Valve Seal/Keeper Question

[lorenzg]

I have a ’73T 2.4 that was rebuilt about 50K miles ago. Unfortunately the motor has sat for about 10 years w/o being started. It sat on a dolly wrapped in plastic with it rotated by hand every 6 months or so.

Not surprisingly when it was returned to a car it has become a smoker. I suspect the seals dried out after sitting for so long. I plan on replacing the valve stem seals now that I have removed the motor again. With only about 50K on it should I replace the valve spring retainers and keepers? I’m retired and on a budget. I don’t plan on putting it on the track.

I also plan to replace the rocker arm seals.

Thanks, Rich

[rennworks]

might want to do a leakdown test first to make sure you dont have a ring problem.

Warren

[Steve@Rennsport]

Rich,

You don't need to replace the retainers and keeper, however I'd replace the guide seals with factory Viton ones. Hopefully, the gentleman who rebuilt it didn't use the teflon guide seals as they allow far too much oil down the guides.

A leakdown test is excellent advice and strongly recommended.

[lorenzg]

Well, I did a leak down test and found out that the numbers pretty-much suck. It was impossible to do the test on a warm motor since it is out of the car. All the valves are set correctly and number 5 seems to be the biggest issue. I can hear air coming out of the intake. It looks like at a minimum I’m going to be pulling the heads. Then there is the smart thing to do and put new rings in it while I have the heads off. I guess the motor won’t be going back in the car this summer.

There is one thing that IS puzzling. The motor ran pretty much OK when I pulled it. There was just a little smoke. With the amount of air leaking from #5 (losing 60%), I would have thought it would give the carbs issues.