my iroc is burning a little bit of oil due to valve seal problems im sure like many others...its not bad and my car only has 53k miles so im gonna eventually save up and repair this problem...how much should this cost to have done? i heard that its not worth doing because it could cause complications somehow, i dunno...while im at it, should i just get new cylinder heads? i know this sounds extreme but if im gonna get new heads anyways, what the hell...also, are new heads a good idea in general? if i do this, do i need a new cam,etc...is it easy to swtich heads with very little experience? what good heads are there for 305? just a bunch of thoughts...thanks

 

i should add...im only interested i neveryday performance with a little bit of racing - just for fun racing so i dont need anything serious, u know..aight thanks

 

New heads are a great mod, but usually adding a free flow exhaust comes first, just helps to move out the air better. But, if you got the money for heads now and can afford it go for it, I would strongly suggest changing the cam while you're doing it, it will cost some extra $ but the process of changing heads, you don't have much else to do to change the cam at the same time.

 

Replaceing the valve seals will not cause some later mysterious
mechanical problem to crope up.
New valve seals are quite binign to the motor.
Unless you want to make your car faster you do not need new heads. Unless there is some other problem (bad valves etc)
you do not need to remove the heads.
I believe 1996+ Vortec 350 truck valve seals are a direct replacement for your valve seals.
It is not a terribily complicated job to replace them.
You need a specialized tool (that is not expensive) to compress the valve spring,
to remove the keepers. You need a way to hold the valve closed
while doing this. Either compressed air or a length of nylon rope
will do. Then you have to reinstall and adjust the rocker arms.
Any qualified mechanic can do this job. Shouldn't cost more than $100. Get estimates.