tired of the smoke
been told to get mushroom style...is there a hevy duty stlye i could get...
and do I use it on both the intake and exhaudst seals?
do i pre lube the seals before i put them on?

and does any parts store(autoZ,etc)sell that airhose adapter to your spark plug hole?

 

Mushroom style? Umbrella is what I've heard them called (and used). I got a kit from Pep Boys that included both the umbrella and stock-type o-rings. I put both on the intakes only - didn't touch the exhaust. Sort of wished I would have, but I'm getting black exhaust at hot start-up, which indicates a carb problem, not valve stem seals. Anything other than the o-ring or umbrella seal would require machining the top of the guide, which would require head removal.

I haven't checked Auto Zone, but NAPA surely would have the adapter. I believe Pep Boys does as well. Call around to check.

A light coat of oil is good before sliding them on. Be sure to use the little plastic sleeve to prevent tearing/cutting the seal on the keeper grooves.

One tip: After you get the air pressure on the cylinder, take a socket (11/16 or 3/4", something just under the OD of the retainer) on an extension, put the socket over the retainer, and give it a wack with a hammer (1# or so) to break the keepers loose from the retainer. Will make it much easier to compress the spring w/o opening the valve, allowing you to get the keepers off. Hit it hard enough and the keepers will come out and you won't have to compress the spring - but you could drop the valve in the cylinder, too.

Another tip: Have a magnet retriever tool handy when removing/installing the keepers - just in case.

Okay, a third tip: The engine will likely turn over when you apply the air pressure to the cylinder. Make sure you don't have anything near the fan, belts, or other pulleys when you do that.

Okay, an option to consider (which I also didn't do): Replace the valve springs while you've got it down this far. My factory springs float @5100 RPM.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/LB9 block, ZZ3 cam and intake, WP 305 heads ported & polished, TBD headers & hi-flow cat).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

 

on top of all that Mr. five7kid had to say i measure the distacne from the top of the rocker stud to the top of the rocker nut with the de[th rod of a dial caliper so all i have to do replicate the measurement. saves a lot of time and mess from adjusting rockers.

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd

 

Also stuff paper towel or something down into the oil return holes so a keeper doesn't find its way in there.

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Base: 89 Iroc-Z LB9 auto 2.73 posi
Exh: 3" Dynomax muffler, 3" Pipe in place of cat
Ign: Accel 300+ wires, cap&rotor
Fuel: Cleaned and flow-matched injectors, afpr, !air pump&diverter valve
Sound: Clarion deck, Kicker speakers and amps
Suspension: KYB Shocks, BMR Strut Tower Brace
Misc: TB Bypass, Synthetic Oil, Flexlite Transmission cooler,
free mods, hopefully engine swap and 4th gen seats in the works...

 

What are the umbrella seals? I just bought a seal of seals, but they are just cylinder shaped seals with a hard piece of rubber or plastic or something near the top of one side.

Did I buy the right stuff?

 

some good tips here (especially the paper towels in the oil returns so you aren't cussing murphy the whole day). I'm a big fan of overkill, especially in this instance. I always use positive seals plus o'rings. there are basically 3 types of seals, umbrella, positive and o'ring. the o'rings install above the retainers, below the keepers. When you remove the springs, you'll probably pull the o'rings off with the retainers. There are 2 grooves in the top of the valve, the lower groove is for the o'rings, the upper for the keepers. Umbrella seals are just that, umbrellas. These are made of a hard plastic material and simply float on the valve over the guides. Positive seals are a rubber "barrel" shaped seal that has a metal ring around the top (different manufacturers will vary in appearance). Positive seals press over the guides. Just about every sbc guide I've messed with have been machined for these to fit so I wouldn't worry about that. I think you have positive type seals in your hands by the way you talk. I'm not sure if you know what you're doing here so you might want to get some experienced help because there are many things you can mess up if you miss a step somewhere. Not to mention get yourself hurt. I do not suggest trying to dislodge the keepers by hammering on the spring. With 100psi or more holding the springs on, you are creating small rockets which can injure you as well as break, dent or scratch components and paint. a spring under pressure can hold up to and over 300psi. The biggest thing that can make this job difficult or easy is the spring tool. I have found the best tool just lately and about everyone has them including jegs and summit. Jegs has them for 75 bucks under part #710-62370. the heel-bar type tool requires you to hold the spring with one hand while trying to remove or install the keepers which is when they start falling down where you'll never find them (get some extra keepers before you start because it's easy to lose them). This tool has two pieces. The main part has a reversible threaded sleeve that has both 3/8 and 7/16" threads (yours is 3/8). you spin the tool over the rocker stud and then it has a fork that sits on the retainer. Then you slide the handle onto the body and pull it over. This is where this one comes in handy because this tool locks over leaving both your hands free to retrieve the keepers. Now for operation. remove all the spark plugs and valve covers, etc. You will need a compression hose to screw into the cylinders to pressure them up to keep the valves from opening. You need to unseat the keepers as stated either using a socket and hammer or else like I do by just taking a hammer and hitting each retainer off to one side, making sure not to hit the valve tip. Then pressure up one cylinder, install the spring tool and remove the keepers on that spring. remove the tool, retainer and spring and old seal. You may not have seals on the exhaust side depending on the year and model engine and whether they are factory. Now depending on which seals you chose is how you will proceed. You will slide on the seal protector over the tip of the valve (should be supplied by the seal manufacturer). umbrella seals will just slide over the valve stem and sit on the guide. Positive seals will slide over the stem and press onto the guide. I usually take a 1/2" deep socket and slide over the valvestem and tap them down with a screwdriver handle or something. It doesn't take much pressure so don't hit them hard. next remove the protector. Now install the spring and retainer (or new ones if you choose). Install the spring tool and compress the spring. Now slip the o'ring over the stem down into the lower groove, install the keepers and release the spring. Now repeat for the second valve on that cylinder. Remove the air from that cylinder and use a deadblow or other plastic hammer and hit the valve stem downward to seat the keepers. repeat for each cylinder.

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Kyle Osterholt
Okarche, Oklahoma
ASE Master Certified
86 T/A 383 TPI
89 TTA #1002 T-top/Leather
89 TTA #1358 Hardtop/Leather
80 T/A Pace Car
73 Opel GT
73 bronco