sb66

hey everyone

I was getting the vette checked out and I asked my mechanic to give a checkup on leaks and such that may be visible and such - still working on getting a baseline to get the car healthy. although nothing was urgent he recommended the valve seals and said it would be a good idea to have the motor pulled and all the seals done. so I am looking for anyone that might know of a shop that might do this and how much should I expect to spend? I am in the Youngstown Ohio area by Akron/Canton sort of I am going to try to find some local vette people as well - but I thought if anyone had this done or knew of any reliable shops - that would be very helpful

thanks

Sean

Cruisinfanatic

Is there fluid on your garage floor???

sb66

I had some spots last fall - nothing too much - changed the oil pressure sender seemed to stop - but there are still areas on the motor that appear a little wet - nothing crazy though - again just trying to shore up as much as possible - wanted to be sure there is nothing else lurking - but if I can do a little at a time and save a little that would be ok as well - I believe regardless heads will need done - seals


thanks

Cruisinfanatic

My engine has had "wet" spots since the day I brought it home new.
Valve seals, probably. Heads, why?

drcook

engine r&r for seals and such is going to be labor intensive, that is where you will get most of your cost

I am straight across 224/76 from you. If you get on 224, go west until it starts running with I-76 (on the west side of Akron) then continue to the 13 mile mark, which just happens to be St Rt 21, that is where I live. I know of some shops around here, one of them just sold his Chevelle to the owner of the shop on Restoration Garage (on the Motor Trend Channel). If that guy is going to buy a car from the guy out here, that should say something.

There are also some other reputable shops in the Akron area.

I am also getting a wet spot on the garage floor. Nothing real bad, yet. Could be the pan needs tightened up, could be the rear seal.

65Z01

If your valve seals are bad won't compression be down??

Polo Vert

The easiest tell-tale sign the valve seals are shot is a puff of blue smoke at startup.

sb66

thanks everyone - I had smoke at the start of the spring after sitting - which I thought the same if the seals were an issue I would see more - but the plugs were so bad last year to the point of almost no power. they were covered. I know there is nothing urgent to what I am seeing but if I can head a few things off at the pass I think that would be better right? I am not sure how much I can do myself (my knowledge and skill set are at times questionable) and how involved some of these would be - I guess that is part of it - plus the piece of mind with a knowledgeable person doing the work - I am not necessarily afraid of it just cautious - after all it is still a corvette . right?

sb66

thanks I did hear that about these very true - was not sure how much they would find when in there - not sure how involved the sea job on this car would be - again being a vette I did not want to mess it up

Cruisinfanatic

If valve seals were bad, you'd see smoke at every startup. I think you are worried about nothing. Having someone pull the engine to replace seals would cost you a fortune. Probably unnecessary also. Leave it alone is what I'd tell you

sb66

probably (and hopefully) right - sometimes get sidetracked and too obsessed - I will continue to watch - I try to keep it maintained regularly so I am sure if something gets worse hopefully we'll notice it more. There were other seals I had hoped to replace this year (door, window etc.).

I will keep an eye on it - thanks

Sean

sb66

just curious though if I did have to do the valve seals - how difficult is that?

kael

I started becoming an amateur mechanic after I bought my '87. I did a lot of fixing this and that over the years, but not much on cars. Two years later or so, with the help of the C4 CorvetteForum, Youtube, FSM and a little brain, I replaced the valve seals, pulled the heads and other things.

The seals can be changed without pulling the engine. It does take a bit of work to move this or that to get the valve covers off. Also need this and that tool to pull springs, etc.

Odd though, I wouldn't expect spot leaks if the valve seals are worn, oil would go out the exhaust.

aklim

If I were pulling the motor, it would be a good time to get all the seals done but is it worth it to you? These older motors are going to be leakers. I kinda given up on trying to seal my valve covers. Got new OEM ones, Fel Pro gaskets, etc, etc and they still leak.

drcook

use this phrase for a google search

most common lt1 oil leaks

and do some reading, there are lots of threads on the web about LTx oil leaks

such as

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...on-96-lt1.html

of course there is always Fat Guy's Garage over there by Youngstown :-) :-) :-)

sb66

thanks - the suspicion with the valve seals came then the plugs were removed and in such a state that the car would barely accelerate - covered with quite a bit of oil - I am going to watch to see how soon before that becomes an issue again.

sb66

I am not sure if it is worth pulling and replacing all of the seals - I was thinking I would try to get the car up to snuff so to speak - and see if the leak I had was a real issue. it of course would not leak for the mechanic - but he thought a good way to resolve this could be to have that done - but after hearing back from several of you I am questioning the need for that - maybe just take on each as it becomes necessary - (?)

thanks

sb66

thanks drcook
I have the l98 - I am sure the leak concerns sound the same - the front and rear seal was one of my biggest concerns and I feel that would be more obvious - I looked again today and noticed a small amount of seepage on top by one of the intake bolts - making a little puddle on top - but not enough to make a spot on the floor. (still not sure what that is though)

you mentioned fat guys garage near Youngstown?

aklim

Have you checked the compression?

drcook

I was being facetius/sarcastic. Read their recent reviews that are posted on the web. Doesn't look good for them.