Dan bought me an IROC but it smokes so we can't get it smogged yet. We have replaced the valve manifold gasket because it was leaking, put thicker oil in it, and put in a bottle of stuff that is suppose to make it stop smoking. It didn't help much. So we decided to see what condition the valve stem seals were in. They are a mess. Cracked and falling apart. Bought a whole new set and planned on replacing all of them on Saturday. The problem we ran into is that the tool he has to squish the springs won't work on all the valves. Not enough room. There are several different kinds out there. Which one works best?

We have an '86 IROC with 305 TPI.

I am posting because he won't! I wanna drive my car!

Oh, we also replaced the spark plugs and wires.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I will answer your questions the best I can. This is a learning by doing project for me. It ruined my manicure but I am having a ball learning how to work on my own car. Dan is being over the top patient, even when I drop nuts and stuff down into the engine!

If he is using the typical, stamped steel compressor, that's usually the best. there is a kit available for overhead cam engines that will probably work, but it is expensive for a one time job. In my shop, we have two of the traditional ones. one is unmodified, one is cut down severely, and we use long pliers to compress. helps get into tight spots. otherwise, its just profanity and elbow grease.

I had good luck with one of these. I would suggest getting one with a hex on the head soyou can use a socket wrench on it.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=231210_0_0_

Welcome to TGO!!

I looked at the tool that Midias suggested. It is similar to the one we tried but the hex top gives us more options. I shot the link to Dan.

It sure is great to have all this help at our fingertips. I always wanted to learn to work on my own car but it wasn't a girl thing growing up. Now that I am hitting 60 (next year) I don't really care! Manacure be damned!

Welcome and good luck with your project. How about some pictures of your new ride?

Here are a couple of pix. When we pulled off the first valve seals Dan showed me how the valves are loose. The engine has 159,000 miles on it. We picked up a parts car ('86 camero) with the same engine but only about 53,000 original miles. Sooooo, we are thinking about pulling out the IROC engine. Then "freshen up" the parts car engine so I can drive my car. In the meantime we can work on the IROC engine out of the car and really do a good job on rebuilding it.

I like the idea because I can really learn how the whole engine works. Drive my car in the meantime and really do a nice job on the original engine.

Waddya think?

good plan, build the new engine right

Last time I did valve stem seals I used one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crane-Cams-V...-/190964273006

Just a note: Make sure the cylinder is loaded with air before removing the retainers.

Personally i like the rope method. It is safer