I want to have the heads reconditoned on the L98 and I'm wondering if it will cause faster wear on the rest of the engine soon after. I do plan on getting the engine rebuilt or replaced with a 383 at the end of next year.Right now the engine only smokes at startup(valve seals) and oil compression is down a little.Also I think that I have noisy lifter(s) on the passenger side,but it could be just an exhaust leak. Any help would be appreciated. John

 

why do you tihnk they need rebuilt? if it's just smoke at start up try the valve seals and don't go to the extra time, effort, or expense. as for causing problems with the engine i don't think so

 

Well I was thinking of doing it while I still have the funds with xmas being near.Also since I was told that my lifters or a loose rocker arm is what is making the loud ticking noises I was going to go ahead and have the heads rebuilt as damage may have resulted from driving like that for a long while.That probably caused the resulted compression loss.I didn't mention before that I had overheating problems so that's another senario.
As I had previously mentioned I'm going to either have the engine rebuilt/or get new one, well I have a '73 Camaro and I may toy with the idea of putting the '91s rebuilt 350 in there and put a 383.Later when i restore the '91 I was going to put the '91s 350 back in the '91 and take the new 383 in the 73,still following me with all of this?lol. So that's my delema.

 

All of your symptoms could be the result of a head problem. A bent exhaust valve will cause valve train noise, lost compression, overheating, and may be contributing to the startup smoking.

Anything you can do to return your heads to original specificatiosn certainly won't cause any accelerated wear to any other engine components. If you want to virtually stop wear altogether, switch to synthetic lubrricant after you install your repaired heads.

 

Thanks,I was hoping to hear something to that effect.Wasn't looking forward to a complete rebuild of the engine soon after so that's good to hear.So I'll just redo the heads and whatnot then later buy the 383 and put the '91s current engine in the '73(just needs an engine,that's it..no retoring needed) until it comes time to restore the '91 to original.

 

While the heads are off, you can at least get a good look at the upper two-thirds of the bores, and measure for wear. If the cylinder that you can measure is not heavily tapered, out of round, or oversized, you may be able to drive with a little more confidence after the heads are reworked.

If you find cylinder damage or wear, you'll at least have learned something that will allow you to better plan your rebuild, and may have an idea of the remaining life of the engine.

Either way, while the heads are off and since you have a TPI, you might want to consider injector cleaning and flow matching. The service usually takes a few days with shipping time, and can make a noticable difference in operation.

 

I want to do this while I still have the funds to do this work,xmas coming,because I'll be moving to Arkansas at the beginning of next summer,don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.I'll just have them check everything out before doing the head work so I don't waste my money and their time. Thanks for the advice,I'll check into all of that when I get the work started. All is greatly appreciated!!