New to the forum just need some expert advise thanks

I have been doing some rearch on CarPoint website says:
Oil consumption will increase around 110,000km as valve stem seals harden...

has any Magna owner experienced this problem? as I am at all not techinical... what is a "valve stem seals" and what does it do? I did notice my Magna is pretty thirsty just wondering if that was the case.

Is it a big service recommended to by done by a Mistu workshop or can be done in any garage (replacing the Valve stem seals)? at the same time I'd like to replace the cambelt so just wondering how much roughly its gonna cost me altogether :confused:

valvestem seals are a seal that go around the valves to stop oil from the head going into the combustion chamber of the motor.
when they wear out oil slowly seeps through the seals over a period of time.....for example if u leave your car sitting overnight.....and start it up.....and its blowing smoke for a little while.....your valves stem seals are probably beggining to wear.....make sure its SMOKE and not steam......

and if there gone (stuffed)
you will see smoke when you take off after idling
or beween gear changes
it happend to my last car (mazda 62**** box)

and if there gone (stuffed)
you will see smoke when you take off after idling
or beween gear changes
it happend to my last car (mazda 62**** box)

Sh*t mate they must have been rooted, I mean between gear changes, was there any rubber left in em? :D


Is it a big service recommended to by done by a Mistu workshop or can be done in any garage (replacing the Valve stem seals)? at the same time I'd like to replace the cambelt so just wondering how much roughly its gonna cost me altogether

I guess it depends on where you take it to get done and wether they can change em without taking the head off. (can be done with the right gear)
Probbably a couple of hundred bucks anyhow depending what engine you got ie 4cyl or v6.
Would be a heap cheaper if you do it yourself but if you arent skilled in that sort of thing your better off paying the labor.

i had a 4cyl TR and my valve stem seals where pretty ****ed, i went through a letre of oil every 3 weeks

My TR/KR V3000 (NZ Magna) started to smoke a little about 5-10,000ks ago(it's at 178,000). The local Mitzi agent said it will cost about NZD$650 to fix. He also said it can be done without taking the heads off (the cylinder is preasurised to stop the valve falling into the cyclinder) and is about a 4-5 hour job.
I spoke to one of the old hands there and he said that it's not really a big problem except for the smoke after idling for a while (eg at lights). Although I must admit it is a bit embarrassing when I leave the lights.
Oil consumption isn't bad yet although it will get worse over the next 5-10,000ks. I hope to get the seals replaced at the end of the year as I think the cars is great.
Abb0

thanks guys those are most helpful. cheers

smoke from valve stem seals is different from burning oil smoke, it is purple smoke caused by fuel as well getting through. it wouldnot happen as early as 110,000km at least 200,000km before it happens on most motors. High lift cams cause faster wear. Its a big job to change them. heads off and valves and valve gear all must come out.

Sorry, but you can get em out without pulling the head off, if you got the right gear.
Me however have the standard type valve spring compressor tool which means I have to pull the head off if I want to pull the valve gear off. :D

I recently switched to Penrite HPR30 20W/50 Oil which seemed to stop the morning blowing oil. There is a slight decrease in engine revving freely I have found, due to thicker oil. Anything to prolong my 267,000Kms engine and stop having to feed it 1L of oil every 3,000Kms though hehe.

Sorry, but you can get em out without pulling the head off, if you got the right gear.
Me however have the standard type valve spring compressor tool which means I have to pull the head off if I want to pull the valve gear off. :D

Strangely enough Repco sells the ****ty tool for about $60 (which is sold by Supercheap around $45) . But if you ask for it they give you the proper one that compresses the springs without taking the heads off (about $90).

If you are looking at changing the valve stem seals without removing the head, you need to pressurise the cylinder as was stated in a previous post. If you don, the valve with fall down into the bore and you will have to remove the head(s) anyway. It could be done quite easily i would imagnie. A small home air compressor, a length of hose, a fitthing that screws into the sparg plug hole, and away we go. But believe me. If you are doing it yourself, take the heads off and get them serviced properly. It is worth the $$$$. They acid bath them, check the head for warpage, and cut the vavle seats for you. Ona Magna head, should only cost about $200 a head. Or even less if you know someone.

Mine didnt go until after 160,000 the first time. I replaced them and they will still fine when it went past 300,000 before the rebuild (so i replaced them again).

Ive got a tool for rocker setups like this (like indicated earlier), you screw it into the spark plug hole, connect it to a compressor, get your valves closed, then force air into the cylinder. You can remove the valve components then (spring, retainers, seals, etc) 1 pair at a time without the valve falling through into the cylinder. I have told people about it before, they think it is bull****, even some people who i have given advice to, their mechanics say they have never heard of it (then proceed to charge them a fortune). All it is, is an adaptor from a compression tester (from an old snap on set i think). It saves pulling the head off like so many workshops insist is needed. I wouldnt bother pulling the head off if it isnt needed, im all for regular maintenance and preventitive measures but spending needless money isnt needed. Really, at 160,000km (like in my case) there is no need for the head to come off at all. Even if it only happens to you at 300,000, if the engine doesnt give you any reason to take it off, why bother?

Edit: the massive labour hours quoted are a bunch of rubbish too, on average it would take me about an hour, hour and a half to do a full set. 5 hours is just plain lunacy.

this pressurizing sounds intresting, i can see how it would work if u slided the rockers back one cylinder at a time and took off the spring collars, u would need to be cranking the engine round very carefully to make sure each piston was Top Dead Centre when u did it tho.
personally i would take the head off and give it a valve grind and shave/deck. u would get a lot of carbon built up around the valves if it had been smoking for a while, still running ok but even betterif u got rid of it. using fuel additive like Moreys upper cylinder lube helps prevents the seals wearing too.

