how much did everyone pay for a valve job, especially the 3.0

 

mine was $180 for my 22r, but i took the head in to the machine shop, they checked it for leaks, ground the valves, and replaced the seals and decked the head

i have heard around $1500 for the 3.0

 

holy cow, that's a lot. the machine shop i go to charges $80 for a valve job on a 22R head(if you bring it in to them)

 

kyle i live in CA, the bay area part..... you cant buy a house in this area for less than 500k...... that was actually the cheapest i could find, most places wanted $300

 

still that's robbery. if your valves aren't fried too badly(or don't mind replacing them) it's a piece of cake if you have a valve spring compressor...

 

they also decked the head, well at least made it flat, cleaned it up, replaced the valve guides and did a valve grind.... thats what it costs out here.... this shop also came highly recomended from a mechanic frined of mine.... whenever my truck has a problem even i in my infinite knowledge cant figure out, he is the first guy i go too.... its good to have friends that know what they are doing... and help you out for free when they are working

 

The head off my 93 22re is in the machine shop now. Said it won't cost me anymore than $100 when they are done. They are cleaning it, and checking for leaks. Assembling it back up and swapping out the seals.

 

Just how bad should your compression be before deciding to have the valve job done?

 

Compression is a combination of ring condition and valve sealing.
Run a leak down test ideally to determin wich is at fault.

A trick I use instead of a leak down (no leak down equipment) is taking a compression guage hose with the quick connect on it and removing the check valve from the bottom. Run the cyl you want to check to TDC making sure both valves are closed or if you dont want to pull the vave cover just make sure the Dist rotor is pointing in the right direction (this will assume an Ignition event on a power stroke). Then screw the hose into the cyl like you are going to check compression but instead of putting the guage on the end of the hose try connecting an air hose with the regulator down around 20psi. If you have a bad valve you will hear the air escaping from the exhaust or the intake depending on wich valve. If its rings you will hear it in the intake through the PCV valve but you can pull the oil cap and know for sure if its comming out of the crankcase. Its not the best but I use it with good success.