I have a 1990 Trans Am GTA with the 305 engine. It has a pretty major oil leak from the intake manifold. Also, I get a big cloud of blue smoke when I fire it up if it's been sitting for more than a few hours. A friend told me that was the valve guides. Since I was taking the intake manifold off, I figured it wouldn't be much more work to get the heads off and have them done. I was too stupid to know how big a project this was going to be, or I wouldn't have tackled it. Here's a timelapse video of the whole process:

 

When I dropped the heads off at the machine shop, the guy looked at the sludgy oil and said I probably need an entire engine rebuilt. There was a lot of sludge in the main oil gallery and on the valve rockers, but the cylinders look really good to my untrained eye. He was concerned about the oil control rings. Any way I can tell how worn the piston rings are without taking things apart more?

 

Does it smoke or eat oil?

Kickass video btw.

 

Sludge doesn't necessarily mean the engine is worn out. It's probably just been neglected and didn't get regular oil and filter changes.

Sludge can also form if the engine never reaches operating temperature for extended periods of time (short trips <10 miles) or if the thermostat is stuck open.

How many miles are on the engine?

You can get an idea of how worn the cylinders are by feeling for a ridge up at the top of the bores. You can also measure the bores and compare the measurements with those in the manual.

As for ring wear, you'll need to get the pistons out.

Cool video. But where are all the empty beer cans stacked up on the fenders?

 

Just about every damn time I start it, if it's been sitting for more than a couple hours, there is a big cloud of blue smoke. But driving around, it does not smoke. I was told that's probably the valve guides, which is why I'm having the heads done.

It does go through oil, though not a lot. A quart every two months for a daily driver. I chalk that up to a big oil leak from the intake manifold and the startup smoke.

 

110,000 miles on the engine. I bought it at 90k and have had it two years. I changed the oil the first week I got it, and I've been real good about changing it every 3000 miles. I was very concerned about the leaks and the blue smoke, so I've kept a close eye on the oil level.

And there is a table to the right of the car, just out of the picture, where I put all the beer cans.

 

You could have save some time by not taking off the hood and the pulley brackets

 

The biggest problems I had getting the heads off were due to access. Getting to the exhaust manifold bolts on the drivers side, between the steering column and master cylinder and the A.I.R. tubes on the manifold, was really difficult.

Getting the hood and the pulley brackets off was very easy, everything was nice and accessible. And it helped me when I was trying to get off stubborn bolts buried deeper in the engine bay. It probably saved me more time than it took.