1992 mx3 valve stem seals

[SuperK]

Use a flat blade scraper to remove it

[valk1317]

So my progress is kinda slow i realize, but remember, not a mechanic and have a tiny child barking at me most of the time lol..

rented the valve spring compressor from crappy tire today and got all my valve out and seperated in plano bins. it didnt really work... as implied.. i had to use a 17mm deep socket in conjuntion with the compressor to get the valves compressed as they sit quite recessed in the head casting.
magnetic tool through the socket dealt with the keeprs just fine.
this however, is not a practical tool to put everything back, so i need to know the style of compressor i need to look for to put the valves back in. or will i have to bend some custom brackets for the one i rented to fit in the recess?

i have rc racing tommorrow so i doubt ill work on it anymore. i have to scrape the heads clean and the block deck as well. pop all the seals, which were hard enough to cut me btw.. and probably take the heads in to be cleaned by the machine shop as i dont want shavings from the scraping to get in there.

this is a budget build so i fished a brand new cabinet scraper from work to clean the heads. should be MUCH safer than the tool you suggested. when planing painted stuff we never ever use direct force blades like that as they are very easy to dig in if they hit a burr or somthing. the cabinet scraper will ride the flat surface and the perfect 90 degree ege on it will plane off the old gasket.
of course. ill have the heads checked when they are cleaned to make sure i dont fk them up. and machined if nessisary.. just want to minimize labour cost as much as possible.
this is a car we couldnt get rid of $500 after all lol.

im kind of on the hunt for lowering springs and jdm body parts now. im not going to rice this car out in any way, stock wheels even. i just wanna give it a nice even drop and clean stance.
its running 195/55/15 on stockers right now which is a little undersized as stock size was very hard to find.

[SuperK]

I would recommend:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

or

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0374


your life will appreciate how easy it is compared to using a spring compressor.

[valk1317]

Ill definitely check that out for the msp. I borrowed a better compressor from a mechanic friend to put it back togethr. Should have heads ready to go back in tomorrow if I'm lucky.

[valk1317]

I know the answer to this is just to machine it... but im trying to keep the budget as low as possible. this car was running great aside from the smoke..

so the heads have a tiny bit of pitting over the coolant area.. evident by the black.



I sanded this with 400 wet on a sheet of glass to get it to this point. all the mating points are flat and i was hoping to move on to 800 to finish it. the pits are obviously where the black is. you can just BARELY feel them. almost not measureable.


.... $500 car.. lol

[davmac]

Progress looks good. Spray the head gaskets with Hylomar Universal Blue Racing formula before install as insurance against coolant leaks. Buy the Hylomar gasket sealing compound in an aerosol can. I was given this tip from a machine shop when I replaced head gaskets due to an external coolant leak. The MLS gaskets do a great job sealing combustion gases, but sometimes not so good at sealing coolant. Just hang the head gaskets by a wire and spray both sides. Let them dry for a while and then install. This stuff never sets up solid so no problems even if they have been sprayed 1/2 hour or more before you install. My results: No head gasket leaks for 3 years running.

[davmac]

also, what would allow so much oil to build up on the alternator ect? would it be just as simple as dropping the pan and putting in a new seal? the inside of the timing cover was pretty dirty as well. so maybe a front seal went bad. bleh.. so much work.. I think i had the timing belt and waterpump done in like 4 hours on wifes es..

I agree that valve cover gaskets on this engine can be terrible leaky after lots of years. But pay attention on reassembly to the front camshaft cap and camshaft seals. These are sources of leaking oil onto the alternator even after the valve cover seals are replaced. The front camshaft caps (both heads) and the rear one where the distributor connects both need to have a thin coat of RTV between the cap and the head. All the other camshaft caps are installed clean metal to metal in the same location prior to disassembly. I even added a bit of RTV to the outside of the camshaft oil seal before it was pressed in. Reference: Step 4 and the picture with arrows and shading to the left of the step in this link.

[valk1317]

I put this head aside and started to hit the other with 400. I used a large hardend cabinet scrapper to remove the old gasket. Much more effective and goudge proof than a razor blade as it doesn't bend ect.

Its a little annoying to burn through so much paper with the sharpness of the edges but I guess that's a sign the bottom is planing nicely.
How should I clean the inside of the heads? Combustion chambers valve caps.
And any suggestions for keeping s--- out of the oil passages when I plane the block ? don't care about coolant as much. Old hg prob won't do much to the water pump though I suppose it could clog any of the billion tiny water lines. =[
Just unhooking everything was a chore.

[SuperK]

once you're done cleaning it, dunk it in a tub of hot soapy water. use dishwater detergent such as dawn.

I would just get a thing of simple green. lasts forever because you only need a little to dilute it. between engine degreaser, a scrubbing pad and degreaser you can clean up the carbon buildup easily.

or you could spend hours and just polish everything up

[valk1317]

heh. i almost expected to get crucified for sanding the b---- lol.

good to know sunlight will work just fine. i use that for all my paint work as a surface prep as it degreases quite well. i have the valve spring compressor to put everything back together but is ther e atrick to reinserting the keepers? just compress and drop them in?

its nice to have a learning car like this. though now i wont wanna get rid of it. maybe ill fix the big a-- dent in it and just keep it around as a dd and make my msp absolutely stupid. I had considered a KL swap to that as well but after working on this with the amount of room there is, ill probably stick to fsde.

in the mean time, this thread is meaningless without pictures!

First off, the Girlie in question



lady driven for 7 years..

the mess



old HG



Shiney HG



workshop/office lol



that looks like the cause of the smokey mornings.



I might get a little more done this week after work, but finding time has been rough with my kid and not having a lit garage.. shop light just doesnt work for this kinda stuff.

there is also the weekend diversion...

[SuperK]

I was able to install the keepers and retainers with a valve spring compressor.

It was bad. I mean... terribad. Get one of these http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

and you'd be glad you did.

Otherwise I did it with a combination of a magnet and a knife.

[valk1317]

Ill def buy one for the msp but this going together this week while I have use of the compressor. Would be a minimum two weeks to get stuff in mail from the us =\ even the etailers I buy hobby stuff from take a week and a half. Usps or ups doesn't matter. Though I see a snap on truck rolling around town. Wonder if they would have it on hand.

[SuperK]

O'Reillys has a Lisle? Brand you can get... Maybe one for rent...

[valk1317]

The only place that rents tools here had the spring compressor that I couldn't use to put things back together lol.
Canada kinda shitty for convenience sometimes. Ill prob judt have yo wstch a movie while putting 48 keepers in with the compressor lol.
I actually have a crafty idea already.

[RobMinhas]

I used one of these



It sucked, I hated it and it took me like 1 hour to do 14, but about six months to do two before I learned a trick from a Mazda tech. Find a few long toothpicks or skewers, wooden preferably, then buy a tub of vaseline/petroleum jelly. Drop in the valve spring and retainer, compress and then put vaseline on the inside mounting part of the keeper, I put a decent sized dab. Then get a large dab on the tip of the skewer and get teh keepers outside portion on it. Then set it on the valve and use another skewer to lightly pry the first skewer off. Once both are on you need to carefully decompress the valve spring.

Like I said, it sucked but it was easier then trying with a magnetic screwdriver/pick.