Cylinder head - donor needed ... maybe not

[John Cody Forbes]

>
> 180k miles on the engine which ran great up til now, as near as I can
> tell.
>
> I would need some justification for a "valve job" ...
> What would a typical valve job include.  What would I gain? What
> would be a ballpark cost estimate for a "valve job"?
>
> Thanks for any advice re: valve job, etc.
> DAve C.

Honestly at very least replacing the old valve stem seals (they come in your 
head gasket kit anyways!) is a pretty easy process. To do a decent valve job 
yourself you'll only need 2 tools, a few hours, and some valve grinding 
compound (availible at any FLAPS). I'd say theres a 90% change your valve 
stem seals need to be replaced, and a 90% chance the valve guides DON'T need 
replacement. Get a spring compressor (or make one, easy to make for a OHC 
head - see http://jcforbes.com/jcfpics/codysaudi/spiro_brett_valve_springs_2 
for an idea of what you need, which is something to lever against, and a 
lever to push the spring cap downward while you hold the valve in place), 
remove the springs and remove the seals. Then use a suction cup valve 
grinding tool and the grinding compound to seat the valves, then install new 
seals and assemble head. None of it is *hard* work, but it can be time 
consuming. Seriously though I'd recomend it, since you should already have 
all of the parts required (comes in head gaskget kit) and only need 3-4 
hours to spend on the head. Do this and you'll be sure that you aren't going 
to end up burning oil in the near future due to leaky valve stem seals, and 
you'll improve performance and possibly fuel economy.

If you are interested I'd gladly go into a full step by step detailed 
tutorial on what you need to do as described breifly above, just let me 
know.

-Cody Forbes
http://www.5000tq.com
'86 5k noT noQ
'86 5k noT noQ - Parting Out
'87 5ktq
'87 5ktq - Fast. Really Fast.