valve stem replacement

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sho4life

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What price about should a shop charge? Do most have or need rotunda? Can u rent tools anywhere?
 

sperold

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Deleted the reply below, as I mistaken thought you were talking about the valve stems on a rim.
 
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yamahaSHO

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I think we need more clarification (IE: Don't be lazy in your posts thinking we know what you're really thinking). Since asking about the Rotunda tool kit, I would assumbe valve stem seals in the head. Or did you really want to know about valve stems for your wheels?

If you talking about valve stem seals for the head, I have a full Rotunda tool kit I am willing to part with.
 

sho4life

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seals. Dont really have the proper tools , air compressor time or patience for it
 

pjtoledo

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air compressor??? thats the lazy way.
one of the oldest, ( I'm suprised Ron didn't mention it:evilgrin:) and cheapest, and fool proof ways to hold the valves in place is a few feet of plain 'ol cotton clothes line rope. pull all the plugs, use a straw or metal rod to determine how far down the piston is. you want it kinda low. push a few feet of rope down the hole then turn the crank until the piston mushes the rope. no hard stop, nothing breaks, nice soft landing etc. do your trick with the seals, OIL THEM!!, lower the piston and pull the rope out. guys have been doing it that way for over 100 years. just don't put the greasy rope back on the clothes line.




Perry
 

SHOPLUS

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Whenever I've done cam swaps with valve springs in OHC cars I just use a line from a compression tester kit with a regulator on it.....never heard of the cotton line trick....sounds kinda scary to me haha
 

jimtash

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Actually the rope trick works.

Valve stem seals are easy but the proper tools like a cam holder and the seal puller are helpful. Doubt shops have the specific tools but general tools that serve the same purpose. You're probably looking at a fairly expensive bill as well considering the whole front end plus the cams have to come off. That's why it's a good idea to learn to work on them. Otherwise you won't be able to maintain it.

Another thing to consider is many shops out there don't do well with these engines. Find someone in your area off the board who can recommend you a descent mechanic.
 
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pjtoledo

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Whenever I've done cam swaps with valve springs in OHC cars I just use a line from a compression tester kit with a regulator on it.....never heard of the cotton line trick....sounds kinda scary to me haha



that all depends on what you tie the rope to to keep it from falling into the cylinder:rofl:
 

kevinspann

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Better idea than air. When I tried to use air, all it did was blow past the valves, even if I pulled up on the stem to try and seat it. But I guess that that point, new VSS wasn't really the issue. Dropped a couple valves, got them back up, but I just quit and now have a lower mileage 3.2 to put in.
 

rubydist

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so AllData says 6.4 hours for r/r valve stem seals, "after valve covers have been removed", and 3.6 hours to r/r valve cover gaskets. that is a total of 10 hours, and at a typical $100/hour shop rate, that is a whopping $1000 labor to replace valve stem seals.
 

NoSlo

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This is probably the most labor-intensive job that can be done. Even if it just takes 10 minutes each after you are in there, remember that there are 24 of them and do the math! Allow for the full upper and front 60k service labor that you'll be doing, plus pulling the four cams and timing chains.

The shop manual also has: 1. remove intake 2. Remove cylinder head covers 3. Remove cylinder heads as the procedure. In some ways that might be easier than compressor charging the cylinders or the "rope trick", but throw new head gaskets and coolant into the bill if you do that.
 

jimtash

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That's why it's much cheaper to invest in the service tools and learn to work on these cars.

And as posted above, it might actually be easier to remove the heads to replace the seals. And that's a scary proposition to think about if you're the one paying a mechanic to do it.

Shame of it is that many will look at 2K repair bills and junk these cars because they look at the cost and find it better to spend that money on another car.
 
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boat

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When I had a set of heads done, it cost me at the machine shop around $220 to get the valve stem seals replaced. These heads were the ones I did a head swap in the red MTX in my sig. It was probably a good $6-700 doing the entire swap with purchasing all the gaskets, and fluids.
 

sho4life

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Well guy told me $250 and thats the same guy who changed my bearings for $50. I just think he undercharges bigtime.
 

kevinspann

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Heads off, it's not hard to do at all. Heads on, I just couldn't get it right....and I'm still working on swapping that motor.
 

jimtash

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Well guy told me $250 and thats the same guy who changed my bearings for $50. I just think he undercharges bigtime.

Does this guy understand the labor involved? A mechanic isn't afraid to charge a reasonable price especially with a 24 valve engine that has to have everything stripped off of it. They know the work involved. Unless this guy is doing it because he has nothing better to do and it's a hobby, 250 bucks isn't even minimum wage considering the time needed to do it. Nor does he seem to have a clue as to what's involved in replacing the seals.

Personally if I were doing this job, $800 to a $1000 is what I'd charge minimum. I did an alternator out of a '92 Miata and charged $65. $150 for a fuel pump on a Ford Ranger. $150 for a 4 wheel brake job and another $50 for the starter on a Camry. And this is working on the side out of my home. No way in **** $250 would be enough for a seal replacement on a Yamaha V-6.
 
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boat

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In this case for me, the heads were already off the motor.

When I had a set of heads done, it cost me at the machine shop around $220 to get the valve stem seals replaced. These heads were the ones I did a head swap in the red MTX in my sig. It was probably a good $6-700 doing the entire swap with purchasing all the gaskets, and fluids.

Well guy told me $250 and thats the same guy who changed my bearings for $50. I just think he undercharges bigtime.
 

jimtash

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Off the engine and taken to someone for that price is one thing, but doing the job while still on the car is another. Just getting to the seals is time consuming much less actually replacing each one. That's why I'm saying no way would anyone with any mechanical experience look at doing this for $250. Maybe on an OHV engine but this is a DOHC and a pretty complex one at that.
 
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