Ok guys i have a LB9 305. recently it has started to puff blue smoke at start up and im not sure if it does it when i floor it or not. i know after the puff if i leave it running it doesnt smoke anymore. several people have mentioned valve seats but i also saw a post about valve seals. so which is it? seats or seals? and is it worth it to fix the problem or wait? if it is worth the work right now i plan on doing it this weekend with my uncle. i need to know the names of things i will need so i can price it. thanks

 

My guess would be the valve seals. I hate to even suggest this on this site, but if you replace the seals, try using some Ford umbrella seals. They will seal better and longer than stock GM ones will.

 

whats the difference? is 8 enough? how do i know a size?

 

valve guides or seals. You have 16 valves. The blue smoke at start up isn't a real problem, other than the smoke. How much oil is it using between oil changes? If it is consuming and/or smoking a lot it could also be the guides. If so, new seals won't fix it for long. If you aren't adding oil between oil changes, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

The problem is the valve seals. The only parts you will need is to buy 8 intake valve seals and 8 exhaust valve seals. Also two valve cover gaskets. You will also need to buy/borrow a valve spring compressor. The type that attaches to the rocker stud. Also needed is an air compressor and an adapter to put compressed air into the cylinder. Work on each cylinder at top dead center. The hardest parts of this job that I ran into was removing the passenger side valve cover and putting the air fitting into the spark plug holes. This job took me most of a day, on my back a lot (getting to the plug holes) and have not seen any smoke for the past 10,000 miles. Just make sure all the rockers are adjusted. 15 just doesn't cut it.

 

i'd just live with it unless it's really burning alot.

Another method people sometimes recommend instead of just hooking compressed air up to the cylinder is to take a LONG piece of rope and push it down into the cylinder.

I just thought i'd recommend that you DONT use the rope method. I helped my friend, who dosnt have an air compressor, do this once. For one it didnt really help to keep the valve up all that much. But more importantly, whenever you deal with a very long piece of cord it has a tendancy to tie knots in itself. And wouldnt you know it? The rope we put into the cylinder tied about the biggest knot i've ever seen in itself.

No amount of pulling or anything could get the knot out. We had to take the head off to get it out.

 

Kevin - You're an idiot, what did you do to the ole Z now? Lol, I'm only kidding, Hey Kev, it;s Cory, whats going on? Yeah, like 82Camaro said, unless you are using alot of oil, I wouldn;t worry about it right now. Especially if you're on a car budget. Spend the money on somehting else. Mine's been smoking ever since I got it and I don;t use much oil at all. All Chevy small blocks smoke, if it;s not smoking, thats when you should worry...lol. I'll catch you later on.

 

LOL. I have 5 sb chevies. None of them smoke. Should I really be worried?

 

Lol, yeah man, you're treading on thin ice...lol.

 

well i want to get my hooker cat back but i dont want it to get ruined. that soot and **** in the pipes really makes it seem like junk. and the whole fact that u come out of the mall and hott chics are behind the car you fire it up and the damn smoke chokes them and they die. ok just a little dramatic lol. what can i do thats cheap then. my b-day is coming up and i have to keep it under 100.00. trying to save some money for bills but still get something decent. not my money but i dont want to scam the family ya know. what should i do for under 100 bucks?

 

You said your uncle knows his way around a car right? You two should do the valve seals then....assuming thats what it is. I feel your pain about choking people. Whenever I leave church, I leave a nice cloud for all the old people to walk through. It's even more embarrasing at the drive thru.

 

mine doesnt do it until it sits overnight. i have either decided to replace all the power buttons in my car and the tanks (water and overflow) or get the windows tinted. comments? suggestions?

 

Definately get the window done. you can get the buttons little by little off ebay for next to nothing..thats what I did. Anyways, the tint will look really good on that silver Z.

 

the buttons are dirt cheap at gmpartsdirect.com there are like 6 bucks shipped each button or something. im going to look into the tinting first tho. what about the hatch area? tint that too?

 

Definately do the hatch area. Thats a must. Make sure you take it to a shop that will do a seamless one piece rear tint. You don;t want 4 different pieces of tint on your back window.

 

thats gonna be more than a 100 bucks then dude. its like 70 just to tint the sides.

 

Heck, you can do the sides yourself for $10. The back is the hard one.