I am in need of replacing the valve stem seals in my 86 Iron Duke. I have the old oil leak...she eats about a quart or so a month, and smokes at acceleration. I was hoping someone out there could give me "Idiot Proof" instructions on how to do this as I have NEVER messed with the valves before but have heard this is a fairly easy procedure and I can do it with the engine in the car. I'd appreciate any help you guys could give me...also, let me know if I need any special tools.

Thanks All,
Craig

There is a special tool that you can get most anywhere that screws into the spark plug hole. The other end hooks to an air hose. The rest is in the Haynes or Chiltons manual. I know the Haynes has it. PM me if you have any other ?s. Good luck.

------------------
"We are the music makers... And we are the dreamers of dreams..." -Willy Wonka

In addition to the previous post it is the air pressure you pump into the cylinder that holds the valves inplace while you replace the seals. You will also need a tool to compress the spring, so the spring keepers can be removed. I know they make a tool for that, so now you need two tools. Other wise you have to remove the head to replace the valve seals. Hope this helps and have fun.
Jim

Craig, I recently replaced the seals on my '84 and I found that there are seals on the intake valves but not the exhaust valves, maybe the '86 is different I don't know.

My engine uses about a quart every 3000 miles but smokes at start-up and on acceleration after sitting in traffic for a few minutes, replacing the intake valve seals did not reduce the puff of smoke from my car.

I would guess your engine is getting old like all the rest and it's going through oil due to worn rings also, evidence of this is usually oil in the air cleaner housing.

If I were you I would forget the seal replacement and think about an engine rebuild or just purchasing a crate motor and installing that.

I know this isn't what you wanted to hear but hopefully it will help with your decision on your next course of action.

Tools needed if you decide to go ahead and replace the seals are pretty simple, if you have access to an air compressor the one scarecrow mentioned is what I used,(see pic below)

you will also need a valve spring compressor, (see pic below)

these are fairly cheap and easy to use tools.

The trick is to keep the valve from dropping into the cylinder after you pull the retainer and spring, the air tool presurizes the cylinder which holds the valve at the top.

If you don't have access to shop air you can use the rope method, what you need is a length of soft flexible rope, remove the valve cover and all spark plugs.

Make sure the piston in the cylinder your doing is on the compression stroke but not at the top yet.

Push as much rope into the cylinder as you can then slowly using a wrench or socket (DO NOT USE THE STARTER)on the crankshaft bolt slowly turn the crankshaft until the piston moves up as far as it can, the rope is soft and will not damage anything and it will push up on the bottom of the valves holding them in place.

Now you compress the springs, (there is the main outer and a secondary inner)remove the two retaining pieces and pull the springs up off the valve stem, the seal is now exposed, pop it off, oil up and pop on the new one making sure it seats fully and re-install the springs and retainers.

Fairly simple, just take your time and it should go OK.

------------------

It's allways something!

Thanks for the info guys...so it could be an old engine getting ready to crap out huh? I only have about 80,000 miles on this one, could that still be the case?

Craig

mine will smoke a tad on startup. i'm not sure what i'll do when it finally craps out. i'm just as prone to rebuild the duke as i am to do a quad 4. i'm leaning toward the q4. just not sure. lol. btw, my engine uses very little oil. but it does smoke on startup. a small puff and then it's ok. and i've got 140,000 miles!

------------------
"We are the music makers... And we are the dreamers of dreams..." -Willy Wonka

Craig, just because you have some nuisance smoke doesn't mean the motor is about to cr*p out, maybe upgrade to a heavier oil the next time you do an oil change, that may help. I would say if it still runs good it will last a while longer while you explore your options, HoHo

Yeah, I think I'm going to add a heavier oil and throw in an additive or two to try and help with the smoke. I'll go for the valve seals in a couple weeks if that doesn't seem to help. I really hope its not the engine...mainly because I have soooo many other things that are getting fixed right now. I love driving it...just trying to get through the resto process and if the engine goes then that would definitely be a buzz kill.

Craig

The air fitting in spark plug hole or the rope are the best ways to keep from "dropping" a valve. Autozone sells a tool for less than $10 for compressing the valve spring. It uses the rocker bolt as a pivot and a slotted end to go over the spring. On the package it says it is for GM V8 engines, but it will work on the Fiero 4 cylinder.