ok dudes im trying to freshen up this 350 that i have and ive gone through the normal of clearing out all of the gunk in the motor. (this isnt for my camaro though but i think you guys will know how to do this). i need to know how to install the umbrella valve seals. if someone can take me from the rocker arm to putting it on that would be great. i have the covers off and whatnot. ready for some info.

 

if youve never done it with heads on the motor than i advise you not to start alone... you have to pressurize the cylinder with air at 100 psi and hold it there while removing your locks... if something goes wrong the valve will fall down inside the cylinder...... please unless your a skilled mechanic, dont try this alone the first time...

 

Don't take anything off that you don't need to so you won't have to worry about what goes where.
Remove all spark plugs.
You don't have to remove the push rods or the rocker arms.
Loosen the rocker arm until it clears the rod and valve tip, twisted so it's not sitting on the push rod, or the valve tip.
Apply constant air pressure to the cylinder through the spark plug hole to keep the valves from dropping into the cylinder.
Now you can compress the springs to remove the locks.
Yes, you may not have the skill lelve required to do this, but you'll have to learn to do it on your to save money, it just takes some studying, preparation, and the proper tools.

 

how are you going to compress the springs if the rocker arms are still attatched? you have to loosen them so that means they are already out of adjustment, you have to bolt the spring compressor tool to the stud that the rocker arm sits on wich requires removing the rocker arm.... after you compress the spring you have to remove the lock retainer that holds the spring.... if the valve does not have a good seal or you lose your air pressure, you WILL lose the valve to the depths of that cylinder.... again please dont try this for the first time alone...

 

See pic below:



It's not difficult to do this. Go slowly, one valve at a time. If you have a digital camera take pics of everything in case you forgot where it came off of. And make very sure you have the valve locks back in correctly. Compare them with the others that you haven't removed yet to make sure they are seated correctly. The unbrealla seals just slip over the valve stem after you remove the old o-ring seal. Just push it on all the way down, it will move into the correct position when the engine turns over the first time.

One small tip I can give you is, the locks will most likely be stuck inside the valve spring retainers. Take a socket that will fit on top of the retainer (3/4" would be fine) and put it on top of the retainer and give it a hard tap with a hammer. That breaks the locks away from the retainer. I'm not saying smack it hard, just a good tap to unstick them. When removing the locks, a small magnet is a big help.

 

Thanks - Alloy.
If it'll save time and money you can bet there's a tool to do it. This particular tool has been around for a long time.