Hello all,

So with my tax refund I finally have the money to repair the common smoke
problem that plagued all firebirds due to the valve seals leaking.
My car overheated quite a few times last summer and I am going to replace
all the engine gaskets (maxed out to dangerous levels).
While I am in there I was going to replace the timing chain.
Any tips or suggestions for any or all of what I plan to do???????
Keep in mind that I work as a mechanic and I do have acces to a lift and
more than likely most of if not all the tools I need.
Just have never done any of this before and I am a little nervous.


Craig

PS I had checked some other threads and I read a few people had bent
pushrods. Should I get a set just in case and what size would I need?

 

A mechanic that's nervous about working on a small block Chevy?

What?

 

what year is your car and what engine does it have?

 

General service mechanic and I work on lexus vehicles at a dealership.
1990 trans am gta with l98 engine (5.7 350 v-8).


Craig

PS General service there means oil change, rotation, tires, brakes, alignments
but really no engine work (tear downs and thing like that).

 

Oh o.k., my appologies. If the engine is higher mileage, timing chain is a great idea. Fairly inexpensive.

You can check the pushrods by rolling them over a peice of glass. If they click, replace them.

Are you planning on replacing the head gaskets, or just the oil sealing gaskets? If you are doing the head gaskets, changing the valve seals is easy with if the heads are sitting on the bench.

Again, depending on mileage, it would be a good idea to get the valve springs checked.

 

Most all of the gaskets, (heads included). I am planning on taking the heads off to do so. I have read and was told by fellow mechanics that it would be
easier to do the seals with the heads off the car.
These are the seals I bought from jegs: Comp Cams 503-16 - Comp Cams Valve Stem Seals.
Does anyone have comments on these seals? The engine is stock.
I am hoping by doing these repairs I can get a little more "umph" from my
car (plus 2 years of watching that smoke coming out of my exhaust was
enough).
So basically what you're saying is I should go ahead and get the push rods.
I would rather have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.
What size do I need and do I need to get a specific type (i.e. stock type,
peformance, etc).
I was contemplating replace the oil pan gasket as well but I think I remembered reading something about freeze plugs. Do I need those too?

Craig

 

No comment about the valve seals, but I'm sure they are fine if they are Comp. I usually get them from Fel Pro - cheap and very high quality.

I am saying check the pushrods. If they aren't bent, re-use them. If you want the peace of mind, buy new ones. They aren't horribly expensive. No advice on the correct length, but if you measure the old ones you should be o.k.

Freeze plugs - if they don't leak, don't disturb them. You can check for signs of leakage by staining.

If you are looking for a little more oompf, you are already all the way into the cam if you are removing the heads and replacing the timing chain. My advice would be a mild cam that has good manners. Someone else on this forum will give you advice on what part # it would take to achieve that. Don't let anyone talk you into a high performance cam - you won't like it.

 

Great thanks.
As far as the pushrods, I read on these boards that someone replaced their
pushrods and had upper engine problems due to new pushrods and old upper
engine parts.
I am a little nervous about that if I replace them I might have other engine
problems. The car has 120,000 miles on it.



Craig

 

Do a compression check on all 8 and a cooling system pressure test.

If both are fine, skip the head gaskets.

Then, do the VG seals on the car by just hooking up the compressor to each cylinder, unthread the rocker nut counting the threads, pull the rocker and pushrod, clean and dry the pushrod to roll it on glass to test, tap the spring retainer with a light non-steel mallet, compress the spring, remove the keepers, pull the spring replace the seals and then put it together with the same # of turns of the nut.

I had horrible VG seals (1qt / week) and it helped tremendously. Do that work, then plan on doing the cam & T.chain.

You would have a heavy ticking noise with bent pushrods.