Help...need a "How To..." for Valve Stem Seals

[PacoLoco]

I took off the valve covers and now I'm staring the cams. I'm kinda lost now. How can I get to the valve stem seals? Do I have to remove the camshafts to get to them? What do I need to do this? If anybody has pictures or instruction on how to do this, please help me out. Thx.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Should have bought a Helms for a project like this.

If you don't have an adapter to put on an air compresssor hose, then I would not go any further. You will have to remove the spark plugs and pressurize the cylinder(when cams are removed) so that you do not drop a valve.

You will need to remove the cams, buckets and retaining clip(after you have pressurized the cylinder). You may or may not have to remove the springs. From that you pull of the old and install the new.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Ditto what Jason said, you'll definitely want to have the Helms handy for this project. There are lots of SHO folks in the Chicago area, maybe you should post in the SHOcago forum to see if anyone local would be willing to lend you one. The year Helms won't matter since the procedure is the same.

FWIW, why do you think you need to replace the valve stem seals?

 

[PacoLoco]

I need to replace the valve stem seals because I'm burning a whole lot of oil at start-up. After a while, the car runs fine. I asked a mechanic and he told me that the valve stem seals are most likely the reason for the oil burning at start-up. You guys actual made things clear to me. I wasn't sure if I have to remove the cams to do this. After looking at the DOHC, I sorta knew I had to, but wasn't sure. Is there any I need to know before removing the cams...are there tricks to this...timing issues if I do something wrong? I just don't want to do something wrong and end up messing up my engine. Thx