1987 vette valve seals

[strikercat]

In the process of replaceing the valve seals.With help this past weekend started on the drivers side of motor.With the rockers and springs off on cyl. 1 we realized there was an o-ring on the intake and the exhaust valve.I had bought the valve seal kit from a local[Bennet Auto Parts]store,they sold me only the kit to do the intake valves,even though I made it clear what I was doing[I thought].We used the kit to finish the left side,I called the store and ordered the kit for the exhaust valves.This kit has the o-rings[like the intake kit] and "hats" that fit on the base of the exhaust valve.The factory didnt use the hats,just the o-rings on the exhaust valves,my parts man tells me the hats will make the seals last longer.One of my questions,should I go back and redo the exhaust valves and install the "hats' ,just leave the left side as is,do the right side and just use the o-rings or use the hats and the o-rings on the right side??? My second question,can the valve cover on the right side of the engine be removed without dropping the exhaust manifold on that side as the book says?Can the EGR pipe be removed from the manifold on the car? Any help/info much appreciated.

 

[Ken]

Hang in there. I haven't done the job before, but the original seals, if I understand it correctly, were "umbrella" type seals which were prone to leaking. They were replaced by another type, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

I can't quite get a picture of what you are trying to describe. :confused

Others have done this job and will provide support shortly.

_ken

 

[69MyWay]

I have done this job on the car several times.

The exhaust hats are a good upgrade...and I suggest you install them as well.

The passenger side bites! That EGR tube has to come off, and you have to struggle to wiggle and jiggle the valve cover up and out of the way.

The pipe can be removed with the manifold on. However, is this the kind that has the bolt on pipe or the crimp fit pipe down on the manifold?

If the bolt on pipe, other than rusty bolts---it is a piece of cake to remove. If you are a lucky fellow with the crimp fit steel ring----GOOD LUCK!!!!!

It would be better to remove the passenger side manifold than to mess with removing just the pipe on the crimp fit style. However..I have done it. I bought three new crimp rings from GM because I cut the old one off with a dremel. The problem is there is not much room in there to re-crimp the new ring in place. I ended up making a tool (I bet that does not surprise Ken) out of my vice grips that allowed me to rotate around the clamp and crimp it. It worked--but was a serious pain in the butt.

Just keep reminding yourself how much money you are saving doing this yourself, the fact you don't have to remove the heads and intake, and no more blue smoke when you crank her up!

 

[strikercat]

Looks like I'm one of the lucky ones to have the clamp on the EGR pipe.I think the best thing to do is take off the manifold on the right side,too bad I'm not looking to install headers.I will also go install the upgraded exhaust seals.Thanks for the replys. Ken

 

[The Car Whisperer]

You can replace that clamp with a small U-bolt saddle clamp like you use on exhaust pipes. They do come in this small size. Replace the nuts that come with the clamp with friction nuts so that they don't loosen. Use the crimped type friction nuts not the ones with the nylon insert for obvious reasons. Just assemble it around the bulge where the pipes connect and tighten sparingly so as not to crimp the pipe. I tried to crimp an original one back on there and it was impossible, I even have the correct "Oetiker" clamp tool for the OEM type clamps but you just can't get it into the space to squeeze the pliers shut. The u-bolt saddle clamp works great and it comes apart easier when you need to remove it.