The Camaro Club (UK)

Hi all,

I have the 305 tpi in an '87 Trans am, so would be the same engine as in the Camaro.

Get a bit of smoke kick up at start up (not every day, but most). Oil wastage isn't too bad, i've put maybe a quarter of a litre in since May, if that. Looking at putting in new valve stem seals around November time (when the Camaro should be done, so i've got a back vehicle just in case.

Has anyone done there's yet and if so can recommend a set to go for?

I've found these on Rockauto, made by Felpro. :

Intake:
http://www.rockauto.co.uk/catalog/morei ... cc=1251391
Exhaust:
http://www.rockauto.co.uk/catalog/morei ... cc=1251391

Same but via Summit:
http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/f ... /overview/

Would they be ok? I take it TPI / TBI etc is irrelevant as a description as this part of the engine would be the same. Just looking for a set for the intake and exhaust to replace the factory ones. Anything else i should consider needing when doing this? Not done this before so i expect it will take me all of a weekend

Thanks!

Ray

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I did it with the heads on.
I bought some nylon string which was fed into the cylinder with the piston down.
I then bought the piston up to TDC gently crushing the string.
Nylon is smooth and that lessens the risk of binding in the cylinder making removal difficult.

Using a valve spring compressor on the rocker stud I could remove the retainer and spring.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-906784/overview/

Fit the new valve stem seals and reassemble.....15 to go.

If you have access to compressed air all the better.

Your oil consumption seems healthy , better to loose a little oil and lubricate the guides than have too much seal and wear the guides .
I would tend to leave it alone ...just sayin

I did mine because cylinders 5 & 7 were bad.

Thanks for the quick reply guys! Good tip on that tool, reading the reviews it looks like it come in handy and it seems to pay for itself after one replacement session.

Ye as you say, the oil consumption seems normal. In comparison in my clio, it was brilliant as it didn't need a top up between the yearly changes Then again, smaller cylinders and half as many. What worries me more than the consumption is the plume that kicks out nearly every time i start it. Can be a bit embarrassing when someone's stood next to the car. If i've just started the car and reverse with the windows down, my clothes stink of fumes for the the rest of the day. I'll try and get a pic of next time it does it.

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Got the same problem with my camaro and it's pretty bad, fills the whole street with smoke for about 2 mins then it's perfect lol.

It's a very easy job to do on a push rod engine assuming bolts don't break etc, obviously a full top end gasket kit is needed and they normally come with valve stem seals. Felpro stuff is very good so I would probably get there top end kit.

I normally just rip a head off, stick it on a bench then take out all the valves at once and replace them all. Then just bolt it all back together. BEt you could do a he's in 2-3 hours with lots of tea breaks lol

Can't believe someone said it's better to hae knacked valve stem seals lol!

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Top end off, done in 2-3 hours ?

Sorry, don´t believe you.

Drain coolant, remove exhaust headers, remove distributor, remove intake, remove alternator, remove rocker covers, remove rockers/pushrods then
the heads.
Do the valve stem seals.
Put the whole lot back together.
When I do mine I leave it 24 hours before startup to let the RTV I used at the intake water ports cure properly.

Doing it the way I suggested, heads on in car is a days work.

Seems to me you may "hae knacked valve stem seals lol!''
Your reading skills seem somewhat lacking as you seem to have missed the whole point of this thread, namely renewing the seals WITHOUT removing the heads ...
Also I know the Firebird that is being discussed in this thread and it is a healthy car and I had the opportunity to observe it on a longish journey - and the was no smoke visible when it started out 1st thing or later on when we stopped at the services .
On your own evidence your car would seem to smoke like a steam locomotive
I would have thought a mechanic of your caliber would have done the job in a couple of easy hours judging by your post .
Here in the real world most of us take a little longer...
Because this is the internet I'll cut you some slack , but if you deliberately try to misrepresent my advice as something it was not then you are either being deliberately stupid or trying to be the smart-ass .
I did not say it is better to have worn out or missing guides, said that some oil ingress is necessary and desirable as long as it is not excessive .
Now have a nice day

Out of curiosity then, did you know the car when Steve owned it? As you say, no smoke during driving, it's only usually when i start it. This morning was ok, no smoke. Last few days it's kicked some blue coloured smoke out. Definitely don't want to take the heads off - too many things that will be easy for me to brake and go wrong lol.

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If you do it the way I described it´ll be a doddle.
The valve compressor may be a tad difficult to use on the rear cylinders but it can be done,
follow the firing order.
Any of those seals will do the job.
BTW, the only oil I´m consuming right now seems to be from the crank rear main seal....

Any money looking for a place to go, now would be a good time to go to roller rockers.....1.6:1
I have Harland Sharp but they were bought when prices were reasonable, unbreakable.

http://www.summitracing.com/int/search/ ... %20rockers