Valve guides/ seals for my 03

blwn89gt

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Hey everyone I’m looking for any recommendations for a good place to possibly send my heads to this winter and have the valve guides and seals done for my 03. I seen Modular Head Shop has a package for like 1500$ where they go through both heads, do the bronze guides, valve seals, exhaust seats and a valve job/ bowl blending. I’m looking for some insight from you guys. I plan on doing this over the winter and hopefully ordering custom cams as well.


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badcobra

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Janderson is about 10 minutes from me in MN. He did a great job on my heads and is a super awesome guy to work with. Highly recommend!
 

cj428mach

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I used livernois because they don't believe in bronze guides for street cars which is what I believe as well.
 

blwn89gt

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I used livernois because they don't believe in bronze guides for street cars which is what I believe as well.

My dad was saying the same thing but I couldn’t find anything other then bronze guides for the car so I figured I’m stuck with using them.


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blwn89gt

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I came up with the idea of doing cams this winter because I wanted to do the valve seals. The car would puff some smoke on startup and it’s due to the fact it sits way more then it’s driven. My dad suggested just having the guides done as well. Then I read about the exhaust seats being a problem and id rather just have the heads completely done. The car has 32K miles on it and I want to be able to enjoy it.


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CobraSam

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Do you have any reputable machine shops local to you? I recommend going that route and working with them. Tell them your overall plans and bring them the cams, they’ll get everything set up correctly. It’s basic machine work, nothing special going on.
 

blwn89gt

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Do you have any reputable machine shops local to you? I recommend going that route and working with them. Tell them your overall plans and bring them the cams, they’ll get everything set up correctly. It’s basic machine work, nothing special going on.

I have a few out by me ( Long Island NY) but not everyone wants to touch the cobra heads. I’m going to reach out to one of them because they are recommended by the shop that tunes my car. My dad already reached out to a few and they didn’t seem like they wanted to do them. I’m probably not pulling the motor out until after New Years anyways.


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blwn89gt

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Doesn't it suck though, 35k miles and it puffs smoke on startup

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Yeah what sucks even more is I bought the car back in 2012 from my best friend. I’m the third owner and the car puffed some smoke back then here and there and it had 16k on the clock. The original owner never drove the car and my buddy hardly did. I did the head cooling mod right away and kind of just dealt with it. Now I have my own garage and the ability to take the car apart and get it done. I just want a reputable machine shop that knows the heads to do the work.


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P49Y-CY

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Doesn't it suck though, 35k miles and it puffs smoke on startup

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yeah definitely seems to be a problem for low mile cars that rarely get driven and have just sat for most of their lives...

question: can valve stem seals be done with the heads still bolted onto the longblock? (i think the answer is yes but that you need to have shop air to hold open the valve) ??
 

blwn89gt

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yeah definitely seems to be a problem for low mile cars that rarely get driven and have just sat for most of their lives...

question: can valve stem seals be done with the heads still bolted onto the longblock? (i think the answer is yes but that you need to have shop air to hold open the valve) ??

Yes they can and originally that was how my dad and I were doing them. I bought the correct valve spring compressor also. Then I decided I want to do cams and it turned into let’s take the motor out, send the heads to get done and be done with it.


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Venom351R

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Is there a typical point where the heads should be gone though and freshened up? I realize it can vary between how the car was driven or maintained but generally just looking for a somewhat common consensus. I plan on adding a VMP 2.3 in the future ( pending if I can find one at the time for sale ) and my car currently has 77K on it and figured it would be a good to time have the heads gone through as well if the blower upgrade happens in the next year or so
 

Black02GT

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I have a few out by me ( Long Island NY) but not everyone wants to touch the cobra heads. I’m going to reach out to one of them because they are recommended by the shop that tunes my car. My dad already reached out to a few and they didn’t seem like they wanted to do them. I’m probably not pulling the motor out until after New Years anyways.


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Pretty much down to PCHS and Ace Crank on the Island. I've had engines done by both both, PM if you want opinions. Called a lot of shops around here over the years, many don't want to get involved with MOD engines.
 

blwn89gt

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Pretty much down to PCHS and Ace Crank on the Island. I've had engines done by both both, PM if you want opinions. Called a lot of shops around here over the years, many don't want to get involved with MOD engines.

That’s exactly what my dad told me. A buddy of mine who works at magic said they use ACE. I’ve had a few other people recommend them also. I’m doing a compression test today to make sure I didn’t smoke the rings before I start calling around asking for head work if I need to do a motor lmao.


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