Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremy5848
... so far it is OK except that the valve guides/seals leak such that the car smokes a little and I have to add some oil occasionally. Given the cost of a replacement head, I've decided to put up with the smoke and just drive the car.
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Jeremy, the 60x valve guides almost never need replacement. If you're getting some blue smoke and oil consumption, and you're fairly sure it's the valves (not turbo, head gasket, etc) then it's most likely the valve stem seals. These can be replaced without pulling the head but it's still a fairly big job, as you need to pull the cam, carefuly rotate the engine 120° at a time from TDC (0°, 120°, and 240°) to get a pair of pistons at TDC, then use a valve spring compressor to remove the springs and access the seals. Don't forget (like I did) to then rotate the engine another 360° to bring the IP back into sync with the cam, and then check IP timing after the cam is re-installed.
Parts (new valve stem seals) are cheap but it's a lot of labor, and some special tools are required. If the head gasket is at all suspect, or leaking elsewhere, I'd just pull the head and replace the head gasket at the same time. Same deal with the head gasket replacement - parts are cheap, but it's a big job!
03-17-2010, 11:33 AM
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