Cranking? just turn it by hand from the crank pulley. If you only do 1 pair at a time and assemble the valve, you wont have any problems.

u'll have to take all the spark plugs out to turn the engine over by hand......another good thing to do is to get a length of wire......put it in the spark plug hole.....hold onto it ofcourse....and rotate engine until the wire goes down then starts coming back up....well when its down....the piston is down.....then u can screw the air attachment in and when u turn the compressor on nothing should move as the piston is already in the bottom position.....

then u can proceed to take take the valve spring, collet and seal out.

u'll have to take all the spark plugs out to turn the engine over by hand......another good thing to do is to get a length of wire......put it in the spark plug hole.....hold onto it ofcourse....and rotate engine until the wire goes down then starts coming back up....well when its down....the piston is down.....then u can screw the air attachment in and when u turn the compressor on nothing should move as the piston is already in the bottom position.....

then u can proceed to take take the valve spring, collet and seal out.

I find a screwdriver works well too :D
Remember you have to compress the valve spring to take the collets out

any one in vic that has:

A\ the tool to do this

B\ has changed the seals in a 4cyl

and most importantly

C\ can tell me if they are going in my car????

and kodos....

Yer, then we'll all vote for a third party then...

(quote could be wrong, haven't seen that episode enough)

any one in vic that has:

A\ the tool to do this

B\ has changed the seals in a 4cyl

and most importantly

C\ can tell me if they are going in my car????

and kodos....

Yer, then we'll all vote for a third party then...

(quote could be wrong, haven't seen that episode enough)


Go ahead waste your vote! ah ha ha ha, drool, drool

u'll have to take all the spark plugs out to turn the engine over by hand......another good thing to do is to get a length of wire......put it in the spark plug hole.....hold onto it ofcourse....and rotate engine until the wire goes down then starts coming back up....well when its down....the piston is down.....then u can screw the air attachment in and when u turn the compressor on nothing should move as the piston is already in the bottom position.....

then u can proceed to take take the valve spring, collet and seal out.

No you dont. I can do it fine on my TP, shifting spanner on the crank pulley bolt, it is easy. Since you have to take the rocker cover off you have no need to stick anything in the piston at all. If you watch the rocker arms you will know when valves are rocking, the point of overlap between a pair when they are both closed for a split second is all you need, you will know you are in the right place because the cam lobe will be off both valves (well actually, it is just about to move one so it is just touching). Do it by something you can physically see, dont mess around with trying to judge where the piston is, it makes no difference.

I didn't actually used compressed air to hold the valves in place. Haynes has a somewhat dodgy but working idea on that .Basically you feed some (clean) rope through the sparkplug hole then turn the crank(gently) until it stops ,certainly held up the valves very nicely.

okay my valve seals are definately gone :S I am always moving along in a cloud of white smoke, was okay when it was just start up but now its when ever i take of or idle (idle will happen again after i replace the ICS)

Anyone in brissy recommend somewhere cheap to get them done? using about 2-3 litres oil a month :S

LJ

Hi buddy. just joined site today.Noticed your problem.I'm a mechanic and it is possible to change valve seals with the head on.Smoke at start up is a big sign that the valve seals are gone.I replaced my valve seals on my V6 verada.I made an air adapter to fit in the sperk plug port and then used compressed air to stop valves falling in the cylinder when springs are removed.You have to have the right gear and some knowledge to attack it though.
JOHN

okay my valve seals are definately gone :S I am always moving along in a cloud of white smoke, was okay when it was just start up but now its when ever i take of or idle (idle will happen again after i replace the ICS)

Anyone in brissy recommend somewhere cheap to get them done? using about 2-3 litres oil a month :S

LJ

sounds like the oil rings are gone, u wouldnt use that much oil from valve stem seals i think...

I just got a quote today to fix the valve stem seals .. $500-600 and they reckon my guides could be stuffed anyway and it could still smoke. He reckons its an 8hour job. I wish i was in the industry .. I'm in the IT industry and although i dont build pcs everyday, if i was to do one for a friend i could get the machine built in around 25mins and the software in a bit more. Now if i was working for a money hungry company wanting to cover their own but and make money i'd say that same computer would take me a whole day maybe 2 days to build. Its crap. Mechanics are crap. I'm buying a brand new car :rant:
Stupid seals .. why cant i buy snap in bloody seals from supacheap! :rant:

I just got a quote today to fix the valve stem seals .. $500-600 and they reckon my guides could be stuffed anyway and it could still smoke. He reckons its an 8hour job. I wish i was in the industry .. I'm in the IT industry and although i dont build pcs everyday, if i was to do one for a friend i could get the machine built in around 25mins and the software in a bit more. Now if i was working for a money hungry company wanting to cover their own but and make money i'd say that same computer would take me a whole day maybe 2 days to build. Its crap. Mechanics are crap. I'm buying a brand new car :rant:
Stupid seals .. why cant i buy snap in bloody seals from supacheap! :rant:
Is that for a v6? Sounds reasonable to me. There is quite alot of labour involved.

no $600 repair is reasonable if they cant guarantee it will stop the smoking. Yeah its a V6 :) I've been haunted with the smoking thing since my TP. I hate it. I guess i just have to put up with the smoke til i can get a new car. I feel like a smuck with a $100 printer that needs a $200 service and takes $120 ink cartridges.