all was going great. Next, I put in the new diy hammer with the rubber grommet mod… worked great. I am happy to report that the hammer slap is now acceptable.
Got her all buttoned back together and thought I would do the O-ring mod on the tophat. I got my shim tool from Autozone and took a measurement of what the gap was on the tophat before altering it. I then slid the O-ring on over the tophat and that was no problem. Next I started to adjust the tophat the same amount off the O-ring with the shims and got that done.
The last thing I needed to do was to tighten down the allen screws on the tophat to secure it in the new position and after snugging them up, I realized that they had gone in much further than before. 😯 That’s when it dawned on me… I had read a thread on this and had totally forgotten about it.
When snugging up the allen screws on the tophat, it’s a good idea to slide in a bit or something the exact size of the valve shaft hole to make sure that the valve doesn’t get damaged by overtightening the set screws. Damn it! I checked it out with a flashlight and sure enough, I screwed it all up! 🙄
My valve shaft is toast! I recently had knee surgery and have been sitting around the house bored out of my freakin mind on pain killers… mostly sleeping, watching TV, or on the computer. I have been chomping on the bit wanting to shoot the gun again as parts have still been showing up left and right, but I should have waited until I had a clear head!
I guess my question now is, should I persue a new valve stem from AF, or should I go with an aftermarket valve? The one piece valves are interesting, but not sure if they are adjustable and what all the pros and cons are. Your thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated!
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Or you can take a small round jewelers file and remove the ‘bumps on the inside of tjhe stem.
If you absolutely have to have a new stem and you are looking for power, you might try the RL stem. If you never want this to happen again, two options, first one you know about with the drill bit inside, 2nd option is buy a one piece stem and top hat from Tony.
Regards,
Roachcreek
You really had a secret desire to get one of Tony’s one-piece tophats didn’t you? I’d get one of those if I was where you are at now.
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You might be able to round the end of a drill rod or bolt or something smooth and round and insert it into the stem and gently tap it out.
If you screw it up you where going to have to buy another one anyways 🙂
Also if you could get a small ball bearing the approximate diameter you could gently push that through the stem
But I suggest you get a wood dowel and drill a hole it in the same size as the od of the stem and insert the stem inside the dowel. Then attempt to smooth out the inside of the stem.
When you are done you might need to carefully cut the dowel away to get the stem out. But it will help you from bending the stem while working on it.