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2G Valve Stem Seals

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Turbodhi

Proven Member
115
10
Oct 18, 2015
Olathe, Kansas
Alright guys here's the question. How exactly do I replace valve stem seals with the head on the block? I attempted it once before about a month or two ago and apparently I did it wrong because its smoking and one of my spark plugs was soaked in oil, and this was after about 2 weeks of doing homework on this before I pulled the trigger on a job like this.

Are there any little tips or tricks that I'm missing?
 
Alright guys here's the question. How exactly do I replace valve stem seals with the head on the block? I attempted it once before about a month or two ago and apparently I did it wrong because its smoking and one of my spark plugs was soaked in oil, and this was after about 2 weeks of doing homework on this before I pulled the trigger on a job like this.

Are there any little tips or tricks that I'm missing?

Was the spark plug was covered in oil in at the tip in the CC or where the main wire plugs in by the VC?

Assuming its in the CC as you said it was smoking:
No trick, but it is important to line up the seal pretty accurately before they get pushed on. I went through one set of reduce OD GSC seals that got mangled when they were slightly off axis. The "reg" OD ones i put on next were way easier....not sure what brand/model you are trying to put on though so I'll assume normal OEM replacement style.

I used a 12 point for more contact area and I believe it was a 10mm. Not all 10mm's fit the same either....in fact every one of my 10mm is different. I used a deep 10mm outta my 1/4" impact set as it had the fattest lip where the seal edge contacts the socket. That contact is where the seal gets pushed so wider is better. That first set I messed up I had a 6 point with a thinner lip (still 10mm i think) and it cut that outter layer of rubber thats over the metal cup in the seal. That little cut is what looked like it was gonna leak plus from the side they looked off axis. Once I had all the seals pushed down I made extra sure to ensure they were axial aligned. There were a couple that were just slightly off axis so I went back around and tapped em all straight. Then I installed my valves with lots of oil and very carefully and slowly to make sure the valves didnt cut the new seals....I know they say Mitsu valves wont cut them but I was careful regardless.

How are you keeping the valve "up" in the head with the head on the block still? Or pushing the valves springs down to get the retainers/springs off? I'm just curious....sometimes peeps have an ingenious way of doing it and I like new tricks. Hahaha. :)
 
First you need an air compressor than will run uninterrupted, you lose the air compressor and you will drop a valve and be pulling the head. You need to hold the valves shut with air pressure, you need a hose that will thread into the spark plug hole and connect to your air hose from your compressor with no schrader valve in the end of the part that goes into the spark plug thread (if you decide to use a compression tester hose), then you need to keep the pressure at 125-150 psi to be on the safe side. You have to have the valve cover off and cams removed from the head, you then need a valve spring compressor that will compress the valves from the top such as the Euro export tool, then compress the valves with the tool, remove the valve cotters (locks) and pull the retainer and spring off of the valve, grab the seal with a pair of long nose pliers or preferably a pair of valve seal pliers and pull the old seal off and discard it, then spray down the valve stem with good cleaner, wipe it down with a rag (feeling for any gouges or pits) and then oil up the new seal by dipping it in oil and put a seal protector on the valve stem and slide the new seal down onto the valve until it bottoms out, remove the seal protector and drive the seal EASILY (they are easily deformed and ruined) down into its final position on the guide with a long 10mm socket or preferably a valve seal install tool (which I cant recommend enough).
 
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Sounds like a valve seal could've been damaged on install.

If a valve stem gets damaged it can easily tear the seal. The trick here is to use a little plastic straw to put over the valve stem as you remove the old seal.

Its also easy to lose the little spring tensioners that are on the seals. The trick here is to lube them up with some clean oil on install. Tap them very lighty with a deep socket to seat them all the way.
 
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I used the rope in the cylinder method. The retainers were stuck pretty hard to the springs so it took a lot of pressure to dis lodge the valve stem from the spring to free the retainer.

I was able to remove the old seals without touching the valve stems to scrape them.

I agree to use generous assembly lube to slide on the new seals. Most of the time I could feel the new seals slip onto the valve guides without the socket. But I still used it after anyways to make sure everything was as far down as possible

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Thanks guys. I was using 100 psi of air in the cylinder to keep the valve up. I used the install tool that I bought at the same time I bought the spring compressor from euro export. The install tool seemed to bottom out against the valve itself and thats when I stopped. I'm not sure if that was far enough on there. like I said id never done this before and nothing I read said anything about it. Also a tip for new guys, when compressing the cylinder with air set the regulator on the compressor to 0 and then crank it up cus I found out it will be a lot of pressure all of a sudden and spin your crankshaft. which will mess up your timing if you have the cams out. I found myself learning how to do timing at the same time as I learned how to do valve stem seals!
 
Yeah the spring keepers are solid against the valve. I used the rope method to bind the valves enough to force the springs to compress enough to release the keepers


Using the special tool compress the spring. I put a magnet against the top of the valve inside the tool to catch the valve spring retainers to keep them from popping out.

I read a few other threads where others mentioned 100psi wasn't enough to hold the valve shut against the tension of the tool, and that people also had problems keeping the motor at top dead center. It's tedious work.

Timing being re done is kind of a given. You do have to remove the cam shafts and all so you just need to align the crank at top dead center, in the picture that's what I'm using the screw driver to do in cylinder 1.
 
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Finished mine today, bleeding down the lifters now to put the cams back in
 
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