also looking to do this in Chattanooga.... anybody give me an estimate?

 

This is my first post, I think. I seem to keep deleting my messages somehow. Hopefully they didn't disappear to the forum instead of nowhere. Anyway, me too. I need new valve seals on my '93 S10 Blazer Tahoe LT, 4WD, 4.3 L CPI "W" VIN engine, 156,000 miles. I plan to do the job myself using the compressed air method. I have a little twist-type spring compressor but I am looking for the lever-style type that fits on the rocker arm bolts. Any thoughts on what style seals are best? I understand there are at least two different configurations available and also two different kinds of materials for the rubber parts. I think I read somewhere the "fluroelastomer"? holds up better, but I can't remember. Seems to me a few extra dollars might be worth it. Does anyone know the arguments for and against the different types?

Boscodoodle, What part of NW Alabama do you live in? I grew up in Florence.

 

Resurrecting the dead LOL

 

I read where the corvette seals are better, you will just have some leftovers, I used the ones for mine. I used the spring compressor tool auto zone loans. It worked great except for the springs closest to the back of the engine. For those, I took the tool apart and used a short piece of all thread and nut. seemed the only way in the tight space. also, put the shift lever in low to get the driver side cover in and out.
Im from louisanna but lived here in al. most of my life. In muscle shoals now with my beautiful wife, retired, enjoying life and our granchildren.
message me back...

 

Thanks for the response boscodoodle. I'll check into the Corvette seals. Just lost another post to the internet ether so I'll keep this one short. The tip about modifying the loaner tool is much appreciated. I just received a lever-type tool in the mail. I figure for $17 it's cheap insurance. Also I can grind on it if I have to. I plan to have all three type tools on hand before I open up the valve covers. Will report back here with results and notes.

You ever go up in that tower restaurant by Wilson Dam? I used to love to go over to the lock on a summer evening and watch the barges go through the lock. Fun to watch all that water come out as the barges descended.

 

It's coming up on three years since the valve stem job. Everything is still running great and no smoke. . Im using a famous brand high mileage oil.
The air compressor method and the small tips I mentioned is the way to go. Thanks for the help forum friends.

 

Thanks again boscoedoodle for your tips. Turns out I only used one of the three, but that one made all the difference as I'm sure I would have never figured it out on my own had you not alerted me to the possibility.


I did not check into the corvette seals as I had to special order the regular “positive” Viton TM/fluororpolymer intake seals and o-rings I did use. I felt researching and special ordering the corvette seals would have strained the good will of the people at Autozone and elsewhere I was dealing with. I did, however, spring for the extra $14 for the “high temperature” elastomer “umbrella” seals for the exhaust valves. I don't know for sure, but this was probably a waste of money as oil is unlikely to get drawn into the combustion chambers past exhaust valves that should be always either solidly closed or under pressure. A vacuum test and a leakdown test I performed both indicated exhaust valves were in good condition; and, also, when I got the valve covers off I discovered that whoever put seals in before me did not bother with umbrella seals and only used the o-rings. The intake seals that were present were the “positive” type and apparently in pretty good shape, but of course I changed them anyway. All the o-rings were brittle and shot. With the new seals the car now smokes considerably less on startup; but, it is still not perfect as the piston rings are pretty worn.


However, the whole chore was probably still worth the effort as it made me comfortable with the prospect of putting in a new catalytic converter without fear of leaking valve stem seals allowing oil contamination to cause premature failure. Turns out most of what was left of the element from my old converter was rattling around in the muffler. Changing that out myself was a difficult and nasty, but very interesting, job. I had to do a lot of awkward tumbling and shaking of the uninstalled muffler and tailpipe assembly to get most of the chunks of ceramic element out. Also, it was well worth it economically, as I figure for the effort involved I would have to have made around $50 an hour to spend my time more profitably elsewhere. Midas quoted me “about $400” installed. I got a generic Walker converter on eBay for $75. More importantly, replacing the catalytic converter undoubtedly allowed me to pass my state-required emissions test this morning--my primary objective.


I had three different types of valve spring tools on hand: an old low-profile twist-**** type that can be had at Harbor freight for about $15, a new good stamped-steel lever type for which I paid $16 or $17. (Later I found that contrary to what I was told by the counter person at O'Reilly they had a similar, lower-quality one, for $6. But it didn't matter. There wasn't enough room to use either--unless one were to remove the intake plenum; then I think either lever-type tool might have worked a lot easier than the screw-types I actually used.) The tool that worked best was a $20 OEM screw-type model from AutoZone. This tool provided more room to get at the valve stem keepers and seals with picks and magnets than the other one. But both the twist-**** tool and the OEM tool slipped off the springs way to much untill I finally figured out that I had to bend all the prongs and arms inward a little by means of a hammer and an anvil. Out of the package, the prongs were originally set too wide not to slip off the top of the valve spring retainers and rotators and the hook arms were not hooked acutely enough to hang onto the springs. So I just stood the arms on the anvil of my vise and beat the small ends untill the arms bent in the middle five or ten degrees so that the hooks could get a little more purchase. Thereafter, once the valve springs were compressed a little as the tool was being used, the arms naturally hooked in a little better progressively as the springs were compressed.

Given the other accounts posted in this thread, I'm not sure why things worked out as well as they did for me, but I had little trouble using the OEM tool in the tightest spots on the number five intake and exhaust valves under the brake booster. Probably this was because I could use a 3/8” ratchet with 12” drive extension to comfortably rotate the tool's screw while it lay against either side of the brake booster flange. At any rate, these valves, and also the number 6 valves, were little more difficult than any of the others--not that any of them were easy or fast to work on. It took me about two and a half days to get the whole job done, although a lot of that was time spent scratching my head to make sure I didn't do something stupid and make everything go FUBAR.


One thing that turned out to be less trouble than I expected was getting the driver's side valve cover on and off. The tip about putting the transmission into L or 1 was essential to provide enough clearance toward the rear of the cover. Also, I bent back slightly all the electrical ground connectors and wires that interferred in this region, as well as the spark wire clips on the sides of the valve covers. The other thing that I believe really helped was that I completely removed the alternator from the car. This allowed me to pull the cover forward and out under the radiator hose as I sequentially lifted the cover's internal partitions over the alternator-and-power steering pump auxilliary back brace found at the forward end of the valve cover. I don't think I could have done this at all if the alternator had still been attached in any position to the primary mount. With the alternator out, it all went really smoothly.


I'll recap this last part in order to save someone trouble and frustration that could otherwise end in tears. For the driver's side valve cover: Get all the wires and cables disconnected, off the plenum bolts etc., and well out of the way. Put the shift lever all the way over into L or 1st (thanks boscoedoodle). Remove the alternator completely from the car. Take the oil filler tube and the vent hose off the valve cover. Remove the valve cover bolts, of course. Carefully prise up the valve cover by the edge to get it unstuck. (My Yamaguchi carpenter's cat's paw worked great for this; there is not enough room to loosen the cover with a rubber mallet.) Rock the inward edge of the cover up and outward towards the fender to clear the air plenum base area. Slide the cover rearward tipping the back end down toward the firewall. Now pull the cover forward under the radiator hose while tugging on the hose and working the parts of the underside of the cover progressively over the alternator-power steering pump back brace. Before reinstalling the cover, glue the valve cover gasket into the cover with RTV sealant and let it cure for about an hour before attempting to reinstall the cover. If you do all this, it should be easy to reverse the process above and get the cover back in on the head assembly with no problems.