_shaun_ Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 to cut a long story short i need to change the valve stem seals in the car while i dont mind removing the head its the cost of the new headgasket/bolts and all the other parts am aswell changing as the car already had a new headgasket last year. that and apart from the stem seals the engine runs bang on so i dont really want to start opening it up and possibly causing issues. so who has actualy done this be it using the rope down spark plug chamber or compressed air? and is it actualy worth it or is it just a can of worms. any advise or special tools advised? not to be rude but am after people that have actualy done valve stem seals before not people whos dad's sister's cousin once done it while he was ball deep in priests daughter. cheers shaun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funny onion Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I've done mine with rope in the bore. It's tricky and you need patience. Took a good few attempts to pack the bore so that the valves stayed shut when the piston was brought up. Removing the collets was interesting too. I used the compressor part from a valve spring compressor and levered a bar under the fuel rail. You need to be very careful not to lose the collets as they tend to ping off with force. It's not that bad really like I say just don't be just don't be in a position where you're rushing and take your time. Needle nose pliers needed to put the collets back on the valve. May help if you have a buddy who can compress the spring while you put the collets back on. Then release the spring Kelly to make sure they're seated properly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 cheers atleast i no it works ha! i take it you just fired a load of soft string down with the cams out and used a breaker bar to rotate the engine on the crank pully? did u lock it in place at all? i dont have a link but ive seen a guide on a lexus v8 and the guy uses a magnetic tool he bascily pushes it onto the spring retainer to compress the spring and its hollow with a magnet inside that attracts catches and holds the collets as they ping off. was going to look to see something like that. its a weekend car so no rush really its away to get its suspention done then theres no plans for it till japfest so provided i feel this is the best way for me ill just park the car safely somewhere and take my time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calum122 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Very common practivce for garages, where they have to knock out these sorts of jobs to warrant actually keeping the car garages commonly employ this practice. I removed the head on my car but I appreciate your scenario. My brohter is faced with this exact dilemema and he said 'fuck it' rope technique. Or compressed air Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobSR Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ive got the correct tool to pressurise the cylinder with a compressor. Gonna do mine this weekend all being well with the head on so may try and do a tutorial. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 am at a comp now so found the link its here http://lextreme.com/valve_seals.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funny onion Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Yeah basically used soft string but you really have to pack it in so it can't be too stiff (lol). A few times when the engine was turned back over it turned out the valve had nipped the string so the string wouldn't pull out- just had to turn it over and push the valve down and wiggle the string. Just used a bar on the bottom pulley to turn it over. Yeah that magnetic thing sounds ideal, the breaker bar under the fuel rail was fine but with it being a round bar and an oily environment it slipped a few times. Something to catch the collets would be ideal. In hindsight I should've put a bit of rag over as I popped them out to stop them flying off but once you get into it and go slowly it's not that bad was just the first few. Make sure you don't mix the shims up obviously unless you want to shim it up at the same time. If you pack it so it locks the piston just before tdc you shouldn't need to lock it up but obviously it's a good idea to anyway to stop something taking your fingers off if the engine moves suddenly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funny onion Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ive got the correct tool to pressurise the cylinder with a compressor. Gonna do mine this weekend all being well with the head on so may try and do a tutorial.Post a thread up when you've done them dude I might invest in the adapter so I can use the compressor in future (not that I want to do them again lol) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funny onion Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Just had a quick skim through that guide looks spot on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 see i have a compressor and a comp tester which is really all you need but its only a wee baby compressor so doubt it would keep up with the demand. i have a spare head in the house so think ill do a few practice shots on it so i no what am getting myself into. from what i understand the starlet springs dont take much to compress so i dont see striping it down hard just fidigty as hell to re install Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funny onion Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 You'll be fine if I can do it anyone can lol let us know how you get on Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 ha will do what valve stem seals did u you? the tool they used is a valve keeper remover. or blue point GA317 just struggling to locate one in the uk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funny onion Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I used Oem Toyota seals ( I'd bought a full engine gasket set from iddy for an engine I want to build up)Heard a few bad reports of the zisco ones etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikey4410 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 funny onions got it !! bang on what I did last year.bit agro inducing at times but sooo worth doing.would recommend it but can take a while.get a willing friend to help. :-D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Ended up whipping out my spare head today just used a deep 10mm with a big magnet on it and pushed down seems to pop out the collets and grab them safely just need to think of a decent way to refit them that tool appears to be state side only so time it arrives it's abit close to fest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobSR Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Like said in my thread i didnt end up doing a tutorial in the end. You hardly need any pressure to compress a starlet valve spring. Refitting them is the fiddly bit! Dab abit of grease on your finger / what ever you use to put the collects back so it sticks to it - helps be abit more precise then. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 i ended up trying that tool out on my spare head its actualy superb to be honest. i just blocked all the valves on the bottom and poped off all 16 retainers in mabye 2 minutes tops. then poped the collets back into the retainers and lined them up and re fitted them in the same time. was abit skeptical it would be worth the month but gonna save alot of time dicking around i think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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