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A year ago I refurbished a 2.1 92 16V head to mate with my 86 block. I did all of the valve and porting work, and had it resurfaced by a machine shop. The install and restart went as expected and I was pleased with the results. But within a few months I began to notice puffs of blue smoke from time to time. Couldn't be the head, had to be the turbo. Then a miss began to develop along with increased blue smoke, so that pointed more toward the head as the problem source. I began to suspect one of the valve stem seals I replaced. The first one I put on in fact. I remember it didn't feel right when I popped it in place. Because I bought only 16 and was under a time restriction to get the car running, I didn't want to remove it and risk damage. I just made sure it was in place and wasn't loose. That specific valve stem seal leaking was the only thing that made sense.
At the same time I had been experiencing an unusual draining of the coolant fluid. Turned out the water pump was the source of the leak, usually because the bearing surface wears out. An trail of coolant down the rear of the engine was the proof. To get to the water pump would require removing the AC compressor and intake manifold, so I reasoned since I would be going that far, might as well pull the head and tend to that stem seal.
For good measure I replaced the alternator as well. Both the alternator and water pump were good used parts, which I found by pulling several from a well stocked salvage yard in search of parts with least wear and tear. With several pumps pulled, it was obvious which were good and which were not. I suspect the part I ended up with was a recent replacement because of it's clean condition inside and out, and how snug the bearing was. With an alternator, the least amount of wear on the internal rotor on which the voltage regulator brushes ride is an indicator of a good used alternator. I found a very clean one with very little wear. More than likley a recent replacement as well.
With the intake manifold off, it became obvious my theory about that one valve stem seal was correct. Every other intake chamber was clean, except # 1 cylinder, the first valve in particular. A buildup of gunky oil around the bottom of the valve was evident, indicating a leaky stem seal.
The head removal, general cleaning and new seal replacement went without a hitch. With all parts back in place with fresh gaskets and tightened to spec, it fired up and idled like normal. Total time was 20 hours, done over the course of two days.
posted by 207.200.116...
, Sat, 8 Sep 2007 21:37:25
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