Valve seals split down the side....damn it

Just think of it as a really big 5.0

I just found out tonight that 3 of my 4 exhaust valve seals are split down the side on one side of the motor, they are the umbrella ones, I really dont have the time to fix this right now, do you guys think it be ok to run it with split valve seals over the summer? I never smelled burnt oil or saw any unusual smoke, but i did use about a half QT of oil over the whole summer.
 
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Personally, i would be worried about any play in the valve train that could lead to bigger problems. (Could there be moer side load play? im not sure...) I personally would not want much oil getting into the combustion chambers gumming things up after the work you have done to that bad boy. Oil in the combustion chambers can cause detonation...not sure what your CR is though. maybe you'll be okay...

ummm rick...clean up...isle 4 :p
 
They are still flexable, i turned them with a small flat blade screwdriver, I probably won't have time to do this until the end of the summer. Hopefully i won't harm anything and I guess i'll have to watch the oil level, but like i said, it never smelled or looked like it burned any oil, but it did use about a half quart of oil over the whole summer.

The wierd thing is that these springs are stock size too, they are the edelbrock rpm cam springs made to be drop-in replacements (rpm cam and FRPP A443 are almost identical except for LSA), i don't know what went wrong really, could be the dampener but the seals dont look chewed up.

IDK, i'll have to see if i can fix it soon, but it will be a while.
 
OMG it just hit me.....

are the valve seals supposted to snap onto the valve guide or do they go up and down with the valve, forgive my stupidity, this was my first engine build, i dont think i snapped them to the valve guide when i reinstalled them with the new springs.


Two other things, where can i get new stock type valve seals for cheap and where can i get that fitting that holds air pressure in the cylinder. Keep in mind this is a 460 not a 5.0.

Thx for your guys help. God i feel like a dumbass.
 
if they are the umrella seals, they just ride up and down with the valve stem...they dont snap in(positive type seal)...if anything the intake ones do.....do for a stock 302 anyways...dont no about a 460.....if theres a little metal ring around it it should be pressed down on the guide......sounds like ur already about thinking of changing them with the heads on the engine still on the motor...
 
OK i just ordered some fel-pro stock type valve seals, hopefully i will maybe get this done this weekend, i found out i dont have to work at all. When i installed the old ones with the new springs they did feel kinda stiff, they were sitting for 2 years while the motor was being stored before i got it, maybe they just cracked during first start-up from being stiff. Hopefully these new ones will work out.
 
and make sure u use plenty of oil when u put them on...and use the plastic sleeve that u put on top of the valve when u slide the seal down...i lube up the sleeve and top of the valve stem and dip each new seal in fresh oil right before i put them on
 
The cam is 234/244 dur @ .050 with .562/.588 lift, it wont pass E-check, plus there was no emissions control in 1968 (motor year).

Well, i got it all done today, all the old seals felt hard and brittle, you could see cracks in them, replaced all of them and readjusted the valvetrain. It went very smoothly, no mess-ups.

Heres what some of them looked like, this one was chewed up and split in half:

valveseal.jpg
 

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