DROPT

So im burning a little oil but only on acceleration. so since it doesnt burn oil all the time, im thinking its the valve seals not the piston rings, correct?

this cant be that hard of a job right? pull the head, get a valve spring tool or do i even need that? replace seals, put head back on with a new gasket?

anyone else done this?

DROPT

would an 81 head fit on my 89? wondering because i found a rebuilt one for a bill on craigslist

xxxtreme22r

no. different deck heights, different pistons, dual row timing chain. anything 85 and above will work.

DROPT

damn hat sucks, cuz the one for sell is a really good deal.

mountaingoat

I did mine a month ago, and did not pull the head. I did get a valve spring tool from Carquest that made the job a lot easier. Valve stem seals were $14 from Engnbldr.

Some people strap down the head with cargo straps to keep it from shifting and FUBAR'ing the head gasket. I wanted something a little more secure, so I made some spacers out of 1/2" conduit, and bolted the head back down that way after I pulled the rocker assembly. Worked great. Here's a brief description: Link

FWIW, mine was going through about 1.5 quarts every 3k, and I was puffing a little cloud of blue smoke on acceleration just like you are. Now at 1500 miles after changing the valve stem seals, and I'm no longer puffing any smoke at all and the oil is at the top of the fill mark - hasn't gone down a bit (before I would have already been down nearly a quart.)

Good luck with your project, and feel free to shoot me any questions - I don't claim to be an expert, but I'll help if I can.

Oh, and...there's never gonna be a better time to drop an RV cam in there. Just sayin'.

DROPT

that is a great idea you had about using the conduit, how did you keep the valves from falling into the cylinder? i dont have an air compressor which is not cool. might have to get a cheapy one from harbor freight if i can afford it. i heard i could use rope or a rag and stuff it down in the cylinder.

cam and stuff will come later perhaps. haha if even later. i could through in a smalblock v8 for cheeap.

xxxtreme22r

you can use the same rope trick similar to how you would keep the motor at TDC for crankshaft bolt removal.

DROPT

so like get cylinder 1 tdc, insert rope changes seats. turn engine over so the next cylinder is tdc and so on?

DROPT

haha right... if you pull the engine to do head work, you're doing it wrong. thanks for your helpful advice jackass

DROPT

no i haven't checked the compression, the pcv is brand new. and why would the valve cover gasket cause me to burn oil, and make it smoke?
and the rope is to keep the valve from falling into the cylinder bro... as opposed to taking the head off and also replacing a head gasket.


your advice is of no help man.

DROPT

the grommet? i replaced that aswell as the pcv valve......

xxxtreme22r

explain to me how that gasket inside the valve cover will cause you to burn oil. I'd like to hear this one. But to me that baffle gasket has no bearing on how much oil will be picked up by the PCV. nor will it have any bearing on how much oil the breather will get.

And the rope trick has been around for years and years. It's nothing new.

mountaingoat

The air compressor I used was a crappy little thing, probably the sort you can buy at wal-mart. It worked OK, but not stellar - I had about 10 PSI in the cylinders, and that was enough to hold the valves up - but just barely. If you pushed a little too hard when slipping the new seal on, it would pop the valve down in and you're in a world of headaches if you don't catch it before it drops into the cylinder.

In retrospect, the rope trick would probably be easier. Plus you don't have to make/buy anything to hook the compressor up to the spark plug holes with.

As far as smoking on accel - when trail riding with some friends, the guy behind me noticed that I left a little blue cloud when I'd take off from an idle. This has stopped happening since changing the valve stem seals, and oil consumption is near zero so far.

DROPT

im sorry but you came off as an arrogant know it-all kind of guy.

@xxxtreme22r tjanks for clearing that up