13 replies to this topic

[louise66]

woops ..sorry it's an SPI

yep.... smokin start up from a cold engine... causes please?

no smoke from a warm start or decelleration

96,000 miles young

smoke is blue

Edited by louise66, 17 November 2008 - 11:07 PM.

[minimat]

Valve stem seals,off with its head!

[louise66]

Valve stem seals,off with its head!

Bah!

can it be done in situ??

[T.Harper]

It's possible but takes some imagination. Off with its head! It's a saturday job!

[elvisthepizzaman]

yes it can be done with the head on. you need a length of rope that can be pushed down the spark plug hole and an overhead valve compressor tool that is designed to compress the spring by grabbing it at the base and squeezing the spring. pull the plugs out, rotate cylinder one to the compression stroke, stick the rope in and compress it. then use the spring compressor tool to compress the spring and keep it compressed and pop the clip off the valve. pull the spring away and pry the rubber seal off. put the new rubber one on and put the spring back on with the clip. repeat for each cylinder and pair of valves.

[DJ T]

What colour is the smoke? Blue/Black/White

Blue is oil.

Black is running rich. easily spotted if you have someone stand behind the car and rev it. can be caused by a faulty lambda sensor or a nick in a vacum pipe.

White is steam so could be head gasket failure or cracked head.

[DJ T]

didn't read post properly. as above valve stem oil seals.

Edited by DJ T, 18 November 2008 - 07:22 PM.

[minimat]

Not worth the bother trying to do them in situ,easy to take the head off may as well regrind the valves and make a proper job of it.

[louise66]

yes it can be done with the head on. you need a length of rope that can be pushed down the spark plug hole and an overhead valve compressor tool that is designed to compress the spring by grabbing it at the base and squeezing the spring. pull the plugs out, rotate cylinder one to the compression stroke, stick the rope in and compress it. then use the spring compressor tool to compress the spring and keep it compressed and pop the clip off the valve. pull the spring away and pry the rubber seal off. put the new rubber one on and put the spring back on with the clip. repeat for each cylinder and pair of valves.

Ah I see so all we need to do is stop the valves dropping in the cylinder.

A piece of rope I have... Nice one, thanks

don't want to do a "proper job" not yet any way. Just want the smokey start ups to stop

[minimat]

Bodger!

[John H]

far far easier and quicker in my opinion to take the head off.

do it right do it once. do it ******* do it twice!

[minimat]

If a jobs worth doing,it's worth doing properly!

[louise66]

Bodging.....is the traditional craft of creating chair legs and braces. A chair-bodger works with green-wood using portable tools including a pole-lathe to turn chair legs and such.

In British English slang, bodging refers to a job done of necessity using whatever tools and materials come to hand and which, whilst not necessarily pretty, is nevertheless serviceable.

It is not to be confused with a "botched" job, deriving from the mediaeval word "botch" - a bruise or carbuncle - which is one done badly or incompetently, typically in the field of DIY. A "bodged" job is serviceable. A "botched" one most certainly is not.

you learn somethin every day

thanks for the compliment minimat ..

[elvisthepizzaman]

I agree that recutting the valves and new seals will be better in the long run but at that many miles he will be needing new guides at some point in the near future.
Here are the possible senarios:

If he pulls the head and recuts the valves, puts new guide seals on, and sticks it back on but within a few months discovers that oil is leaking past the seals then its all apart again for the guides. Consumables: two head gaskets, two valve cover gaskets, two oil/filter changes, two coolant drain and refill

If he just does the seals and within a few months the oil starts getting past due to worn guides then its off with the head to recut the valves, new guides and seals. Consumables: one head gasket, two valve cover gaskets, one oil/filter change, one coolant drain and refill

The main difference is time and money, granted if the two were not an issue then its off with the head but just doing the seals saves one head gaskets, one valve cover gaskets, oil, filter, and coolant changes plus the time to do it twice vs once. But if the guides are in good condition then doing guide seals will stop the oil leakdown.

Now, if you bring in the unknown factor of the valve sealing condition then its a different story. The valves and their seats wear into each other over time. If the wear between the two is great enough to reduce compression because of the misalignment then the head will have to come off to recut the valves but since he did not mention any symptoms associated with leaking valves then for now they must be in decent shape. If they start leaking in a few months then doing the guide seals only is a waste but if they keep on sealing properly for a long period then it was an acceptable and economical repair.

of course you can just argue that in time the wear in the guides will eventually overcome the newer seals and it will require the head to come off in the end.

There are too many unknown factors to say that doing just the valve guide seals is a bodge or botch, only time will tell.

Edited by elvisthepizzaman, 21 November 2008 - 04:19 AM.