> > I was wondering if anyone on the list has any first hand
expierience with
> > installing valve stem oil seals.
>
> Ken, I'm in the process of doing this right now! I just dropped my
head
> off at the machine shop and showed him one of my old seals. Note
that
> my
> old seals were not stock, but something which was added from my
previous
> machine shop over 6 years ago.
>
>Not a whole lot of oil is up in that
> part of the engine anyway so I would guess they aren't "necessary".
> However, with a little wear, those seals will be a good long term
> investment, and it'll be a long while before you see that puff of
blue
> smoke which some of us dread on startup. :-)
>
There's more than one way to look at this. Many cars just use the
"umbrella" retainer with an o-ring slipped in before inserting the
keepers. This keeps gross amounts of oil from flowing down the valve
stem (mostly when the engine is sitting). The retainer and spring(s)
shield the valve stem from most of the oil splashing around. With
decent guides you can't lose much oil down the valve stems. Then too,
a little lubrication will help keep the guides & stems from wearing --
if your seals work too well, you could actually accelerate the wear.
-Karl
|