Rob82

Hey all I have a few questions regarding valve stem seals. I am burning oil slightly on hard take offs and also on when jeep is idling for a long periods. My jeeps got just over 200k but runs like a top no funny noises plenty of power and didn't start burning oil until just recently I'm leaning towards the valve stem seals due to past experiences with identical symptoms on the old dodge 3.9 and also 5.2 motors I've dealt with.

Anyhoo my questions are has anyone had any luck changing these seals with the motor and head intact? I have seen a few YouTube videos on the process but they have all been with the motor on a stand or hanging from a picker. I have also been crawling this forum and other jeep forums and have found a lot of threads where people could change the front 6 cylinders but couldn't get to the back 2 due to space issues due to the valve tool they are using. I've also come across a lot of people saying they just pulled the head did it on a bench and put it back together because it was easier to do that way. My problem with that is I was taught and have always believed that if you pull the head have it machined before reinstalling and I'm worried that if I pull it I will have to replace it due to it's age. I can't afford a new head right now.

My second question is anyone know where I can buy the tool for the valve springs I have searched local parts stores (fort hood tx area) with no luck and have started searching the internet but not sure where to look. As always any help, advice, and opinions would greatly be appreciated.

Rob82

Oh forgot to mention it's a 99 GC my fault.

dave1123

There is one other thing you can check before you tear into this engine. Check the oil drains in the rear of the heads. If they are sludged up, they can cause oil to remain in the heads high enough for the valve stems to be submerged and oil to be sucked into the intake. This is very common on any V8 and often the cause of valve cover leaks. I have stopped this oil burning on small block Chevys many times simply by cleaning out the returns. The seals may be bad, but this stops the oil burning and smoke. Any time I have a valve cover off any engine, I always check the drains, even the I6.

I hope this helps.