Tired of the embarrassing smoke on start up

[Nervouswreck]

Hey gang, I’ve decided I’m going to tackle this embarrassing smoking issue i have when i start the car. The engine was completely overhauled about 2,000 miles ago, and it’s done it ever since. I wanted to wait to see if it went away but it’s obvious it’s not going to. I don’t want to say who rebuilt it nor do i wanna go back to him for my own reasons, i just want to do it myself. From what everyone tells me it sounds like valve seals and by reading the plugs it’s cylinder 5. Obviously i have to remove the cams on the driver side, my question is do you guys think I’ll have to remove the front timing chain cover or could i just do it by removing the cam cover and making sure I’m on TDC on that cylinder, popping out all the followers, marking the chain on the sprockets, and just popping out the cams????


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[railroad]

Do a compression test before pulling it down.
Not saying the valve seals or guides are not the issue. Might show anything else hiding to show up later.

 

[5.0 Hatch]

Was any head work done?

 

[P49Y-CY]

well on the bright side if you're gonna do it over the fender at least #5 is the easiest one.

it does sound like you might be able do it the way you describe without removing the front cover and being sure not to let the chain move.

i think it is going to be one pain in the ass job though. i even thought doing valve stem seals was a pain with the head on a bench lol. best of luck with it!

 

[Nervouswreck]

Was any head work done?

Yes sir. Everything done including 5 way valve job


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[03' White Snake]

I don’t think you need to remove the cams or the chains. You need the cam on the base circle to pop the followers off with a screw driver. Usually can do 2 or so then need to turn it over more and keep going popping them off. So no need to set TDC.

It’s how you plan on compressing the springs, removing the retainers and keepers all without dropping a valve into the cylinder and loosing the keepers too. The seals just pop on and off the valve stem after that.

I had a damn time compressing the springs and doing the keepers and retainers on the bench. Those things are tiny and I’d be very nervous of dropping one in a oil passage or something in the head….

Good luck, feel free to ask any questions if you want.

 

[Nervouswreck]

Was gonna grab a bolt on spring compressor tool from eBay


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[robvas]

Do you have cats? Sometimes putting cats on will catch the smoke

 

[2003RedfireVert]

If this were my car, the engine would be coming out. Let us know how it goes either way. You have some sound advice already so I won't add anymore.

 

[03' White Snake]

Was gonna grab a bolt on spring compressor tool from eBay


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Ok, there are 2 ways this is going to work…. Both will require a compression checker kit modified to compress the cylinder to hold the valves shut and in place with an air compressor.

1. You get the correct OTC or Ford tool that uses the cam as leverage to compress the springs and fight with the keepers. They have them for intake and exhaust separately so do your homework. There is not much room in there and tough to do by yourself.

2. You buy the cheap EBay tool. Plan on removing the timing cover, chains, tensioners, cams, and every timing component for the tool to work on a bare head without cams in place. Still will need to compressed air in the cylinders to do this.

If your cams have been degreed, that’s an entirely different task now.

 

[cj428mach]

Freedom racing makes a tool and I did the entire pass side in the car, it was a nightmare. Some valve locks I'd get back in under a minute others I'd battle an hour. I think the one in the toughest spot went the quickest thank God.

I put a new DC head on the drivers side and had a used DB head rebuilt by L&M. The rebuilt head used viton seals and leaked like crazy. If you shut the car off and let it sit for a few hours and pulled the spark plugs they'd have oil on them. You could run the car and pull the plugs immediately after shutting it off and the plugs were dry. I replaced the seals with felpro rubber and they were way tighter and the oil burning went away.

When I had livernois port my heads I insisted on rubber felpro valve seals and never had an issue.

 

[Nervouswreck]

Freedom racing makes a tool and I did the entire pass side in the car, it was a nightmare. Some valve locks I'd get back in under a minute others I'd battle an hour. I think the one in the toughest spot went the quickest thank God.

I put a new DC head on the drivers side and had a used DB head rebuilt by L&M. The rebuilt head used viton seals and leaked like crazy. If you shut the car off and let it sit for a few hours and pulled the spark plugs they'd have oil on them. You could run the car and pull the plugs immediately after shutting it off and the plugs were dry. I replaced the seals with felpro rubber and they were way tighter and the oil burning went away.

When I had livernois port my heads I insisted on rubber felpro valve seals and never had an issue.

They make a tool to do it with cams still in place?


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[01yellercobra]

This is the one I've seen. I don't recommend it though. At least for in car work.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/oes-24434/make/ford

 

[Nervouswreck]

This is the one I've seen. I don't recommend it though. At least for in car work.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/oes-24434/make/ford

Thanks for the info and link buddy. Can i ask why you don’t recommend this tool for in car use?

Thanks


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[blownfox]

Why would Viton seal leak over rubber ones? MHS uses Viton seal and my DC heads should be shipping soon.

Viton should be considered an upgrade over regular rubber deals.

 

[01yellercobra]

Thanks for the info and link buddy. Can i ask why you don’t recommend this tool for in car use?

Thanks


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There wasn't enough room to move the tool and press down on the spring. We made a couple mods, but still ended up pulling the engine to swap the springs. This was on a 2v.

 

[03' White Snake]

Why would Viton seal leak over rubber ones? MHS uses Viton seal and my DC heads should be shipping soon.

Viton should be considered an upgrade over regular rubber deals.

I run MHS viton seals, no issues. I made sure to lube them up before installing so not to tear them during install.

 

[03' White Snake]

There wasn't enough room to move the tool and press down on the spring. We made a couple mods, but still ended up pulling the engine to swap the springs. This was on a 2v.

2V and 4V ones are different. I used a large modified c clamp version to do my heads on the bench. My buddy used the OTC Brand tool to do his. It’s a lot of work but can be done. Need to keep swapping to tool from right to left for springs and the intake and exhaust are different. Not recommend but can be done on assembled heads.

 

[cj428mach]

They make a tool to do it with cams still in place?


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https://www.freedomracing.com/4v-v8-2v-v8-and-4-0l-v6-valve-spring-compressor-st-126.html?___store=default&gclid=CjwKCAjwysipBhBXEiwApJOcu2zAMti6VshSQIVkZrw7Fnevm1HJt3dnJOBQBk90PicvBGmAv7w6LhoCGXEQAvD_BwE

 

[cj428mach]

Why would Viton seal leak over rubber ones? MHS uses Viton seal and my DC heads should be shipping soon.

Viton should be considered an upgrade over regular rubber deals.

They should be better my experience was not that way.

My L&M heads leaked like the Titanic with the viton. I ordered a set of new viton from MHS and had a set of the felpro. When doing my seals I found a socket that fit the felpros but they were a snug fit. I then tried one of the vitons off the L&Ms and they were pretty loose on the socket. The brand new vitons from MHS were just as loose on the socket as the L&M ones. Considering the job was a nightmare to do in the car I chose the tighter fitting felpros and never looked back.

Why are you swapping heads?