Replacing valve seals in the car?

[hooziewhatsit]

Is this possible/recommended?

 

I know the cam towers have to come off. Then it's finding a way to keep the valves in place. Probably threading rope into the cylinder and bringing the piston up against it would be easiest.

 

Then using a tool to compress the springs and knock the retainers out. And finally I presume the old seals slip off, and the new ones slip on. Unless of course the ends of the valves have mushroomed just a little

 

Or is it one of those things that's easier with the head on the bench? I'm not really interested in doing a complete valve job. I just want the car to stop drinking so much oil (1 quart ~300 miles). The car is going to get replaced in a couple years anyways.

[idosubaru]

are you sure it's drinking through the valve stem seals and not the rings or elsewhere? i'd verify that before anything else.

 

maybe you could even identify which stem seals are leaking and save yourself some times by only replacing those?

 

compressed air int he cylinders will help keep the valve closed...but that is probably mostly helpful in ideal conditions. with little room to work i'm wondering if you would really be able to compress the springs properly for removal/install without putting any pressure at all on the valve itself that exceeds the air pressure? maybe the rope would work, i couldn't quite get that to work the one time i tried it. guess it has to be the right thickness and stuffed in tight, mine moved, squished and wouldn't hold. but i was trying to keep the motor from turning over - higher forces probably.

 

i was reading actually earlier today that it is possible on EJ engines but is not fun. someone made the comment that maybe it would be worth it to try to do one or two that way but doing them all would be simpler to pull the lump.

 

don't forget with the lower engine mounts and dogbone disconnected you can gain a lot of engine lift too....that might help and only requires 4 nuts at most.

 

i'm getting ready to replace some valve stem seals and valves in some EJ heads and it looks very simple, seems like they come off easily with needle nose pliers and you simply push them back in place.

[hooziewhatsit]

Haven't checked it out yet. He's gone for a month, and I might have a few days with it at the end of August. Basically trying to see if it's worth tackling at all, so if it is, I have all my ducks in a row.

 

Is there a way to see if the seals are bad before taking everything apart?

 

Although now that I think about it, I did see some oil drips coming from the HG seam, so they may as well come off. Then there's just the shortblock left, so I may as well pull everything and make it easy on myself But that's only if the leakdown test shows the shortblock as being in any kind of good shape.

 

I love old cars

[987687]

There is actually a special tool made just for removing valve springs with the head on the engine. Never had to use on a subaru, but I had to replacing a valve spring on a jeep. Compressed air in the cylinder, and with the valve spring removal tool, it was wicked easy. Of course the head is on the top in that... But it's the same idea. valves springs are all just valve springs.